Panellets, spanish sweets for Halloween

Panellets are consumed in Valencia, the Balearic Islands, and Catalonia (indeed almost whole east of Spain) during Halloween, along with nuts, roasted chestnuts, sweet potatoes, and sweet wine. They are typically made by mixing potatoes or sweet potatoes with almonds and sugar, although the inclusion of the former is mainly for economic reasons (anyway some prefer to use sweet potatoes or potatoes to create a lighter sweet). Authentic panellets contain only sugar, ground almonds, eggs, water, and an optional flavoring, which can be coffee, lemon, red currant syrup, chocolate, nuts, or any preferred flavor. They are relatively easy to make, especially if you choose not to coat them with pine nuts or almonds, as the coating can be time-consuming (though without nuts, they are not as popular).

INGREDIENTS:

• 9 ounces (250 grams) of ground almonds
• 9 ounces (250 grams) of sugar
• 2 eggs
• Grated zest of one lemon
• Water
• Flavorings: pine nuts, almonds, chocolate, red currant syrup, coffee

In a bowl, mix the sugar and ground almonds. Separate the egg whites from the yolks and set aside the yolks. Pour the egg whites into the sugar and almond mixture and start kneading. The dough is quite dry, so you will need to work it a lot. It should be smooth and compact. 

If you want to make panellets with almond or pine nut coating, it's recommended to flavor the dough with the grated zest of a lemon (without the bitter white part). For chocolate panellets, add 1.8 ounces (50 grams) of 70% dark chocolate, also grated. For coffee panellets, add one cup of black coffee (3.4 ounces or 100 ml), and for red currant panellets, add half a glass (3.4 ounces or 100 ml) of red currant syrup. If, after working the dough, it remains too dry and cracks easily, sprinkle it with water gradually until it becomes elastic enough.

Once you have the dough ready, set aside a portion to create elongated cylinders about 7.9 inches (20 cm) long and 0.4 inches (1 cm) in diameter. Cut the cylinders into 0.8-inch pieces (2 cm) and shape each piece into a round shape by rolling it between your palms. This ensures that they are all the same size.

Chocolate, coffee, and red currant panellets can be baked directly at 356 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius) by placing them on parchment paper or the oven rack. 15-20 minutes should be more than enough, or when the exterior starts to brown.

Panellets covered with almonds or pine nuts are somewhat more complicated. You need to roll the dough spheres in whole pine nuts or partially chopped almonds. In theory, the nuts should stick to the dough, but in practice, it depends on the viscosity of the surface, so you will likely need to do it one by one, especially for pine nut panellets, which are the most appreciated. Once you achieve good coverage, brush the surface with the egg yolks you separated at the beginning. Remember, this step is only necessary for panellets with nut coatings to make them shiny. As with the other panellets, baking at 356 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius) for 15-20 minutes should be more than enough.

With the quantities mentioned, you can make up to two dozen panellets.