Recipe for pine nut and chocolate panellets: how to make them at home in three steps

They're here, panellets! Many bakeries started making them in September, and now that the holidays are approaching, having the best recipe at hand to make them at home is ideal. For this reason, pastry chef Èric Ortuño, from L'Atelier Barcelona, ​​explains how to prepare a unique dough to which he adds other ingredients to make panellets with pine nuts, chocolate, or whatever your imagination comes up with. They'll all be delicious. Also, a very important tip: the chef suggests reducing the amount of sugar relative to the almond flour so the result isn't too sweet. In traditional recipes, the amount of sugar and almond flour has always been the same, but the master pastry chef at L'Atelier suggests we make this change.

Ingredients to make 21 panellets

For the marzipan one

• 150 g of sugar
• 200g of almond powder
• 2 egg whites
• 2 egg yolks

For the pine nut panellets

• 100g of pine nuts
• 2 egg yolks

For the chocolate panellets

• 30g of chocolate pearls
• 30 g of icing sugar
• 10g of cocoa sticks

Making panellets

First step

1. Begin by preparing the marzipan dough. In a bowl, combine the almond flour, sugar, and egg whites, adding them in two batches. First, add a small amount of egg white and knead. Then, add the remaining egg white and knead again by hand. Continue kneading until the sugar has dissolved and all the ingredients are well combined.
2. Separate one portion, which you will set aside outside the bowl, and the other portion, which will remain in the bowl, is the mixture with the chocolate pearls, which will melt in the oven. Stir and set aside.

Second step

1. Roll out the marzipan dough that didn't have chocolate pearls, as this is the dough you'll use to make the pine nut panellets. Roll it out with your hands, like you would a cannelloni. Once rolled out, take a knife and cut the dough into long pieces of about twenty grams each.
2. Next, shape the pieces into rounds with your hands. Set them aside.
3. In a tray, pour the pine nuts with a little egg yolk. Stir it.
4. Take the marzipan ball, coat it in pine nuts and egg yolk, and shape it into a round with your hands. Do this one by one.
5. Take the remaining egg yolk in your hands again, and rub the panellets with your hands again, because this will ensure that the panellets are nicely browned once cooked.
6. They can now be placed in the oven at 220°C (425°F) for a very quick bake of 3 or 4 minutes maximum, in a preheated oven. Pay close attention during baking because the panellets should only be golden brown, not toasted.

Third step

1. Mix the cocoa powder and icing sugar in a tray, then sift it through a sieve to make the mixture smooth and lump-free. Set aside.
2. Roll out the marzipan dough with the chocolate pearls, and then cut it into portions slightly larger than twenty centimeters.
3. Shape them into rounds with your hands, and pass them through the tray containing the cocoa powder and icing sugar, so that each one overflows.
4. Place them on the oven tray, and they are now ready to be put in the oven at 220º for three or four minutes maximum.
5. Enjoy your meal and have a wonderful chestnut festival!