Sugar-Free Mexican Marzipan

Today, we'll show you how to make a sugar-free version of the classic peanut marzipan, one of Mexico's most popular sweet treats. This way, you can enjoy this nutty candy without loading up on extra sugars. And it's ready in just 10 minutes!

Mexican marzipan, also known as mazapán in Spanish, it's a confection that consists of peanuts and white sugar. It's sweet, nutty, and slightly crumbly. It's similar to almond marzipan but contains toasted peanuts instead of almonds.

Dulces De la Rosa is the main marzipan manufacturer in Mexico and sells it as small, rounded, and bite-sized candies. If you tried them, we bet you liked them so much you now want to learn how to make them at home from scratch. And it's super easy!

In our recipe, we swapped refined white sugar with erythritol, a safe and natural sweetener. It tastes almost as sweet as sugar but has zero calories. This means you can use it in the same ratio as sugar without affecting the consistency of the marzipan. And at the same time, your peanut candies will be 100% sugar-free, keto and diabetes-friendly.

You can give the peanut marzipan any size or shape you like. For convenience, we used a cooking cutter to mould and compact the dough. You'll get a bigger marzipan shape than the classic one, but you can then slice or dice it into bite-sized cubes. It's a trick we learnt from a candy recipe made with sesame paste.

This Mexican marzipan is delicious on its own, but you can also use it to flavour any of your sweet creations. We gave it a slightly softer and pliable consistency, so it's perfect for glazing cakes and baking biscuits, fruit bread, and pastries.

Step 1

Add the erythritol to a food processor and blitz it for 1-2 minutes until you have a very fine powder similar to icing sugar.

Give your blender a few breaks in between pulses to avoid overheating it.

Step 2

Set the erythritol aside, wipe the blender, and add in the peanuts.

If you don't have toasted peanuts, check our tips below for advice on how to make them.

Blitz the nuts until they're ground, scraping the sides of the blender in between pulses.

You should get a crumbly paste-like mix rather than a fine flour-like powder. But don't worry too much about the peanuts' consistency here as you'll add water in the next step.

In any case, avoid over-blending the peanuts or you'll get peanut butter instead.

Step 3

Now, tip in the water, followed by the powdered erythritol we made earlier.

Blitz the ingredients until they come together and form a uniform and pliable dough that detaches from the sides of the blender.

Be careful not to blitz the marzipan for too long or it will turn greasy. It shouldn't take more than 1-2 minutes to get the right marzipan dough.

If at this point the marzipan feels too dry, pour in more water and blitz again. But, keep in mind that Mexican marzipan is supposed to be a little bit crumbly.

Step 4

You can give the marzipan any shape and size you like.

We used a cookie cutter to shape the dough. You'll get a bigger size than the classic Mexican mazapan by De La Rosa but can then slice it into small cubes.

To do it, fill a round cookie cutter with peanut marzipan. Press it hard with your fingertips to compact and then level it with the back of a spoon.

Finally, lift the cookie cutter to release the marzipan shape. To enjoy it, simply slice it or dice it into small bite-sized cubes.

Your sugar-free Mexican mazapan is ready. It will have a slightly soft consistency. If you prefer it harder instead, wrap it with baking paper or cling film and let it harden in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.

Tips

• To toast the peanuts, spread them flat on a baking tray and roast them at 170°C (340°F) for 15 minutes. They should be fragrant and lightly golden. Then, let them cool down completely before blending them, or you'll turn them into peanut butter.

• If your marzipan gets a bit oily, wipe off the oil with a paper towel.