-BASIC MARZIPAN-
16 oz Almond paste
2    Egg whites
1/2 ts Extract, almond
4 c  Sugar, powdered

–CANDY MAKING–
Cloves, whole
Egg whites
Food coloring, paste
Kirsch; or vodka
1/2 c Water
1/4 c Syrup, corn, light
Sugar, red

TO AVOID HARMFUL BACTERIA, BE SURE EGGS ARE NOT CRACKED BEFORE USE. There
are 4 steps to making colorful marzipan fruits: making basic marzipan,
shaping fruits, coloring fruits; glazing fruits. MAKE THE BASIC MARZIPAN.
Break up almond paste in large bowl. Add egg whites and almond extract and
mix thoroughly. Add sugar 1 cup at a time, kneading well after each
addition; add enough sugar to make a solid, heavy dough. (The mixture is
quite sticky and hard to handle at first, but as you add sugar, it dries
and becomes workable.) At this point you may store the dough for up to 7
days by wrapping in plastic and storing in plastic bag in fridge. Bring to
room temp and knead again before using. SHAPE MARZIPAN FRUITS: break off 1″
balls of marzipan and shape to look like lemons, oranges, apples, pears,
and strawberries. too much while you are shaping balls, chill briefly in
fridge. Shaping tips: Lemons and oranges: roll on fine grated to create
pebbly texture; insert cloves, star-shaped ends up, for stem ends. Apples:
indent tops, insert cloves pointed ends up to represent stems. Pears:
insert cloves pointed ends up for stems. Strawberries: shape little flat
marzipan stars to make caps; attach caps with cloves and a dab of egg
white. COLOR FRUITS: Use small, soft paintbrush and paste food coloring
diluted with a little kirsch. Mix colors (a gem muffin pan makes a good
palette) and paint each fruit completely. Dont forget to pain the
strawberry caps green. Place painted fruits on wire rack to dry overnight;
turn occasionally so they dry evenly. GLAZE FRUITS: in small saucepan, sitr
together water and corn syrup to make glaze. Bring to boil, remove from
heal, and allow to cool until just warm. Brush warm glaze on red part of
each strawberry; sprinkle with red sugar and place on wire rack to dry
overnight. Brush warm glaze on each fruit and let dry overnight on wire
rack. When glaze is dry on strawberries, paint glaze on strawberry caps
and let dry overnight. Put marzipan fruits in paper candy cups and store in
airtight container. Brightly colored marzipan fruits are so festive and
pretty, somehow they suit the holiday perfectly.