Panellet are super delicious and easy to make. They are one of my favorite things to bake. Simple to make with only four ingredients. This sweet could not be any easier or tastier. I love foods that celebrate the seasons. See my apple pie recipe here https://www.veronicajulep.com/classic-homemade-scratch-apple-pie/
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Panellets are a Catalonian All Saints Day tradition. They are made all over Spain but, originate in the Catalonian region, which is the northern most right tip of Spain. Different regions have variations on ingredients. Sweet potatoes and chestnuts for example. For mine I will stick with the traditional ingredients white potatoes and pine nuts. Panellets are usually served with sweet sweet wine. The word itself means little bread. With the wine it makes the church ritual bread and wine combination but way tastier. Sweeter because of the attention to the dead on this day is important culturally.
These cookies only came into my life a few years ago. My sister had spent a semester abroad in Spain. I was quite jealous. A few months later, after she came back, she told us one of her school friends was coming to visit. We were excited to meet him. We then learned that he had scheduled his trip to the US over the week of Halloween. When we heard this we were doubly excited to meet him because we would also get to show him the holiday American style. We were in for quite the surprise. They showed up about a half an hour before we were to trick or treat. They came in and we all made introductions. The next thing out of his mouth was him asking if it was okay to use the oven and held up a bag. Inside were the ingredients to make panellets. He explained that it was rude to show up visiting someone’s house and not bring a gift in his country especially if you’ve never met them before. He then apologized for not bring the panellets themselves because they had run out of time but, they would just take a minute and they did. We were all fascinated. Not just by the ingredients but, by how fast they are to make and delicious. We thought they were great so, I asked him for the recipe and a tradition was born. This is my slightly tweaked version of it. He gave me the recipe in grams and Celsius after all.
To start turn on the oven. The actual time needed to make the dough is very short so, start the oven preheating first to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
The first ingredient is leftover mashed potatoes. Only one cup. This is something probably in everyone’s fridge. We love mashed potatoes. They are a classic. I have these on hand a lot.
To round out our ingredients we need only white granulated sugar and almond meal. Pine nuts are also needed but, later. The sugar again is something I always have on hand. The almond meal/flour not so much but, it is very easy to come by. Just check a local grocery store in the natural section or a local health food store.
The first to leave this group… *cue aerial shot* is the potatoes.
Measure 1 cup of mashed potatoes. Pressed down and level to be precise. Pour in bowl.
Then add the 2 and 1/2 cups of almond meal/flour.
Next add 2 cups of white granulated sugar.
Stir together with a fork (kind of mashing in the dry ingredients). I have done it this way and it works.
Most honestly though, this recipe, like most good ones work best if you just use your hands. It comes together faster and it is easier to tell if you missed a spot.
When completely mixed together it will look like this.
Now roll up dough balls to put on the cookie sheet. This time I made them big. About half palm sized. Usually panellets are made as smaller cookies than that. They are made to be one bite size.
Next roll up and round up into a panellet.
Just like this.
These are the larger size. This recipe makes 20 big cookies. You will get twice that if you make them smaller.
Pour the some of the pine nuts (about half a cup at a time) in an open but, wide shallow bowl.
The first way I’ll show you is the traditional way. It is to roll the dough in the nuts.
The other (my preference) is to place a bunch on each and smoosh the pine nuts lovingly into each cookie.
The bottom row is the rolled cookies. The rest are the second technique.
For large bake for 18-20 minutes at 400 degrees. For small bake for 8-10 minutes also at 400 degrees. I, however, prefer the rolling method with the smaller cookies. This is what the large panellets look like when they come out.
Once out of the oven give them a minute to cool before you take the off of the cookie sheet. Otherwise they will fall apart. They are supposed to do that so no need to panic.
Recipe
- 2 1/2 C Almond Meal/Flour (either is fine)
- 2 C White Granulated Sugar
- 1 C Leftover Mashed Potatoes
- 2 1/2 C Pine Nuts for Coating (for large cookies rolled or 1 1/2 C for small cookies rolled)
Bake at 400 degrees for large 18-20 minutes or small 8-10 minutes.
Once panellet is cooled a bit serve with your favorite sweet beverage. Sweet wine or hot tea will pair just fine. I highly recommend these slightly warm. Enjoy. As always in life do your best but, make sure it’s your style.
