Irish Chocolate Potato Cake {with Vegan Alternative}

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 Hello! What have you been up to? I’ve been baking myself crazy, but it’s been a really fun few days!

This past weekend, I made six pies and some no-churn vanilla ice cream and had a little Pre-Pi Day Pie Party. I made a grapefruit variation of my Blood Orange Chess Pie and a truly amazing cherry cream cheese pie (coming soon!), among others, but the real hit was a no-bake vegan, grain-free, refined-sugar free, raw pie that I made for my allergic and super health-conscious friends. Everyone loved it! Check out that recipe–Rebecca knows what’s up.

On Sunday, I attended an Irish Tea Party hosted by my friend, Claire, who is an amazing cook. There were scones and sausages and tea sandwiches, and some really fantastic tea, of course! I brought a vegan version of this Irish Chocolate Potato Cake, just for fun 😊 I don’t make many vegan cakes, but this was a hit with everyone! I’ve included adjustments for veganizing this recipe in the notes below. 

Now, let’s talk about this cake. Yes, there really are potatoes in there–a whole cup! But don’t go running for the hills quite yet. The potatoes are cooked and then put through a ricer (or sieved), so you won’t find any large chunks of root vegetable mixed in with your chocolate! No, the potatoes keep everything supremely moist, and make this cake one-of-a-kind. If I hadn’t directly told you that there were potatoes in your dessert, I promise you wouldn’t even notice!

Irish Chocolate Potato Cake is made in a bundt pan. If you’ve ever made a bundt cake, you know the fear that comes with releasing it from the pan! Will it come out in one piece? How many chunks will be missing? When you’ve spent thirty minutes mixing up batter and an hour baking the thing, it can be disheartening to see what should come out as a gorgeously-shaped cake come out less than beautiful. But, never fear! I have just the trick to keep all your bundt cakes turning out perfectly every time. 

  For greasing the pan, I use a 1:1 combination of neutral-flavored oil (usually canola) and dry ingredients. With vanilla and other non-chocolate cakes, the dry ingredients are usually just all-purpose flour. But as this cake is full of chocolate, using all flour could leave a white film on the finished cake. It would still taste good, but it might look a little funny. Here, we add a tablespoon of natural unsweetened cocoa powder to the mix, which turns the whole mixture a lovely chocolate color. Use a pastry brush (or a very clean, dry hand) to spread the mixture into every last nook and cranny of the pan. Really coat the thing. It might take a few extra minutes, but it’s better than having a stuck cake! This ratio of oil and dry ingredients will work on most varieties of cake. Since I’ve started using it, I have spent much less money on parchment paper, and absolutely no time worrying about getting my cakes to release! 

The thick, beautiful chocolate batter is poured into the prepared bundt pan and baked at 350F for 45-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted several places comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for fifteen minutes or so before running a small, thin knife around the outer edge of the baked cake. This makes inverting it onto a cooling rack super simple. Place a cooling rack upside-down on top of the bundt pan. Hold on tight and flip everything quickly…and voila! A beautiful cake 😊 

    
Let it cool to room temperature, and spread or drizzle with chocolate ganache. Let that set for a few minutes before slicing and serving.

This Irish Chocolate Potato Cake is perfect for celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, or for any occasion that may demand bundt cake. I highly recommend enjoying a slice with a cup of tea. Actually, I think I’ll do that right now and call it breakfast 😊 

 Irish Chocolate Potato Cake {with Vegan Alternative}
adapted from cookingwithmaryandfriends.com
makes one 12.5 cup capacity bundt cake

For Greasing:
1/4 cup neutral-flavored oil
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoons natural unsweetened cocoa powder

Cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 teaspoons Kosher or sea salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature*
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
4 large eggs, room temperature*
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup cooked, riced russet potatoes, warm room temperature*
1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature*

Ganache*:
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 ounces dark chocolate (60% or so), chopped

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease the bundt pan. In a small bowl, use a fork to whisk together oil, flour, and cocoa powder. Use a pastry brush to grease the inside of the bundt pan, making sure to paint all the nooks. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside.

In a separate large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to cream the butter until it is light and fluffy. Beat in melted chocolate, followed by granulated and light brown sugars. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in vanilla, followed by riced potatoes and buttermilk. Add dry ingredients in three installments, beating until completely combined. Transfer batter to prepared pan, and smooth the top. Tap full pan on the counter five times to release any large air bubbles. Bake cake for 45-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in a few places comes out clean.

Let cake cool in pan for 15 minutes. Use a small, thin knife to loosen the outer edges of the cake. Carefully invert cake onto a cooling rack, and allow cake to cool to room temperature.

Once the cake reaches room temperature, warm heavy cream in a small saucepan over medium high heat until bubbles start to form at the edges of the pan. Do not let it come to a full boil. Pour hot cream over chopped dark chocolate, and let it sit for a few minutes while chocolate softens. Stir together with a fork until completely combined. Drizzle or spread ganache over the top of the cooled cake. It will set in about an hour at room temperature.

Cake may be served immediately. Leftovers may be kept covered at room temperature for up to two days, or refrigerated for up to four.

Notes:

1. Vegan alternative: 1 cup vegan buttery spread, like Earth Balance, softened to cool room temperature.
2. Vegan alternative: use flax “eggs.” Mix 1/4 cup ground flax seed with 3/4 cup warm tap water. Let sit 5 minutes before adding to the recipe.
3. If you, like me, do not have a ricer, use a wooden spoon or silicone spatula to push cooked potatoes through a mesh sieve. This is the one I use.
4. Vegan alternative: add 1 teaspoon white or apple cider vinegar to a liquid measuring cup. Fill to the 1/2 cup mark with your non-dairy milk of choice.
5. Vegan alternative: in a double-boiler or the microwave, melt 4 ounces of chopped certified-vegan dark chocolate with 1 teaspoon coconut oil. Stir until smooth, and drizzle or spread on the cooled cake.  

Blood Orange Chess Pie

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 This upcoming Monday, March 14th, is Pi Day, y’all! It’s the day when we celebrate math (Pi = 3.14) by eating pie! And while I don’t so much care about math, I really like pie.

But I make hideous pies. Oh, do I ever.

Maybe one day I will be a grandma, and then I’ll make pretty pies. But today, I am thirty and make stupendously ugly ones.

You should know that I made a second one at 2am in an attempt to have something more beautiful to post, but instead, I somehow made it even more hideous! 

But the good thing about ugly pie is that it’s still pie. It doesn’t really matter how it looks, as long as it tastes good. And while this pie is not going to win any beauty contests, it is still really fun to make, and totally delicious. 

 This Blood Orange Chess Pie is a new favorite. Now, you know what blood oranges are, but why is it called chess pie? Well, the short answer is that nobody really knows. Chess Pie is from the southern U.S. by way of England, so there are a lot of theories. Some say it’s because it can be kept at room temperature in a pie chest (“chess”) due to the high sugar content. Others say it’s a southern take on the word “just,” i.e. “It’s jes’ pie.” The most widely believed is that since this pie is like a cheesecake without the cream cheese, the word “cheese” somehow became “chess.” All I know is that it has nothing to do with the board game.

But really, who cares where the name came from? It’s pie and it’s delicious. 

This chess pie is made with blood orange juice and zest, so the soft, custardy filling is perfumed with all sorts of orange goodness. I so hoped the interior would be some shade of pink or red, but the pigment of blood oranges dissipates with heat. But it doesn’t matter when it’s so simple and so good. If you really want a red or pink color though, I suppose you could add a few drops of food coloring, but I don’t think it needs it.

Blood Orange Chess Pie is a snap to put together. Make the crust (I like this one), fit it in the pan, and crimp the edges. Put that in the fridge to chill while you make the filling. Use your fingers to rub blood orange zest into some granulated sugar. This releases the oils in the blood orange peel and starts to melt the sugar. Whisk in four eggs and two egg yolks until everything is really thick and frothy. Make sure your eggs are room temperature–this will help them to fully incorporate into the filling. Slowly whisk in some melted butter. Don’t go too quickly or use piping hot butter, or you’ll get scrambled eggs. Next comes some whole milk and fresh-squeezed blood orange juice. Lastly, whisk in a couple of tablespoons of cornmeal and some salt. The cornmeal acts as our thickener, and the salt helps to offset all that sugar. 

Pour the filling (which will be thin) into the pie crust and bake for 45-55 minutes at 350F, until the filling is firm. If the filling wobbles at all when the pan is jostled, keep baking or you’ll have soup. Everything will get puffy in the oven, but it’ll settle down while it cools.

This pie is best served in small slices with coffee or tea to offset the sweetness. I like it room temperature, but love it straight from the fridge. The top gets crackly, and the interior stays soft and smooth. And it’s full of orange flavor, but not overwhelming at all. Oh, and there’s buttery, flaky pie crust. Yum.

Are you going to make pie this Pi Day? 

 Blood Orange Chess Pie
filling heavily adapted from Southern Style Lemon Chess Pie Filling
makes 1 standard 9″ pie

1/2 recipe Cream Cheese Pie Dough or other good crust
3 tablespoons freshly-grated blood orange zest*
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs + 2 large egg yolks, room temperature*
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup fresh-squeezed blood orange juice
2 tablespoons cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt

Roll out the pie dough, and fit it in a standard 9-inch pie plate. Cut it to 1/2-inch of overhang, then fold the excess under and crimp. Place the prepared crust in the refrigerator while you make the filling.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the blood orange zest and granulated sugar. Using your fingertips, rub the zest into the sugar until well-combined. Add eggs one by one, whisking after each addition. After all the eggs have been added, whisk the mixture vigorously for two minutes, until frothy and lighter in color. Slowly whisk in melted butter, followed by whole milk and blood orange juice. Mix in cornmeal and salt. Let filling sit for five minutes so large air bubbles can be released.

Pour filling into prepared crust. Bake 45-55 minutes, or until filling is firm when the pan is jostled.

Let pie cool completely on a rack. Blood Orange Chess Pie may be served at room temperature or cold. Pie will keep covered at room temperature for up to three days, or in the refrigerator for up to five days.

Notes:

1. I buy two pound bags of blood oranges at Trader Joe’s. If you do not have or want to use blood oranges, you may use any oranges you like.
2. Eggs may be brought to room temperature quickly by setting whole eggs in a bowl of warm tap water for 5-10 minutes.
3. This recipe requires whole milk. Do not substitute 1%, 2%, fat free, or skim milk.

Peanut Butter Granola

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 It must just be leftovers week here on E2 Bakes Brooklyn.

Yesterday, I posted a baked french toast recipe that came to be because a friend gave me two loaves of day-old artisan bread. Today, I’m bringing you my new favorite granola recipe, all because an out-of-town friend gave me most of a jar of peanut butter that she had as a snack in her hotel room, and another gave me a one-pound bag of honey-roasted peanuts after a party I catered with him. My friends just like to give me food, apparently. And I am happy to take anything they give me and try to make it into something delicious. Today, I succeeded. 

This Peanut Butter Granola is ridiculously good. It’s almost like having peanut butter cookies for breakfast! Except that it’s high in protein and totally whole grain, so it’s actually good for you! And it gets better: this recipe takes 90 minutes from the time you turn on the oven to when you put the cooled granola in an airtight container. On top of all that, it’s simple as can be 😊

Just whisk together equal parts peanut butter, maple syrup, and olive oil, along with some vanilla. This base will keep everything crispy, sweet, and peanut buttery (of course). Next comes a couple of tablespoons of brown sugar. While I would have loved to keep this recipe refined sugar-free, this small amount helps the finished product get extra crunchy. If you don’t want to use brown sugar, you may substitute coconut or Demerara sugars. Add in just a touch of cinnamon and some salt. Neither will have a prominent flavor here–they just allow the peanut butter to shine. Without them, our granola could be overly sweet and a little bland.

How sad is the idea of bland peanut butter anything?! 😭

Once the liquid ingredients are ready to go, it’s time to fold in the oats and honey-roasted peanuts. They are used here in an almost 50/50 ratio. There are slightly more oats, but rest assured that there are plenty of peanuts in every crunchy bite! If that amount of chopped nuts sounds like too much for your taste, feel free to replace some of them with an equal volume of oats. 

 
   
After everything is mixed together, spread the granola on a parchment or silicone-lined baking sheet. Bake the granola for 40-45 minutes at 300F, stirring every fifteen minutes. By the time it’s done cooking, your house will smell unbelievable! Let the granola cool in the pan on a cooling rack before transferring it to an airtight container for up to three weeks.

I like to eat this granola with Greek yogurt and fruit, but it’s also great with milk, or just by itself as an afternoon snack. How good would a handful be with some chocolate chips?! Oooh, or peanut butter chips! However you choose to enjoy it, you’ll love this Peanut Butter Granola!

  
Looking for more granola? Check out my easy Maple Pecan Granola!

Peanut Butter Granola
makes about 4.5 cups

1/4 cup natural or creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons light or dark brown sugar*, packed
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
2 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats*
2 cups honey roasted peanuts*, roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 300F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together peanut butter, maple syrup, olive oil, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Use a silicone spatula or wooden spoon to fold the oats and chopped peanuts into the mixture.

Once everything is coated in the peanut butter mixture, spread it in an even layer on the prepared pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes, stirring every fifteen minutes. Cool granola in the pan on a rack. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three weeks.

Notes:

1. Coconut or Demerara sugars may be substituted.
2. Use certified gluten-free oats for gluten-free granola.
3. If this is too many peanuts for you, replace 1/2 cup of them with an equal volume of old-fashioned oats.

Overnight Raspberry Cheesecake-Stuffed French Toast Bake

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There are two kinds of people in the world: those who love leftovers, and those who hate them.

I am the former, though I haven’t always been. I was raised by someone who will eat cold anything out of a Tupperware while checking phone messages, and that grosses me out completely. I am wary of leftover spaghetti to this day. But I love leftovers that can be repurposed: roast chicken or vegetables, a spare slice of cooked bacon, some extra marinara. I can use those to make soup or quiche or lasagna! It’s like hitting the kitchen lottery.

Imagine my surprise when I was gifted two artisan loaves of bread last week, one challah, one a rustic country bread. They were given to me at a ritual Friday night dinner by my friend, Phil, who, ironically, doesn’t eat gluten. He had stopped at a nearby bakery and coffee shop to get a little pick-me-up on the way to dinner. They were about to close for the night and were trying to get rid of any loaves they hadn’t sold that day. Being the great friend he is, he grabbed two and gave them to me 😊

By the time I got home from dinner Friday night, I had already decided to make some baked french toast. It’s a simple, sweet brunch dish that’s absolutely perfect for a crowd. Instead of flipping individual pieces, all the bread is placed in a baking dish and soaked with custard for several hours. All that’s left to do is bake it up, slice, and serve with maple syrup. And while that is great by itself, why not turn up the flavor a little by stuffing it all with a cheesecake filling and raspberries?!

If you’ve ever made baked french toast, you know that day-old bread is the way to go. Since it’s all dried out, it soaks up a ton of custard, and after a good half-day or so, bakes up to be absolutely divine.

This recipe requires one whole loaf of day-old challah. Italian or French bread would work, too; use something that has a tight structure and isn’t too crusty. Don’t go for regular sliced bread though–it will get too soft and goopy from soaking. Slice the bread in 3/4″ slices, and lay half of them in a buttered baking dish. Fill in any gaps by cutting other slices into smaller pieces and squishing them into the empty spaces. The bottom of the dish doesn’t have to be completely covered, but you shouldn’t have any large gaps. Cover that layer of bread with a simple custard mixture of eggs, whole milk, vanilla, granulated and brown sugars, cinnamon, and salt.

 Then comes the best part: the cheesecake filling and raspberries! To make the cheesecake mixture, cream an 8-ounce brick of softened cream cheese with an egg yolk. Mix in a little confectioner’s sugar and vanilla, and you’re ready to spread! Spoon the filling over the top of the soaking bread, and use a silicone spatula or offset knife to spread it all the way to the edges of the dish. Top that with a cup of raspberries–fresh or frozen work just fine. Then top the filling with another layer of bread slices and the rest of the custard. Wrap the pan tightly with plastic wrap and foil, pressing down to encourage the bread to soak up the custard.

Then just stick the pan in the refrigerator for 8-24 hours. The longer it sits, the better it gets. The french toast pictured was refrigerated for 20 hours, and was super smooth and rich 😊 Assemble it the night before you want to serve it, and it’ll be ready to go by morning!

 
 When it’s time to bake, take the pan out of the fridge to warm up a bit. While the oven is preheating, make a quick streusel. Mix together some flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt, and then use a pastry blender or two forks to cut in four tablespoons of cold butter. Sprinkle the streusel over the top of the bread, and put it all in the oven for 30-35 minutes, until it starts to puff and is golden brown. Let it sit ten minutes before serving with maple syrup, a dusting of confectioner’s sugar, and more raspberries!

This Overnight Raspberry Cheesecake-Stuffed French Toast Bake is a divine sweet brunch. The streusel gets golden and crunchy, the french toast itself is super rich and soft, and the center is bursting with raspberries and cheesecake! The tang of the cream cheese and the tartness of the berries contrasts beautifully with the creamy, cinnamon-scented layers of french toast. And best of all, it’s easy! Make this baked french toast for your next big weekend brunch!

 Overnight Raspberry Cheesecake-Stuffed French Toast Bake
makes one 9×9″ pan, 9-12 servings

Cheesecake Filling:
8-ounces full-fat brick-style cream cheese
1 large egg yolk, room temperature
1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

French Toast:
butter, for greasing the pan
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
1 loaf day-old challah, French, or Italian bread, sliced in 3/4″-1″ slices
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries

Streusel:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup light or dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of Kosher or sea salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, very cold

For Serving:
maple syrup
confectioner’s sugar
raspberries

Make the cheesecake filling. In a medium mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat cream cheese until fluffy, about one minute. Beat in egg yolk, followed by confectioner’s sugar and vanilla. Set aside.

Grease a 9×9″ inch pan with butter. Set aside.

Make the custard. In a small mixing bowl, whisk the eggs until combined and a bit frothy. Whisk in milk, followed by vanilla. Stir in sugars until well-distributed. Whisk in cinnamon and salt. Set aside.

Place slices of bread in the bottom of the prepared pan. Fill in any gaps by using small pieces. Pour half the custard mixture over the slices, coaxing it with a spoon so there aren’t any large dry spots. Drop spoonfuls of the cheesecake filling over the soaking bread. Spread it to the edges of the pan, covering the bread completely. Scatter raspberries over the cheesecake layer. Top with the rest of the sliced bread, and fill in the gaps accordingly. Pour the remainder of the custard mixture over the top layer of bread, using a spoon to make sure everything is saturated. Press plastic wrap onto the top layer of bread, followed by a layer of aluminum foil. Set an empty pan of the same size (or slightly smaller) on top of the foil. Press down lightly. Place filled, covered pan (with the second pan on top), in the refrigerator for 8-24 hours to chill.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Remove the pan from the refrigerator, and uncover it.

Make the streusel. Stir together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Use a pastry blender, two forks, or clean, cool fingertips to cut the cold butter into the flour mixture, until the largest pieces are the size of small peas. Scatter the streusel over the top of the French toast. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until golden and starting to puff up.

Let cool for ten minutes before slicing and serving with maple syrup, confectioner’s sugar, and additional raspberries, if desired.

Overnight Cheesecake-Stuffed Raspberry French Toast Bake

Marzipan Cookies

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 Every time I hop a plane to Texas, I have to make a trip to Sahadi’s first. My whole family has become obsessed with their coffee, and if I were to show up empty-handed, I know they might be a tiny bit disappointed. So I go to their wall of coffee, get a pound each of five different varieties, and make my way to the register. But if you’ve ever been to Sahadi’s, you know that it’s almost impossible to leave with just one thing. There’s the fresh hummus, the candy counter, and the cheese room to investigate! (Yes, there really is an entire room of cheese. Yes, it’s as glorious as it sounds.)

Near the register, you’ll find every high-end chocolate bar you can possibly imagine, and a hundred different pieces of marzipan, shaped and painted like little pieces of fruit. On a trip to Texas a few years ago, I picked up a couple of pieces for my older sister, Emily (“Mimi”/E1), and now I can’t visit my home state without a few in my carry-on.

You see, Mimi looooooves marzipan. Loves it. When I walk into her kitchen and unload my Sahadi’s haul, she lights right up when I break out a few fruit-shaped confections just for her. While she can certainly buy marzipan in Austin, she says that the stuff I buy at the little store on Atlantic Avenue is the softest she’s ever had. She goes crazy for it! And if five pieces of sweetened almond paste are what it takes to brighten my big sister’s day, then I’ll keep bringing it forever. 

Mimi’s birthday is tomorrow, and I know she’d be happy to receive a box of Sahadi’s marzipan, but I’m a baker. And I’m her sister. When I was thinking about what to send her earlier in the week, I couldn’t imagine just sending her a box of candy.

But what on earth do I get for the sister who used to balance me on top of her feet and half-torture me until I said she was my hero (and she really was)? Who once found a camcorder someone left at our house after a party, and her first idea was not to call the owner*, but to dress up as Stevie Nicks and lip sync to Fleetwood Mac with our little sister, Eliot, and me? Who returns every phone call and listens to me figure out my life when I’m going through a rough time? Who has loved me no matter what for the last thirty years? Well, I didn’t get her anything, but I made her favorite confection into some amazing cookies, and shipped three dozen to Austin.

*Don’t worry, the owner got it back. We never got a review of our performance, however.  

These cookies are a marzipan lover’s dream! A full 3/4 cup of the good stuff is creamed into the dough. Add to that a touch of almond extract and some sliced almonds pressed onto the tops, and you have the best sweet almond cookies ever! 

The texture is a perfect combination of a good, chewy sugar cookie and the velvety magic that is marzipan. The almonds on top get a little toasty, and the centers stay a little underbaked. These cookies are like biting into pure marzipan! They’re not shaped and painted like fruit, but they’re so good, they don’t need that kind of adornment.

Make these for the marzipan fan (marzifan?) in your life. They’re guaranteed to brighten their day.

And to the one in mine: happy birthday, Mimi! I love you. Enjoy your cookies 😊🎉  

 Marzipan Cookies
makes about 3.5 dozen cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
12 tablespoons (3/4 cup) canned marzipan*
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, divided, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract
2 teaspoons water
1/2 cup sliced almonds

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a separate large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to cream softened butter and marzipan until evenly combined. Beat in granulated sugar, followed by one egg and egg yolk (reserve the spare white). Mix in vanilla and almond extracts. Add dry ingredients in three installments, beating to combine. Cover dough and chill in the refrigerator for one hour.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone baking mats. Whisk reserved egg white and water with a fork, just until combined.

Scoop dough by the tablespoon, roll into balls, and place at least 2 inches apart on prepared pans. Lightly brush the tops of the dough balls with egg white wash. Press sliced almonds onto the tops of each dough ball. Bake cookies 8-9 minutes, until no longer raw-looking and starting to turn golden in places. Let cookies cool on pan for five minutes before removing to a rack to cool completely.

Cookies keep covered at room temperature for up to a week.

Note:

I use Love ‘N Bake Marzipan. I find it on the baking aisle, usually near the bottom shelf.