You can make your own marzipan, or purchase it from most large grocery stores. Marzipan most commonly comes in 7-ounce tubes (the quantity called for here) but you can use more or less depending on what you have available.
Ingredients:
- 7 ounces (1 roll) marzipan
- Red and yellow food coloring
- Dark-colored jimmies (optional)
Preparation:
1. Coat your hands with powdered sugar, or wear plastic gloves.
2. Knead the marzipan until it has softened slightly. Flatten the marzipan into a disc, and add a few drops of red and yellow food coloring to the middle, using a ration of 1 drop red to 2 drops yellow. Fold the marzipan into a ball and begin to knead the color throughout the dough, adding more food coloring if desired, working until the marzipan is one uniform color.
3. Roll the dough into small balls about 1 inch in diameter. Flatten the balls slightly so that they have a pumpkin shape. Place a toothpick vertically against the side of a marzipan ball, and press the side of the toothpick into the candy, creating an indentation extending vertically from top to bottom. Repeat at regular intervals along the ball, to create the familiar pumpkin creases. Repeat with remaining pumpkins.
4. If desired, poke small holes in the top of the pumpkins, and push in a dark-colored candy jimmy to form the “stem.” Edible sprigs of herbs can also be used.
5. Store marzipan pumpkins in an airtight Tupperware container for up to two weeks, or freeze well-wrapped marzipan pumpkins for up to three months.
