Sweet Marzipan Potatoes are a Classic German Holiday Treat!
Have a craving for tiny, sweet potatoes that are actually a dessert? German marzipan potatoes – or Marzipankartoffeln in German – are for you.
Made from fresh marzipan shaped into tiny potato shapes, the potatoes are creatively dusted in cocoa powder to create the perfect potato “skin” coating!
In Germany, many people like marzipan potatoes as a holiday treat. It’s no secret that Germany – specifically Lubeck – is a historical and cultural hotspot for marzipan.
These classic potatoes are just a popular style of marzipan-based confectionary enjoyed during the holiday season.
These potatoes end up on treat plates at family gatherings or get passed around in sweet treat goodie bags between friends and family.
Marzipan potatoes are really fun to make and honestly look like the cutest little holiday treat.
There are other kinds of marzipan ball recipes (like Mozartkugeln) but marzipan potatoes are definitely our favorite.
Looking for more holiday recipes? Try our German butter cookies, cinnamon stars, spritz cookies, and candied almonds!
To make marzipan potatoes, you’ll need marzipan. You can buy marzipan from the store but we have a really easy marzipan recipe that you can follow.
It’s only three ingredients and you’ve got homemade marzipan that doesn’t take long to make and tastes way better (in our opinion).
How to Make German Marzipan Potatoes – Step by Step
If you’d like to make marzipan potatoes, you can follow the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
For those who are visual learners, you can check out the process photos below to see if you are on the right track as you make marzipan potatoes.
First, get your ingredients ready for making marzipan potatoes. You’ll only need marzipan, powdered sugar, some water, and cocoa powder for the potato skin.
Place the marzipan into a bowl, then sift in the powdered sugar. Knead everything together and add a few drops of water at a time. Add enough water until the mixture is not overly crumbly anymore and you can form small potatoes.
Take a small amount of marzipan in the palm of one hand. Use your other fingers to compact the marzipan into itself as you round and shape the potato in your cupped palm.
You can use your fingers to make the potato irregular in shape like you’d see in actual potatoes.
Once you have formed the marzipan potato to the shape and size you like, it’s time to give them their potato skin.
As for technique, everyone does their marzipan potato “skin” differently. You can roll them in cocoa powder for a heavy coating (quick and easy) or you can take time to lightly coat the outside of the marzipan potato.
We like to use a pinch of cocoa powder in the palm of our hand and lightly tumble the potato around the cocoa powder to achieve a uniform, more realistic potato skin coating.
This way, the outside picks up dark cocoa spots from the palm which look like actual spots on potato skins. It’s a bit of an art with each potato ending up looking different!
As we mentioned, you can also just roll the formed potato in the bowl of cocoa powder for a darker look. This version is also much faster – but the skin of the potato will not be as detailed.
Be sure to wash and dry your hands every few potatoes. This is because the build-up of cocoa powder and almond oil on your palm and fingertips will make the potatoes look not as nice with too many large, dark spots.
You can store your marzipan potatoes in an airtight container with a lid for around 2 weeks if you made them with fresh marzipan. They also make great small gifts for family members and friends who like the taste of marzipan!
German Marzipan Potatoes (Marzipankartoffeln)
Ingredients
- 6 ounces Marzipan, see notes
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- water
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
Instructions
- Place your marzipan (homemade with our super easy recipe or store-bought) into a bowl. Sift in the powdered sugar and mix everything together with your hands. Add a few drops of water at a time until the overall marzipan consistency is no longer crumbly.
- Take a little bit of the marzipan mixture to form a small round ball or potato shape. Use your fingers to compress the marzipan into itself as you shape the "potato" in your cupped palm. Our potatoes ended up being about 1 and 1/2 inches on the long side.
- Now it’s time to coat the potato in cocoa powder. To do that either roll the potato in a bowl of cocoa powder (for a heavier, darker cocoa coating) or place a pinch of cocoa powder into your palm and lightly tumble the potato in the powder (for a lighter, more realistic coating).
- Place the completed marzipan potatoes on a small plate or parchment paper and repeat until you have used up all of the marzipan mixture.
- Store your marzipan potatoes in a container with a lid.
Notes
- You can use our simple Marzipan recipe to make your own marzipan at home
- You may have to wash and dry your hands in between making every few potatoes. If an excess of cocoa powder stays on your fingers and palm, the potatoes will get coated but will also pick up a few too many “dark spots” of clumped cocoa powder. Some spots are good for potato skin detail, too many don’t look as good.
Nutrition
This nutritional information has been estimated by an online nutrition calculator. It should only be seen as a rough calculation and not a replacement for professional dietary advice.
