Perfect Formula Diet

Zel Allen’s Panforte Recipe from Vegan for the Holidays

SANTA’S FAVORITE PANFORTE

Panforte is a very traditional, festive Italian Christmas confection. Baked into slabs, dusted with powdered sugar, and cut into bite-sized chunks or thin wedges, these crunchy, chewy nut-and-fruit-filled nuggets make joyful treats for gifting. For convenience, panforte can be made several months in advance, wrapped in plastic, and refrigerated until you’re ready to box it, wrap it, or ship it across the country. While panforte keeps at room temperature for several weeks, it might attract ants or other critters that may also find it a delicious holiday temptation You will need a candy thermometer for preparing the syrup.

Yield: Makes about 20 servings

Check out this post to find out more about Zel Allen and her journey to being a vegan cookbook star

Panforte

2 cups pecans

1 3/4 cups walnuts

1 1/4 cups almonds

1 cup dried apricots (preferably Turkish), diced

1 cup all-purpose or whole wheat pastry flour

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons organic sugar

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup chopped dates

1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries

2 tablespoons plus 1 12 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Syrup

1 cup agave nectar

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons organic sugar

1 cup powdered sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line four 8-inch metal or aluminum foil pie pans, or 7-inch cake pans with parchment paper.

2. To make the panforte, spread the pecans, walnuts, and almonds on a 17 1/2 x 12 1/2- inch rimmed baking sheet and toast them for 8 minutes. Immediately transfer the nuts to a large platter to cool and decrease the oven temperature to 325 degrees F.

3. Combine the apricots, flour, sugar, raisins, dates, cranberries, and cinnamon in an extra-large bowl. Add the cooled nuts and toss well to coat all the ingredients. Set aside.

4. To make the syrup, combine the agave nectar and organic sugar in a 2-quart saucepan and mix well. Attach the candy thermometer to the side and place the pan over medium-high heat. Boil until the temperature reaches 230 degrees F., about 5 minutes. (this can happen very quickly.) Do not stir.

5. Immediately pour the syrup into the fruit-nut mixture and use a heavy-duty wooden spoon to stir and coat the ingredients well. The mixture quickly becomes extremely stiff, and you’ll need to apply muscle power to combine the syrup and fruit-nut mixture thoroughly.

6. Distribute the mixture equally among the prepared pans, placing one spoonful of the mixture in the pan at a time, packing it down before adding another. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool completely before removing from the pans. Carefully remove the parchment paper from each slab and dust each heavily with powdered sugar on both sides, using your hands to coat it completely.

7. To serve, use a sharp, heavy-duty knife to cut the panforte into 1-inch pieces or slice into thin wedges. Wrapped in a double layer of plastic wrap at room temperature, Santa’s Favorite Panforte will keep for 3 months, or for 1 year in the refrigerator.