Panellets are Andorran biscuits, which are similar to the nearby Catalan biscuits because their cuisines have much in common due to Andorra’s location. I had this recipe for a couple of years in my to-bake list and after making this I know I should have made it sooner. The ingredients for biscuits sound strange because one of these is potatoes. Potatoes?! Well, it works so good, they give a lovely soft texture to the biscuits but their flavour is completely overpowered by the almonds and sugar. I made this recipe after reading quite a few recipes in Spanish, but I adapted it to be vegan. It also means that it is easier to make.

There are all sort of variations for these panellets biscuits. They can be made with sweet potato or even pumpkin puree, but traditionally they are made with regular potatoes. On top of that, there are variations on what the biscuits are coated with. The traditional ones are coated in pine nuts and that is my favourite version because I love pine nuts. I made two other versions, with flaked almonds and coconut. Chopped hazelnuts, a whole blanched almond pressed into the biscuit, or any chopped nuts would make for a good coating too.
My Panellets were quite soft, a bit truffle-like in the middle. If you fancy biscuits that are less soft, increase the ground almonds by 10%. I think rose water or orange blossom water would work nicely instead of lemon, if you want something more adventurous. Lemon seems to be the traditional one though.

This kind of biscuits are made for Castañada, an end of summer festival with Celtic roots. Alongside panellets roasted chestnuts and sweet potatoes are also served. In the picture above you can see how the biscuits look inside.

Ingredients for 34 panellets:

– 1 big potato
– 240g icing sugar
– 240g ground almonds
– 3 spoons of lemon juice
for coating
– 75g pine nuts
– 25g shredded coconut
– 25g flaked almonds

Peel, wash, and cut the potato in slices. Put it in boiling water and leave it to cook. When the potato is boiled, drain the water and mash it. Leave it to cool down completely.

panellets de pinyons

When the potato is cold weight it. Add the same amount of icing sugar and almonds. Mine was 240g so this is why I’ve added 240g of sugar and almonds. As I mentioned before, if you want less soft biscuits add a bit more ground almonds. Pour the lemon juice and mix with a spoon. The dough will be ready in a minute or two. Put the bowl with the dough in the fridge for an hour to chill down. It will be easier to make the biscuits if the dough is cold.

panellets de ametlla

Line two baking trays with baking paper. To make the biscuits identical, weigh each biscuit, they should be 20g each. I did that and it’s not a bother at all. I like to have consistency and the baking will be identical too. Make a ball of dough and roll it in pine nuts to coat the biscuits. Do the same with the rest of the dough and coat them with pine nuts, shredded coconut, and flaked almonds.

panellets de coco

Pre-heat the oven at 200C or 180C for fan assisted ovens. Put the trays in the oven and bake the biscuits for 12 to 15 minutes. I baked mine for 15 minutes. Take the trays out and leave the biscuit to cool down in the tray for about 6-8 minutes before transferring them onto a cooling rack. Leave the biscuits to cool completely before serving.

I hope you will try these, because they are delicious and unusual too.