Almond Paste

This confection is the basis for many sweetmeats. It can be colored and flavored with rose, orange, and pistachio and used to stuff dates and prunes or embraced with matching halves of walnuts. You can buy it in the baking section of most supermarkets and then tint and color it yourself, but it is a fraction of the cost to make it yourself—and yours will be much fresher.

A modern facsimile of this ancient hand-pounded confection can be made swiftly in a food processor. It’s good to