Traditional November Bones
November Bones, or "Għadam tal-Mejtin" are bone-shaped almond sweets made for All Souls' Day (November 2nd) and throughout November. They symbolize the dead and are part of Maltese traditions honoring the departed.
Ingredients: (approx. 6 portions)
Sweet Dough:
225g Auntie’s Mix Flour
80g Caster Sugar
110g Margarine (room temperature)
1/4tsp Vanilla Essence
2 Egg Yolks
Zest of one Lemon
A Pinch of Salt
Almond Filling:
250g Pure Ground Almond
60g Caster Sugar
1 Egg White
1 Grated Orange Zest
1/4tsp Almond Essence
Juice of 1/2 Orange
Glaze:
40g Royal Icing Sugar Mix
2tsp Water
Food Colouring (optional)
Method:
Start with the sweet dough. Place the flour, sugar, grated lemon zest, and salt in a mixer bowl.
Turn on the mixer at a low speed and start adding the margarine gradually.
Add the egg yolks until a crumbled dough is formed.
Press the crumbled dough together to form a dough ball.
Place the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least half an hour.
For the filling, place the ground almonds in a small bowl.
Add the sugar, orange zest, the juice, almond essence and the egg white and mix together until you create a thick paste.
Transfer it to a piping bag and cut a hole about 3cm wide.
With the help of some waxed paper, open a piece of dough about 3mm thick.
Cut it into a rectangle of the desired dimension and place a row of filling leaving 2cm on each side.
Roll the dough onto the filling using the waxed paper until you create a cylinder.
Cut and excessive dough and pinch the ends to create a ‘bone shape’
Bake on baking paper in a preheated 180°c oven for about 25 minutes.
They are ready when they start turning lightly brown. It is normal that they will crack a little.
Let them cool off completely on a wire rack.
When they are cool, prepare the glaze and brush it over the bones.
Let them set and they are ready. Can be stored in an airtight container.
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