For the Paste
300 g ground almonds
180 g confectionery sugar
300 g candied orange peels
40 g candied melon (Fairwqy Market) 30 g candied lemon peels
3 tbs orange flower water
2 tbs apricot jam
orange liquor to adjust the consistency
For the Icing
150 g confectionery sugar
1 egg white
1 tbs lemon juice
Whisk the above ingredients to get a glossy cream.
2 sheets of wafer paper (Amazon.com) They are also called rice paper, although it is made from potato. They are edible and melt if they get wet!
almond-shaped cookie cutter (Amazon. com) to shape the calissons as the originals
Mix the ground almonds well with the sugar and spread on a baking tray. Dry them in the oven for thirty minutes at 250° F and then let them cool. Chop the candied fruits and process until you get a nice sticky ball. Add the apricot jam and the orange flower water and continue the blend until you get a loose paste. Add the almond/sugar mix and blend to combine all the ingredients. You may use your hands to create a firm and slightly sticky dough, shape it as a brick and let it air-dry for an hour.
Cover a working area with waxed paper and lay the wafer sheets on top. Gently roll out the dough to 1/16″ thickness. Cut out the calissons with the almond shaped cookie cutter. If you don’t have one, use a sharp greased knife to score the dough to one-inch strips and then diagonally to create a diamond pattern. Refrigerate for an hour.
Heat the oven to 250° F. Using the score as a guide, cut through the dough to create diamond shapes without separating them. With a spatula spread over the icing evenly. Separate and arrange the calissons on a baking sheet. Dry them in the oven for three minutes or until the icing sets. Cool completely. You can leave them to air-dry for an hour instead. Store in a single layer in an airtight container for up to a month.