Making Chocolate-covered Marzipan Mice

Chocolate-covered Marzipan Mice with strawberry twizzler tails :)

Having bought lots of almond flour for macaron-making, I flirted with the idea of making marzipan animals, which led to a fabulous inspiration to make mice, considering I'm a scientist and all. I found simple and easy instructions (below) although I definitely spent more than 45 minutes to finish this project. I brought them to 2 different parties and people seemed to like them alot; it was pleasantly misleading too because my friends had the misconception that I was incredibly artistic and skillful. 

Taste-wise, I found that the chocolate overpowered the delicate almond taste of the marzipan. To overcome this, I'll encase them in a thin and hard caramel sugar coating in the future to keep the flavors as clean as possible...Or I could increase the intensity of the almond flavor by spiking the marzipan with almond extract. Another observation I found is that marzipan dries out super easily so it might be pertinent to cover the dough with a wet paper towel and have some water lying around to revitalize the malleability of the marzipan. 

Recipe (adapted) by Desserts Magazine:
Makes 2 dozen
Prep Time: 45 min (plus chilling)

• 7-oz marzipan (store bought or home made like me)
• almond slices (about 1/4 cup)
• 1-1/2 cups semisweet chocolate/white chocolate chips
• Twizzler laces, cut into twenty-four 1 1/2-inch tails and 24 dots for eyes (I was lazy and dabbed contrasting chocolate to make the eyes)

1. Cut the marzipan roll in half lengthwise, then cut each half into 12 equal pieces and shape each piece into an oval. Pinch the small end to make the nose and eyes.

2. To make the ears, working with 1 mouse at a time, wet 1 end of 2 almond slices and stick them into the marzipan above the eyes.3. Insert a toothpick into the wide end of each of 12 mice.

Line them up!

4. Line a baking sheet with wax paper. In a small bowl, microwave the chocolate chips at high power, stirring every 20 seconds, until smooth, about 1 minute. 

Working with 1 at a time, dip the mice into the chocolate, tapping the toothpick on the side of the bowl to remove any excess. Transfer to the prepared pan and refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes. I then dotted each mouse with contrasting chocolate where the hollow of the eyes are. Let chill for 15 minutes.

  Close ups :) White mice. My sis says that they have sheep faces. :)

 Close ups. Brown mice

 5. Remove the toothpicks from the chocolate mice, then insert the twizzler tails. Serve at room temperature. I rested my new babies on a bed of leftover almond slices :)