The scariest time of the year is here, and the best thing you can do is make it flood your entire house. Not only in spooky decorations, but also in the dishes you prepare.
Gone are the days when just candy was enough to make a good Halloween snack, we recommend that you take it to another level. You can do this with the help of the Huesos de Santo.
This is one of the most popular all saints day recipes and in this article, we will tell you everything you need to know about it, from how to make it, to how to customize it, how to serve it, and much more. Enjoy this Spanish dessert recipe.
![Huesos de Santo Recipe [ Easy Spanish Saint's Bones ]](https://visitsouthernspain.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Traditional-Foods-and-Sweets.jpg)
![Huesos de Santo Recipe [ Easy Spanish Saint's Bones ]](https://visitsouthernspain.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Traditional-Foods-and-Sweets.jpg.webp)
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Background of the Dish
Huesos de Santo or Saint’s bones is a recipe that consists of dried Spanish marzipan in the shape of a tube and filled with egg yolk cream, known as pastry cream.
It is one of the most popular marzipan desserts, and there are already records from 1600 in Spain. It is a perfect Halloween dessert idea since it was created to be eaten at that time of year.
Unlike other desserts with marzipan that are more Christmassy, this one is for Halloween because it coincides with the almond harvest at its best.
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Things You’ll Need for Huesos de Santo
This Huesos de Santo requires a handful of ingredients, but the main ones are sugar, ground almond, egg yolks, and water, so anyone can make them.
Feel free to try other Spanish sweet recipes such as the Spanish almond cake or Pestinos.
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cup (200g) of ground almonds
- 1 1/2 cups (300g) sugar
- 1/2 cup (150ml) water
- 4 egg yolks
- 2/3 cup (150g) powdered sugar (for the icing)
How to Make Huesos de Santo – Step by Step Guide
- This is a marzipan dessert, so to start you have to prepare the marzipan. Put a pot with 200g of sugar and 100ml of water, and heat it over medium or high heat until it boils. Let it cook for a minute, and remove it from the heat.
- Put the ground almonds in a bowl and add a third of the freshly prepared syrup. Stir and continue adding the rest of the syrup until you get a paste that you can handle without sticking to the edges.
- Make a ball with that dough and take it to the refrigerator for an hour to cool, or half an hour in the freezer.
- After that, stretch the dough with a toothpick. With a skewer mark the typical lines of the Saint’s bones and cut some rectangles about 2 inches/5cm wide by 2.3 inches/ 6cm high.
- To roll the marzipan into a cylinder shape, use the handle of a wooden spoon. Roll up well and seal the edges. Let it dry for a couple of hours so it doesn’t lose its shape.
- In the meantime, prepare the sweet with the egg yolk. For this, pour the yolks into a glass bowl resistant to high temperatures and set them aside.
- Put the water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to the fire, control its temperature and when it reaches 105 degrees, pour over the yolks.
- Beat with a rod whisk to integrate and take the bowl to the bain-marie. Stir constantly.
- The cream has to be thick so it will take 25 or 30 minutes. Once thick, take it out and let it cool.
- When the marzipan cylinders are dry, put the cold yolk cream in a pastry bag and fill.
- Once they are all filled, grab the powdered sugar and a few tablespoons of water to make the glaze and cover them on top.
Substitution of Ingredients
Like other marzipan recipes, it is a bit difficult to make changes to the Huesos de Santo recipe since the ingredients are few but essential.
Unfortunately, marzipan can only be made with the listed ingredients, so you can’t make changes to that.
What you can do is buy the marzipan tubes already ready to be filled, which are quite easy to get in Spain, especially during October.
If you were looking for Halloween party desserts, you can use other fillings to give it more variety.
For example, you can make some homemade sweets like buttercream with red food coloring to look like blood, or dulce de leche.
You can even have the icing with red food coloring and the Bones Santos will transform into the best scary Halloween food you’ve ever tasted.
Tips on Serving Huesos de Santo
The Huesos de Santo is one of the most fun desserts to make, and also to eat of course. It’s considered one of the best Spanish desserts for a good reason.
You can serve them at room temperature, or leave them in the fridge to serve them very cold.
You can eat them for breakfast, as a snack, or as a dessert.
If you were looking for other easy Halloween treats, you can follow other famous recipes and make a super Andalusian Halloween with dishes like Spanish apple empanadas, Bunuelos de Viento, and Dulce de Membrillo recipe.
How to Store Huesos de Santo
If you follow this marzipan recipe there is only one way you can store the Huesos de Santo: in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Some people prefer to store them at room temperature, and this works if it’s just for a day or a couple of hours.
Remember that the filling of these Halloween desserts is made with egg yolks so if you leave it for more than a day at room temperature then it will go bad.
Recipe Card: Huesos de Santo
Huesos de Santo Recipe
The scariest time of the year is here, and the best thing you can do is make it flood your entire house. Not only in spooky decorations, but also in the dishes you prepare.
Gone are the days when just candy was enough to make a good Halloween snack, we recommend that you take it to another level.
You can do this with the help of the Huesos de Santo.
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups (200g) ground almonds
- 1 1/2 cups (300g) sugar
- 1/2 cup (150ml) water
- 4 egg yolks
- 2/3 cups (150g) powdered sugar (for the icing)
Instructions
- First, you have to prepare the marzipan. Put a pot with 200g of sugar and 100ml of water, and heat it over medium or high heat until it boils. Let it cook for a minute, and remove it from the heat.
- In a bowl put the ground almonds and start adding a third of the freshly prepared syrup. Stir and continue adding the rest of the syrup until you get a paste that you can handle without sticking to the edges.
- Make a ball with that dough and take it to the refrigerator for an hour to cool, or half an hour in the freezer.
- After that time, stretch the dough with a toothpick. With a skewer mark the typical lines of the Saint's bones and cut some rectangles about 2 inches/5cm wide by 2.3 inches/ 6cm high.
- To roll the marzipan into a cylinder shape, use the handle of a wooden spoon. Roll up well and seal the edges. Let it dry for a couple of hours so it doesn't lose its shape.
- In the meantime, prepare the sweet with the egg yolk. For this, pour the yolks into a glass bowl resistant to high temperatures and set them aside.
- Put the water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to the fire, control its temperature and when it reaches 105 degrees, pour over the yolks.
- Beat with a rod whisk to integrate and take the bowl to the bain-marie. Stir constantly.
- The cream has to be quite thick so it will take 25 or 30 minutes. Once thick, take it out and let it cool.
- When the marzipan cylinders are dry, put the cold yolk cream in a pastry bag and fill.
- Once they are all filled, grab the powdered sugar and a few tablespoons of water to make the glaze and cover them on top.
Notes
These Spanish sweet snacks make up for one of the best Halloween desserts, so October is a perfect month to make them, but you can eat them all year round.
Nutrition Information
Yield
8Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 288Total Fat 12.7gSaturated Fat 1.6gCholesterol 105mgSodium 5mgCarbohydrates 42.3gSugar 38.4gProtein 5.7g
Hola, I’m Paulina! Together with my team, we are passionate about Southern Spain. Here we share all you need to know for great times in Southern Spain with the best places to visit, stay and, of course, the best food to eat.
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