Bethmännchen
Bethmännchen are a pastry specialty from Frankfurt am Main . From a marzipan dough made from ground almonds , powdered sugar and rose water , small balls are formed, each of which is decorated with three halved almonds, glazed with egg yolk and baked.
The Bethmännchen are named after the Frankfurt Bethmann family and are mainly baked (and consumed) at Christmas time. The recipe is a modification of the Frankfurter Brenten , known since the Middle Ages , which should not be confused with the Aachener Printen (a gingerbread specialty).
According to legend, the Bethmännchen are said to have been invented in 1838 by the Parisian confectioner Jean Jacques Gautenier , who was head chef in the house of the banker and councilor Simon Moritz von Bethmann at the beginning of the 19th century . Originally, the Bethmännchen had four almond halves, one for each of Bethmann's four sons (Moritz, Karl, Alexander and Heinrich). After Heinrich's death in 1845, half an almond was omitted from then on. However, this legend is controversial, especially since Simon Moritz Bethmann died in 1826. The Bethmännchen are therefore probably older.
Even Goethe and Eduard Mörike are sometimes mentioned as a lover of Bethmännchen, but these are certainly some mistake with the Brenten , on the Mörike even wrote a poem.
