Marzipan, made from almond paste and sugar, forms a sweet, pliable dough. Delicious and incredibly versatile, marzipan can be colored and flavored, baked into cakes and cookies, molded into candies or frostings, or sculpted into any kind of decorative figure you can imagine. If your marzipan has not been stored properly, it may harden, but you can get it back to a soft, workable consistency with a few methods.
Adding Liquids to Soften Marzipan
Knead the marzipan vigorously on a hard work surface.
Add a few drops of water or vanilla or almond extract if it's still not soft enough. Marzipan already contains vanilla and almond, so this should not greatly alter the taste.
Knead the marzipan again, and add more of the liquid, if needed, until it's workable.
Steam Marzipan to Soften It
Place your marzipan in the top of a double boiler
Add water to the bottom of the double boiler and bring the water to boiling.
Let the water boil for 3 to 5 minutes or until it becomes pliable enough to knead. If you don't have a double boiler, wrap your marzipan in aluminum foil and heat it in a steamer or a colander over a pot of boiling water.