Treats made from almond paste is perhaps the most crowded of all genres of sweets in the Italian islands, largely owing to three factors. First, the ninth-century Arab conquest of Italy’s islands introduced almonds and sugar and the custom of combining them, and that enthusiasm never wore off. Second, almond paste is malleable and shelf-stable, so it can be shaped creatively and admired for a long time. Third, islanders love intensely sugary sweets, and traditional almond paste is cloyingly so (but scaling it back will affect the texture of the final product so don’t even think about it). One of the most adorable incarnations of this ubiquitous dough is frutta martorana, almond paste shaped and painted to resemble fruits. Legend has it that the nuns at a Benedictine convent in Palermo founded by Eloisa and Goffredo Martorana invented this clever way to prepare almond paste to impress bishops and kings. Later, they made a good living selling the marzipan fruits for All Souls’ Day, when they would display their wares by hanging the sweets from tree boughs as if they were real fruits. If you’re lucky enough to visit Palermo, stop by I Segreti del Chiostro, a pastry shop in the Monastero di Santa Caterina. Then pop by Luigi Guidera’s shop nearby at Via Calderai, 57, to buy molds. They are one-sided; if you prefer to make whole fruits, you can shape them by hand (about 3 ounces of paste per whole piece is a good quantity to shoot for).