Les Quatre Mendiants: A Little French Christmas Tradition

Les Quatre Mendiants: A Little French Christmas Tradition

Dark chocolate, fruits, nuts, and a centuries-old tradition almost too beautiful to eat. Almost.

Some Christmas treats are elaborate affairs involving mixers, rolling pins, flour absolutely everywhere, and the quiet realization that you've somehow used every bowl in the kitchen.

Les Quatre Mendiants are refreshingly different.

These elegant French chocolate discs are traditionally decorated with dried fruits and nuts. They're simple, beautiful, and carry a fascinating bit of history with them—which makes them exactly the sort of Christmas tradition we love sharing at Heart of Christmas.

What Are Les Quatre Mendiants?

The French word mendiant means beggar or mendicant, and the traditional confection is connected to four mendicant religious orders.

The classic quatre mendiants, or “four beggars,” are:

Hazelnuts, almonds, raisins, and dried figs.

Traditionally, each fruit or nut was associated with the color of the robes worn by one of four religious orders: the Carmelites, Dominicans, Franciscans, and Augustinians.

Over the years, chocolatiers and pastry makers have taken the basic idea and made it their own. Today you'll find mendiants topped with all sorts of fruits, nuts, seeds, and other little treasures.

And that's precisely what we're doing with this version.

Les Quatre Mendiants

Prep Time: 30 minutes, Setting Time: Approximately 30 minutes, Total Time: Approximately 1 hour Makes: 12 medium-sized chocolate discs

Ingredients

• 150g dark chocolate, preferably 85%

• Dried cranberries

• Sultanas

• Candied orange peel

• Hazelnuts

• Pistachios

• Pecans

There aren't strict quantities for the toppings. That's part of the charm. Each mendiant can be a little different.

Before You Begin

For the best results, the chocolate should be properly tempered before making the discs.

Tempering gives chocolate that beautiful, glossy finish and satisfying snap when you bite into it.

Make sure your equipment and work surface are also completely dry. Even small amounts of water can cause melted chocolate to seize, and chocolate can be a temperamental little Christmas beast.

Let's Make Them

1. Prepare the Fruits and Nuts

Prepare your chosen dried fruits and nuts before working with the chocolate.

If necessary, remove skins from the nuts and make sure everything is clean and completely dry.

Cut larger pieces of fruit, such as candied orange peel, into smaller decorative pieces.

Having everything ready beforehand is important because you'll need to add your toppings before the chocolate begins to set.

2. Make the Chocolate Discs

Place portions of your tempered dark chocolate onto a sheet of guitar paper or confectionery acetate.

Leave enough space between each portion for the chocolate to spread.

Place another sheet over the chocolate and very gently press it with a flat surface until the chocolate forms even discs of approximately the same thickness.

3. Add the Fruits and Nuts

Before the chocolate crystallizes completely, remove the upper sheet and decorate each disc with your chosen combination of:

Cranberries • Sultanas • Orange Peel • Hazelnuts • Pistachios • Pecans

Gently press the toppings into the chocolate so they'll remain embedded after it sets.

This is where you can have some fun.

Make every disc identical or give each one its own little personality. There are no Christmas police coming to inspect your pistachio placement.

4. Optional: Make Perfect Circles

If you'd like especially neat mendiants, allow the chocolate to begin crystallizing slightly.

While it is still soft enough to cut, use a round cookie cutter to create clean, uniform circles.

This isn't necessary—the slightly imperfect handmade versions have plenty of charm—but it's wonderful when you're preparing them as gifts.

5. Let Them Set

Allow the mendiants to crystallize completely at room temperature.

Keep the room at 68–77°F (20–25°C) while they're initially setting, and avoid placing them in a hot or humid spot.

Once properly tempered and set, the chocolate should appear smooth and shiny and have a crisp snap.

Storing Your Mendiants

Once completely set, place the mendiants in an airtight container.

Chocolate happily absorbs surrounding odors, so keep it somewhere clean, dry, and away from strongly scented foods.

For longer storage, keep them:

• Away from direct sunlight

• Protected from moisture

• Away from heat

• In a dry, odor-free environment

• Ideally around 53.6–64.4°F (12–18°C)

Avoid large temperature changes, which can affect the chocolate's appearance and texture.

Make Them Your Own

The traditional four ingredients carry the confection's history, but modern mendiants invite creativity.

Try different combinations of dried cherries, cranberries, candied citrus, almonds, pistachios, pecans, hazelnuts, or other favorite fruits and nuts.

Around Christmas, the red cranberries, bright green pistachios, and jewel-like candied oranges look especially beautiful against dark chocolate.

Tie several in a little bag with ribbon, and they also make wonderfully simple homemade Christmas gifts.

A Christmas Tradition Worth Sharing

One of our favorite things about Christmas is discovering the traditions that families have carried through generations.

Recipes are funny that way.

Something as small as a chocolate disc can carry centuries of history—and then find itself sitting on a completely different family's Christmas table hundreds of years later.

That's a little bit of Christmas magic all by itself.

So make a batch, share them with someone you love, and perhaps start a tradition of your own.

And remember: if one mysteriously disappears before reaching the Christmas table, we're blaming Santa.

— Mrs. Lisa Claus