Creating miniature fruits and vegetables that all feature a vaguely almond taste may sound like weird science.

But making your own marzipan creations simply comes down to time, imagination and a willingness to be a little colorful.

Marzipan refers to the small, imitation fruit, flavored with almond paste and dyed with food coloring, that adorns many tables during the holiday season. The roots of marzipan can be traced to ancient Egypt, and many cultures have their own variation on the candy.

But anyone willing to get a little sugar and food coloring on themselves can take a shot at making marzipan.

Mary Lou Viola, of Kenosha, led a group of about a dozen people through the ins and outs of marzipan making during a recent class at the Kenosha Public Museum.

The basic process starts by combining almond paste, light corn syrup, vanilla, marshmallow cream and powdered sugar and forming a dough that is firm and dry. The dough then should be divided into as many portions as colors you plan to use.

As for those colors, Viola said food coloring paste is the best choice for getting the desired hues for your marzipan.

“Using liquid food coloring could liquify the marzipan,” Viola said.

Marzipan makers can use a toothpick to dab a little bit of food coloring paste into the dough and then start folding together the dough to spread the color.

“Put the color in the center and keep on wrapping the dough up,” Viola told the class. “Keep kneading it until you get the color you want.”

The pieces of colored dough should be kept in plastic wrap until they are ready to be shaped.

Most food shapes start as tiny teaspoon-sized spheres of dough and then get shaped by hand into their desired size and form. Little touches such as ridges, splits and lines can be added with everyday tools such as knives and cheese graters.

Although some ingredients may sound exotic, almond paste can be found near the pie fillings in most stores, and food coloring paste often will be with food coloring.

Viola said people also can make life-sized fruit or vegetable versions of marzipan, then slice the candy down to edible sizes. She also suggests letting marzipan creations sit for 24 hours before attempting to glaze them.

Marzipan does not need to follow strict produce guidelines, Viola said.

“It’s like Play-Doh, you can make anything,” she noted.

Some members of the class took advantage of that creative license. Karen Bohn, of Kenosha, sculpted a marzipan snowman. Louise Pitsch, of Pleasant Prairie, the self-proclaimed “Turtle Lady” who owns many turtles, not surprisingly made a marzipan turtle.

“I figured what better way is there to spend an afternoon?” Pitsch said.

Viola said marzipan may be more versatile than people believe it to be.

“You don’t have to do it just for Christmas,” she said. “You can do it for anytime.”

Viola has been making marzipan for 25 years and said she truly enjoys working with this medium.

“It’s fun,” Viola said. “And whatever you make, you don’t have to be intimidated by it. It should be more fun than work.”