ITALIAN PIGNOLI COOKIES –Classic Italian cookies with soft almond paste middles and a crunchy pine nut coating. They’re a must for any holiday cookie tray, even if you’re not Italian, and will be the first to disappear. {Hide some. . .}
They’re revered for their striking almond flavor that comes from a trio of almond including almond paste, almond extract and almond flour. They’re gluten-free and only call for a small amount of almond flour that reinforces the rich almond flavor that is already present due to the almond paste. Mother of all almonds.
You can bake them so they’re on the softer side, the way I like them, where just the outsides are crisp and the insides are super soft and moist or you can cook them a few minutes longer if you like a crisper, chewier cookie. I find the almond is more pronounced when they’re softer.
For a sweet little surprise you can tuck a maraschino cherry half into the middle of them.
These freeze well if you want to get a jump start on your holiday baking.
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ITALIAN PIGNOLI COOKIES
Ingredients
- 1 cup almond paste
- 1/4 cup 1 + 3/4 ounces granulated sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup 1 + 5/8 ounces almond flour
- 1 large egg white
- 1 + 1/2 cups 7 + 1/4 ounces pine nuts (pignoli) (I use these )
- confectioners' sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.Place the almond paste in a medium bowl and break it apart. Mix in the sugar, salt, both extracts, and almond flour. The mixture will be crumbly.Add the egg white and beat on low speed until smooth. Refrigerate 30 minutes.Place the pine nuts in a shallow dish. Working one at a time scoop up tablespoon-sized pieces of the dough and form them into balls.Drop them into the pine nuts and roll to coat, pressing them on gently with your hands. Place them on the cookie sheets 2 inches apart.Bake 20 minutes for a softer cookie 22 - 24 for a harder cookie.Cool on pans 5 minutes then move to wire racks and cool completely. Dust with confectioners' sugar. Store in a tightly covered container in a cool, dry place up to 1 week.