Pignoli Cookies (Italian Pine Nut Cookies)

Name: Pignoli Cookies (Italian Pine Nut Cookies)
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 36 cookies
Ingredients: 1 lb canned almond paste; 1 1/2 cups sugar; 3 large egg whites; 2 cups pine nuts; 1 cup powdered sugar (just a guess, for dusting)

Submitted by Midwest Maven

"These are a traditional Italian Christmas cookie, that are chewy, almondy and delicious! We always have a bunch of these cookies on hand around the holidays in my family. **Please note, that the dough will be very sticky and a lil bit of a pain to work with, but they end up being so worth the effort. Adding flour to this dough changes the texture of them somewhat, so I never add it, but that's a personal choice :) These cookies end result are just like I had them as a little girl, and are my absolute favorite!"

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photo by Karen Elizabeth

Ready In:: 45mins
Ingredients:: 5
Yields:: 36 cookies

ingredients

1 lb canned almond paste
1 ¹⁄₂ cups sugar
3 large egg whites
2 cups pine nuts
1 cup powdered sugar (just a guess, for dusting)

directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper (or just lightly grease them).
Crumble the almond paste into a mixing bowl and beat with handheld mixer until crumbled fine.
Sprinkle the sugar over the almond paste while continuing to beat, until the sugar is incorporated.
Beat in the egg whites, one at a time and continue beating until the dough is smooth.
Spread the pine nuts out on a plate.
Roll 1 tablespoon of the dough at a time, into a ball between your palms, and then roll it in the pine nuts to coat on all sides.
Transfer to the prepared cookie sheets and press them lightly to flatten slightly and to help the nuts adhere to the cookies.
Bake the cookies until they are lightly browned ans soft and springy, about 15 minutes.
Cool completely on wire racks, and dust liberally with powdered sugar before serving. Enjoy!

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Reviews

If you make these lovely cookies, wait to write your review until day 2. These cookies get chewier and yummier the second day. Think chewy meringue. After adding the egg whites the dough does thin out and I can see why you might think to add flour. But don't do it! Yes, the dough almost becomes a think batter, but if you just dollop the batter onto the pine nuts and gently roll/coat the batter it will give the ball a bit of stability and you can to get it to the cookie sheet. Thanks for posting! MER'd for Susie's World Tour 2019, Sue Chefs

Mrs Goodall
Italian Pignoli Cookies are a staple at local Italian inspired bakeries in my area. They're one of my favorite cookies of all time, so when I saw this recipe as a homemade option, they had to be made. My 17 yr. old daughter wound up making them, so they are really not difficult. They're fantastic and nothing less than what I expected. These will be made again for sure especially during Christmas, and the cost is way more doable for making them at home, especially when you can buy the almond paste at local bakeries (just call around) where it winds up being less expensive than buying it at supermarkets. This is a Winner and so tasty! Thank you Midwest Maven for sharing. Made it for 2019 Susie's World Tour, Team Sue Chefs.

ForeverMama
I was a bit nervous to try these, since I'm not much of a baker, so I recruited my daughter to give me a hand. I don't think we breathed until they were out of the oven!!!! They have been declared delicious though, and we're really glad we tried them! Thanks for giving us the opportunity to stretch our baking wings! Made for Culinary Quest 2019, Italy, the Feed bags

Karen Elizabeth
While visiting my aunt in NY she bought these at an Italian bakery. I tried these at home for Christmas...and they were fantastic! Expensive to make, but wonderful. Moist and chewy center with a crispy crust. :)

BandB Bonnie
I made these cookies for the holidays and they were a huge hit! I cut down the sugar a bit (a cup and a quarter) and I needed to add flour to make it even close to a dough. I had more of a batter otherwise. I didn't realize how much they would expand when baking. I used a heaping teaspoon for each cookie, but next time I might use more of an exact teaspoon. Everyone loved them and these will once again become a staple on our holiday dessert menu.

Citta28

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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

Midwest Maven

I'm originally from New Jersey, but moved to Ohio for 2 years, and now moved back to the fabulous Garden State!.I love jersey better, but Columbus was nice too.So now I'm a Jersey/Midwest Maven but I like the name so I'm keeping it lol :). I love to cook, always have ever since I was little and would help my mom and grandma cook:) Hope to share some of my favorite recipes here and find new favorites too! I love dogs and sadly lost my baby Brownie(cute chubby chihuahua) last March, but his spirit and love will always be near me. <img src="http://www.recipezaar.com/members/home/455641/brownie2.JPG"> We still have our mini pinscher Cookie, who is always extremely hyper:) <a href="http://s224.photobucket.com/albums/dd235/MidwestMaven/?action=view&current=P1010488-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd235/MidwestMaven/P1010488-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> and our very recent addition Smores, a sweet rat terrier <a href="http://s224.photobucket.com/albums/dd235/MidwestMaven/?action=view&current=P1010487-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd235/MidwestMaven/P1010487-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> <img src="http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y53/DUCHESS13/Zaar%20World%20Tour%203/ZWT3-Participation.gif"> <img src="http://www.recipezaar.com/members/home/28636/zwt3banner.jpg"> <img 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