Pignoli Cookies

leenie<3's Note:

Pleasantly sweet chewy cookies, made with almond paste and pine nuts. A classic Italian cookie. These cookies were so good, they were gone in less than an hour!

• Total Time: 31 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 16 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 25

Yield: 25.0 cookies

• 1 (7 ounce) box odense almond paste, grated
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar, firmly packed
• 2 large size egg whites, no larger
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 cup pine nuts

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F; line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or foil.
2. Combine grated almond paste, granulated and powdered sugars in a bowl. Beat on low with electric mixer until texture of small crumbs.
3. Add egg whites and vanilla. Beat on high for 3 minutes or until the consistency of a smooth paste.
4. Add flour and salt. Mix until just combined. Cover and refrigerate for one hour.
5. Add pine nuts to a shallow bowl. Drop batter one teaspoon at a time into nuts. With slightly dampened fingertips, quickly lift and flip batter “no-nuts” side down onto cookie sheet.
6. Bake 14-16 minutes or until light golden. Gently slide parchment paper off of pans onto wire racks. When cookies are completely cooled, remove from parchment. Store cookies in airtight containers between wax paper.

Reviews

[RN~in~'11]

This was so easy to put together. They came out beautiful and tasted amazing. The sugary crust and chewy middle is divine!

[luvinit70_9065537]

These turned out beautifully!!! I live at high altitude and followed the directions EXACTLY and they were amazing! I used my cookie dough scoop to drop them into the pignolis and then picked them up on the nut side before flipping them onto the parchment paper. They only made 18 cookies doing them this way but they were good sized. They came off the paper with no issues and tasted just like I remember from childhood. THANK YOU!!

[Chef #1454610]

Absolutely fantastic!! Easy easy to make and a beautiful cookie when baked! The only thing I would have liked to know ahead of time was to leave lots of space between each cookie as they do spread out. Its our Italian Christmas tomorrow night and I have been baking and cooking for the last few days - and I am very proud of how these turned out! Thanks!