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09/27/1999 Archived Entry: "Italian Pignoli (Pine Nut) Cookies"

This is an embarrassing story. Although pignoli cookies are one of the most popular bakery items in Naples and Campania (actually all of the south of Italy), there is no recipe for pignoli cookies in my book Naples At Table. I could never get them right. Finally, facing a deadline, and, in fact, already having too many recipes for the book, I decided I had to abandon my search for the perfect pignoli cookie recipe. It killed me to have to do so, because pignoli cookies are among the most popular of Italian baked goods here, too.

I admitted my embarrassment about not being able to perfect this recipe on Food Talk one day and in response got a call from my old friend Marie Bianco, who for many years was a food reporter for Newsday, on Long Island, and still writes a cooking column for the paper. She said she had figured it out, and she sent me what she wrote in the paper. Here are her comments and her recipe.

“During the past year or so I’ve received several requests for pignoli or pine nut cookies. Many cooks have problems with the dough spreading out in the pan resulting in more of a bar cookie than a drop cookie. And then there’s the case of the cookies sticking to the pan. Almond paste and pignoli are expensive so here are some suggestions for baking a successful batch of pignoli cookies.

“Always begin with almond paste, not almond marzipan which is a combination of almond paste and sugar. Break up the almond paste into small pieces with your fingers before beating in the egg whites.

“You can lightly grease the baking sheets or line them with parchment paper but my best results came from using teflon bakeware liners which can be purchased in most houseware departments. I bought the 11 by 17 inch size which fit my cookie sheets. They’re reusable and easy to clean.

“Unlike the traditional pignoli recipe, this one contains a small amount of flour which keeps the batter from running.

“The size of the dough ball determines the size of the cookie. If you want to make more cookies, use a smaller amount of dough. Baking them longer will make the cookie darker, more chewy and the pignoli more toasted. The first time I used this recipe, I baked 6 cookies to see how much the dough would spread and how chewy I liked them.

“I bake 1 tray of cookies at a time rather than to have to reverse trays half way through. I find they bake more evenly, both in color and doneness.

“I’ve tried making pignoli many ways and this recipe seems to work every time. I hope your family enjoys them as much as mine.”

To Marie’s comments, I would like to add that these cookies do not store well. My batch was soft and delicious the day they were made. When cooled, I put them in a tin. They were, I thought, somehow even better the second day. But on the third, they started to harden. I would suggest you keep them in the freezer if you want to hold them longer than one day.

Italian Pignoli Cookies
Makes about 30 cookies


8 ounces pignoli (pine nuts)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Dash salt
1 8-ounce can almond paste
2 egg whites, slightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract
Confectioner’s sugar for dusting

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Line 2 cookie sheets with teflon bakeware liners or lightly butter the sheets. Place pignoli in a shallow dish.

Combine granulated sugar, confectioners’ sugar, flour and salt in a medium bowl and lightly toss with a fork.

Break up the almond paste with your fingers and place in a mixing bowl of an electric mixer. Add egg whites and beat on low speed until smooth. (You can also use a hand mixer, but you’ll need a strong arm if you do it by hand.) Add almond extract and flour mixture and beat until flour is blended in, about 30 seconds. Do not over beat.

Using a teaspoon, scoop up a rounded spoon of dough and dip it, upside down, into the pignoli. Slip the dough off the spoon, pignoli side up, using another spoon or your finger tip. Place the dough on prepared cookie sheets 2 inches apart. Stick remaining pignoli onto unbaked cookies. Using your fingers, shape the dough so that all the cookies are round.

Bake cookies for about 25 minutes. Use the shorter baking time if you like soft cookies; the longer baking time if you like them chewy. Cool 1 minute and remove to a rack to cool completely. Dust with confectioners’ sugar.