Do you know what a pignoli is? Mmmm…..I’m not always a lover of nuts, but this nut is a friend of mine! And I know it will be yours too, when you try out these cookies I’m about to show you! 

But first things first,… What are pignoli’s? Pignoli’s, or pine nuts, are a softer, more smooth nut that comes from- yes you guessed it- pine trees. You can read more about them, here. Only in the past few years have I come to appreciate these little nuts. They are served on top of many salads, but are also often ground up in italian pestos; such as the pesto I made almost a year ago.

But, they can also be served up in some pretty sweet desserts!

This past August, J’s mother and I went to visit her sister and husband up in the Northwest. However, this wasn’t any old visit. No, no, no,…J’s moms, sister and husband aren’t your everyday, regular people,…they are BAKERS! Yes,…wonderful, glorious BAKERS. And, oh my, the sweets we tasted. (I have to admit, it’s ridiculous I have not posted one thing yet about our trip up there. Even though it’s so late now, I promise to post some of their amazing delectable’s!) One of my favorites was the pignoli cookie’s they baked….ooooh! Delicious!

I’ve loved Pignoli Cookies. I was first introduced to them when J and I moved to Little Italy. Solunto’s Bakery makes them fresh daily and Fillipi’s Italian Restaurant sells them behind the counter. While your waiting in the line of 20 people to get into Fillipi’s, the pignoli’s call your name. They ask you to buy them, I promise. So, you have to buy them and when you do,…oooooh! The first bite is wonderful! And so is the second, and third, and fourth bites….delicious! The cookie is moist, chewy, and has the perfect consistency of sweet and just a teeny bit salty. 

So, would you like to learn how to make them? They are so much easier than anything I every imagined. That’s what I’ve realized with many things I’ve baked,…as long as you have the ingredients and a few essential tools, nothing is impossible. 

The essential ingredient is Almond Paste. Although it is rather pricey, you can find it at your local grocery store or buy it bulk and save some cash (I didn’t save any cash, I got lazy and drove down the street to Vons to make the purchase).

The almond paste seems scary at first. Its a log of pure paste wrapped up in silver cellophane.

Although it seems hard in consistency, you can slice off chunks and it will soften and mold into what you like.  

See?! This is the almond paste, sliced and pressed into a 1/4 measuring cup. Slice your almond paste, form it into your 1/4 cup and set it aside for later. 

Now onto the few more simple steps to make your pignoles!

The ingredients you’ll need are:

-2 cups of pignoles (pine nuts)

-1 cup of confectioners sugar

-1/4 cup of almond paste

-1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

-1 large egg

-1/2 cup of all purpose flour

-1/4 teaspoon baking powder

-1/4 teaspoon coarse salt (such as kosher salt)

**You will also need a food processor

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Then, throw in 3/4 cup of your pine nuts, confectioners sugar, almond paste, and vanilla into your food processor. Process until the ingredients reach a very fine consistency (when I first made these I noticed that I didn’t process the ingredients long enough. Not that it matters, but for a very smooth consistency, make sure to process long enough!)

This is just about what it should look like!!  

 

Then, add in 1 egg and pulse ’til it is combined with the other ingredients. After you’ve put in the egg, add the flour, baking powder, and salt and process until the dough just comes together. The second time around, I ended up pulsing everything a bit longer so that the dough was a bit more smoother and more visually appealing. Either way, the cookies still tasted delicious in the end!

 

After it is fully mixed, the dough will be a bit sticky. Don’t worry you can still manage it! With your hands, roll that sticky dough into about 3/4 inch balls!! Grab a bowl and fill it with your remaining 1 1/4 cup of pignoles. With your sticky dough ball, press each top of the ball into the pignoles to coat.

Then place each dough ball onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. 

Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes until they are golden brown. And, this is what they’ll look like at the end!

Those cookies on the left are from Pinch My Salt’s website,…her own snickerdoodle recipe. Oh my!! Those were YUMMMY also,..I’m planning to post a few pictures of them in just a few days! 

For a more thorough recipe of the Pine Nut Cookies, you can view Martha Stewart’s website where the recipe is posted!

Delicious Pignole Cookies!

(taken from Martha Stewart Online)