Easy Herbal Cookie Recipes: Pignoli Cookies

Deck your kitchen table this holiday season with these tasty herbal cookie recipes that your family and friends will love.

December/January 2007
By Julia M. Usher  
Italian Pignoli Cookies
Image Gallery
Rich in flavor and tradition, these classic Italian Pignoli Cookies need no ornamentation.
Article Tools
Print
Comments
RSS
Bookmark and Share

Makes 40 to 45 cookies, 3 inches each

RELATED CONTENT

A rustic foil to our more lavishly decorated sugar cookies, these chewy mounds, rich with pine nuts and almond paste, require no extra ornamentation to look and taste great.

• 1 pound almond paste (available in Italian groceries or specialty food stores), at room temperature
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 large egg whites, cold
• 1 pound pine nuts

Using an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together almond paste and sugar on low speed, stopping mixer occasionally to break up any lumps. Continue to cream mixture until almond paste is reduced to fine crumbs. In another bowl, beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Add half the beaten egg whites to almond paste mixture and cream until very smooth. Fold in remaining egg whites, making certain that all ingredients are uniformly blended. Cover dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 3 hours or, ideally, overnight.

Place a rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two 15-by-10-inch cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Roll chilled dough into 1-inch-diameter balls. To minimize sticking, dust hands with confectioners’ sugar, as needed. Pour pine nuts into a shallow bowl and roll dough balls in nuts to evenly coat the outsides. Place dough balls 1 to 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets and bake until cookies are lightly browned, about 12 to 15 minutes. Let cookies cool on cookie sheets 5 to 10 minutes then transfer to racks to cool completely before storing.

Make-ahead tips: For easiest handling, make this dough the day before you plan to shape it. Cookies can be baked ahead and frozen, or stored at room temperature in airtight containers for up to 1 week.

Julia M. Usher is a food writer, recipe developer and food stylist in St. Louis. Contact her by visiting www.HerbCompanion.com/contributors.aspx.

Click here for more recipes from Easy Herbal Cookie Recipes. 

Bookmark and Share
RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print

Comments

Add Your Comment

You can use this comment form to enter your personal experiences or additional information and resources that you'd like to share with Herb Companion readers. Your helpful advice will be posted on this page.  E-mail addresses are never displayed on comments, but they are required to confirm your comments.

Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br> tags.

New to Herb Companion?
Sign up to share comments.
Asterisks(*) indicate required fields.
Name*
Your name appears next to your comment.

E-mail Address*
This will be your login ID.

City State Zip Code

Password*


Confirm Password*

Comments
1500 character limit (Offensive materials and/or spam will be removed, no HTML allowed)
Please Note: Your sign-up must be verified via e-mail before your comment is published.
FEATURED ARTICLES
MOST POPULAR


Pay Now & Save 50% off the Cover Price
First Name: *
 Last Name: *
Address: *
 City: *
State/Province: *
 Zip/Postal Code:*
Country:
 Email:*
(* indicates a required item)
Canadian subs: 1 year, (includes postage & GST). Foreign subs: 1 year, . U.S. funds.
Canadian Subscribers - Click Here
Non US and Canadian Subscribers - Click Here

Subscribe to The Herb Companion

Your guide to the many uses and even more pleasures of nature's most helpful plants!

The Herb Companion is the smart and easy complement to your own healthy, vibrant lifestyle! In every issue you'll find information on using herbs to:

  • Transform simple dishes into spectacular meals
  • Make gardens as useful as they are beautiful
  • Replace harsh chemicals with natural alternatives
  • Help find fulfillment, balance and good health
  • And much more!

Yes, send me a one-year subscription (6 issues) to The Herb Companion. I'll pay just $19.95.

Save Even More Money By Paying NOW!

Pay now with a credit card and take advantage of our Earth-friendly automatic renewal savings plan. You save an additional $5.00 and get 6 issues of The Herb Companion for only $14.95 (USA only).