Pignoli Cookies

I first had these cookies, not in Italy, but at an upscale restaurant/cafe I worked at years ago. Everything at the restaurant was made in-house, including artisan breads, desserts, house-cured meats, and all their ingredients were locally sourced. Pignoli were one of the pastry chef's everyday items, and memorable by their distinctive crust, golden toasted pine nuts, and almost creamy-sweet inside. One cookie is enough to satisfy a craving, and this recipe I found replicated the memory exactly.

Peeling the blanched almonds

Ingredients:

12 oz Almond paste: (you can buy this or make the one listed below)

- 3/4 c almonds, blanched & peeled

- 3/4 c powdered sugar

- 1 egg white

- 3/4 t almond extract

- 1/8 t salt

1/2 c sugar

1 c powdered sugar

4 egg whites

1 1/2 c pine nuts

This recipe works best when made in the food processor.

First make the almond paste. Blanch the almonds by placing them in a bowl of boiling water for 1 minute. Rinse twice then remove the skins. Chop up in the food processor until very fine. Add the remaining ingredients and blend until a smooth paste has formed.

Next, add the 1/2 c sugar and 1 c powdered sugar to the food processor. Begin mixing and add 1 egg white, then another. Do not make the batter too wet! I accidentally added too many egg whites and the batter was too wet, so I had to adjust by adding more almonds, more sugar, and some flour. The batter should be workable, so you can roll it into balls, and tacky but not too sticky.

Preheat the oven to 325 F.

Spread the pine nuts out on a dish, and have the remaining egg whites on the side in a small bowl. Roll the dough into 1'' balls, coat in egg white, then roll in the nuts. Place on parchment paper on a baking sheet, and flatten slightly.

Rolling and coating the cookies

Bake 15-20 minutes, until the nuts are toasted, and the cookies are beginning to brown. I rotated my trays halfway through. Transfer to a wire rack for cooling 1 minute after removing from the oven, and let cool before serving.