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Why You’ll Love My Recipe

Pine nuts are good for something other than pesto! These soft, chewy pignoli (Italian for pine nut) cookies are packed with almond flavour and crusted with toasted pine nuts. They are a whiz to make with a food processor and they freeze well for later.

For more great cookie recipes, why not try these Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies or these Banana Oatmeal Cookies? Nearing holiday season and looking for some new cookies to try out for your holiday baking spree? Check out these Chewy Citrus Gingerbread Cookies.

A stack of four pine nut cookies sits on a round wooden board, with a few loose pine nuts scattered around. In the background, a plate with more cookies and a glass of milk are visible.

Karlynn’s Recipe Notes

Skill Level: Medium. These cookies are fairly easy to make, but do require a few more steps than many other recipes.
Total Time: Approximately 60 minutes.
Variations: If pine nuts aren’t your thing, try using pistachios for the outer coating instead. Pistachios work well with almond-flavoured things and are just as delicious as pine nuts.
Tools Needed: This recipe is made almost entirely in a food processor. You’ll also need some parchment paper, a shallow dish, and a whisk. An egg separator would also come in handy and you’ll need a frying pan if you decide to toast your pine nuts.

Three round cookies covered with pine nuts are stacked on a white surface, with a glass of milk and another plate of cookies blurred in the background.

What You’ll Need For Ingredients

Egg Whites: If you don’t love separating eggs, you can always head to the store and buy a carton of egg whites.

Almond Paste: You’ll want a high quality almond paste so that you get the richest almond flavour possible.

Pine Nuts: These tiny, delicious nuts tend to be one of the more expensive nuts to buy. Check your local grocery stores to see if they have pine nuts available in bulk or in store brand packaging. If you’ve got any nuts left after you make these cookies, you could save them to make a Basil Pesto

Icing Sugar: Depending where you are in the world, this finely ground sugar may be labelled as confectioner’s sugar.

A marble surface displays a log of dough on parchment paper, bowls of granulated sugar, egg whites, pine nuts, powdered sugar, and a small bowl of salt, with a red-checkered cloth in the corner.

How To Make Italian Pignoli Cookies

This is a brief overview of the recipe. The full list of ingredients and step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card below.

A food processor with six slices of dough inside sits on a marble counter, surrounded by bowls of olive oil, powdered sugar, a small bowl of salt, pine nuts, and a red-striped kitchen towel.

A food processor bowl with butter, sugar, and flour inside sits on a marble countertop, next to a white bowl of pine nuts and a white towel with red stripes.

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper and set them aside.
Blend the almond paste and granulated sugar in food processor until smooth. Add icing sugar, 2 egg whites, and salt. Blend until smooth.
Put dough in a bowl and refrigerate it for 30 minutes.
Whisk remaining 2 egg whites in a bowl. Set aside. Put the pine nuts in a bowl and keep nearby.
Form the dough into 1″ balls, dip them in the egg whites (shake off the excess), then roll them in the pine nuts. Place them 2″ apart on the cookie sheets.
Bake for 15-18 minutes. Let cool on pans for 2-3 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack. Dust with icing sugar if desired.

An oval white plate lined with gold paper holds a pile of round cookies topped with pine nuts and dusted with powdered sugar, displayed on a white marble surface.

Karlynn’s Tips and Tricks for Making Yummy Italian Pignoli Cookies

Quality Ingredients: Get the freshest nuts that you can and find some high quality almond paste. You can always use the leftovers for other recipes, so you won’t regret the investment.
Keep it dusty: Get a light dusting of flour on your hands before you roll out those dough balls! This will keep the dough from sticking to your hands.
Toast the Pine Nuts: While this isn’t absolutely necessary for the recipe, it’s a quick step that adds a phenomenal amount of flavour to the nuts. Just put them in a pan (just dry, no oil needed) at low to medium heat for a minute or so until they get a bit brown. Be sure to jiggle the pan a bit or stir the nuts with a spoon so that they toast evenly. You’ll smell and taste the difference right away!
Production Line: When it’s time to dip and roll your dough balls, line up your bowls and pan. Egg whites, nuts, and then your cookie sheet. This will streamline your process.

A stack of three pine nut cookies sits on a wooden platter, with more cookies and scattered pine nuts in the background. The cookies are dusted with powdered sugar.

Storage Instructions

Room Temperature: Store these cookies in a sealed container, with parchment paper or wax paper between each layer. They’ll stay fresh for several days this way.

Freezer: Spread out the cookies in a single layer on a cookie sheet and freeze them for an hour or two so that they firm up. Then, put them in a freezer-safe bag or container. You should be able to freeze them for a few months.

Looking for more delicious Cookie recipes? Try these out:

• If nuts aren’t your idea of a good time, check out Crispy Butterscotch Cookies or The Best Glazed Orange Cookies.

• These Cowboy Cookies are loaded with pecans, coconut, and chocolate chips, making them a filling snack.

There you go, folks. This might not be the very simplest of cookie recipes but it is well worth the effort. Try it out and let me know how it works for you.

Happy Baking!

Karlynn