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Pine Nut Cookies (Amaretti con Pignoli)
Amaretti con Pignoli are classic Italian cookies that are commonly found in Sicily and southern Italy. They are made from just a handful of ingredients, with almond paste and pine nuts being key. Pine nuts (or pignoli in Italian) are the edible seeds of pine trees. They are slow-growing and labor intensive to harvest, making them expensive. Since pine nuts and almond paste are costly ingredients, these cookies are usually made for special occasions or the holidays, especially Christmas.
Amaretti con Pignoli are simple to make. The result is a cookie with a deep almond flavor, a moist and crumbly interior, and a crunchy, nutty exterior.
Recipe below.
Amaretti con Pignoli are simple to make. The result is a cookie with a deep almond flavor, a moist and crumbly interior, and a crunchy, nutty exterior.
Recipe below.
More Details
Pine Nut Cookies (Amaretti con Pignoli)
Preparation time 15 minutes
Cook time 20 minutes
Makes 14–16 cookies
Ingredients
For the cookie dough
- 225 grams (8 ounces) almond paste (not marzipan or almond filling)
- 50 grams (¼ cup) sugar
- 30 grams (¼ cup) confectioners’ sugar
- 1 large egg white
- ¼ teaspoon salt
For the outer coating
- 150 grams (5.3 ounces or 1⅛ cups) raw, untoasted pine nuts
Method
- Preheat the oven to 175C (350F). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Measure the ingredients.
- Crumble the almond paste in a mixing bowl. Beat the paste with a mixer until it is a fine crumb. Gradually add both sugars and beat until incorporated. Add the egg white and salt and beat until a smooth, thick dough forms. This should take 1–2 minutes. [Note: You can use a food processor instead of mixer, if you wish. Also, at this point, you can refrigerate the dough for up to 1 day and then bake the cookies.]
- Place the pine nuts in a shallow bowl. Fill another bowl with water to wet your hands to be able to work with the sticky dough.
- Roll a rounded tablespoon (about 23 grams) of dough between your wet palms into a ball. You don’t want the cookies to be larger than this as they would be too dense.
- Drop the dough balls into the pine nuts and toss gently to coat, then roll again lightly in your palms to make sure that the nuts adhere to the dough. The stickiness of the dough will help the nuts stick.
- Place the pine nut-covered dough onto the parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing them a least 2½ cm (1 in) apart. Press any loose pine nuts back onto the cookie.
- Repeat with the remaining dough. Make sure to wet your hands before rolling the soft dough.
- Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven and bake about 17–20 minutes, until the edges are firm and some of the pine nuts are pale golden brown. [Note: less baking time will result in a chewier cookie; more baking time will result in a crumbly, crunchier cookie.] Let the cookies cool completely after taking them out of the oven.
- Dust the completely cooled cookies with confectioners’ sugar before serving (optional but highly recommended!).
- Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 week. These cookies taste even better a few days after baking.
Published: 12 March 2022
