The Martin Cooking

Italian Pignoli Cookies

Classic Italian cookies with soft almond paste middles and a crunchy pine nut coating. They're a must for any holiday cookie tray, even if you're not Italian, and will be the first to disappear.

Ingredients

• 1 cup almond paste (I used homemade )
• 1/4 cup (1 + 3/4 ounces) granulated sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (1 + 5/8 ounces) almond flour
• 1 large egg white
• 1 + 1/2 cups (7 + 1/4 ounces) pine nuts (pignoli) (I use these )
• confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Instructions

1.     Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.
2.     Place the almond paste in a medium bowl and break it apart. Mix in the sugar, salt, both extracts, and almond flour. The mixture will be crumbly.
3.     Add the egg white and beat on low speed until smooth. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
4.     Place the pine nuts in a shallow dish. Working one at a time scoop up tablespoon-sized pieces of the dough and form them into balls.
5.     Drop them into the pine nuts and roll to coat, pressing them on gently with your hands. Place them on the cookie sheets 2 inches apart.
6.     Bake 20 minutes for a softer cookie 22 - 24 for a harder cookie.
7.     Cool on pans 5 minutes then move to wire racks and cool completely. Dust with confectioners' sugar. Store in a tightly covered container in a cool, dry place up to 1 week.