À la Sandy

The first time I ever tasted (and fell in love with) a Pignoli (pine nut) Cookie was from Café Roma in New York.  If you’ve never tasted one, I would describe them as a cross between a crisp meringue and a chewy cookie, with a subtle almond flavor that is scrumptious!

For years, I tried to duplicate this cookie at home, without success.  It wasn’t until two years ago, while I was thumbing through one of my favorite cookbooks,”Gourmet,” that I stumbled upon the most perfect recipe for Pignoli Nut Cookies.

Turns out, I was using the wrong Almond Paste – they are very different.  So, if you attempt to make these with almond paste from a tube, you won’t get the same result, as with a canned Almond Paste, like Solo.

There are a few other high-quality Almond Pastes on the market, like Mandelin and Love n bake – but once I tried Solo and it worked, I was so happy, I bought a case and have had it stockpiled in my pantry ever since!

As for finding a high-quality Almond Paste – you might have to order it online.  I looked everywhere, including Gelson’s and Bristol Farms, to no avail. I found it eventually on Fantes.com, but you can also get them on Amazon and perhaps through the company itself – so I’m including a couple links for you, in case you want to try making these delicious little gems!

If you’re baking cookies for Christmas, these are a unique and elegant choice!

Fantes: http://www.fantes.com/baking-ingredients.htm

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B001EO5Q1E/ref=dp_olp_0?ie=UTF8&condition=all

Mandelin: http://www.mandelininc.com/home/

Love n bake: https://www.lovenbake.com/index.html

Just a quick tip ~ If you’ve been following my blog, you know I’m a huge fan of Silpat baking sheets.  I have made this recipe many times, initially using parchment paper, as this recipe instructs.  If you have Silpat – use it!  It works much better than parchment paper; the cookies slide right off with a spatula using Silpat.

Pignoli Cookies

recipe from  “Gourmet” Cookbook

2 8-ounce cans almond paste (not marzipan), coarsely crumbled
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large egg whites
2 tablespoons mild honey
1 cup (4 1/2 ounces) pine nuts

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT: parchment paper; a stand mixer; a large pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip (optional)

Put racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Pulse almond paste in food processor until broken up into small bits. Add confectioners’ sugar and salt and pulse until finely ground, about 1 minute.

Transfer almond mixer to bowl of mixture, add egg whites and honey and beat at medium-high speed until smooth, about 5 minutes (batter will be very thick).

Spoon half the batter into pastry bag, if using, or a bowl, keeping remaining batter covered with a dampened paper towel.  Pipe (or spoon) 1 1/2-inch rounds about 1 inch apart onto lined baking sheets.  Gently press half of the pine nuts onto the tops of cookies.

Bake cookies, switching positions of sheets halfway through baking, until golden, 12-15 minutes total.  Slide cookies on parchment onto racks to cool completely.  Make more cookies with remaining batter and pine nuts on cooled lined baking sheets.

When cookies are cool, peel off parchment.

The cookies keep layered between sheets of wax or parchment paper, in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.