Pignoli Cookies (Eating Well)

By zircon50

Ingredients

• 2 7-ounce tubes almond paste (not marzipan), coarsely crumbled
• 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1/3 cup finely chopped pine nuts, plus 3 tablespoons whole pine nuts for decoration
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 large egg whites
• 2 tablespoons water

Details

Servings 36
Preparation time 60mins
Cooking time 90mins
Adapted from eatingwell.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Beat almond paste, sugar, chopped pine nuts and salt in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer on low speed until the almond paste is broken up into small bits; continue to blend until finely ground. Add egg whites and water and beat on medium-high speed, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl once or twice, until smooth, about 5 minutes. (The batter will be very thick.)

Drop level tablespoons of dough onto the prepared baking sheet, about 1 1/2 inches apart. Gently press 5 pine nuts into the top of each cookie in the shape of a star.

Bake, rotating the pan front to back halfway through, until golden, 13 to 15 minutes total. Let cool on the pan for 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough.