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finished golden pignoli cookies dusted with powdered sugar on a baking sheet

Old-Fashioned Italian Pignoli Cookies

Traditional Italian almond paste cookies with soft, chewy centers, golden edges, and a generous pine nut coating. Based on a decades-old Brooklyn bakery recipe.
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Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 16 oz almond paste
  • 1⅛ cups granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon lemon extract
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 large egg whites
  • Pine nuts enough to generously coat the cookies
  • Powdered sugar for dusting

Method
 

  1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. Process almond paste and sugar until well combined.
  3. Add honey, cinnamon, lemon extract, and vanilla extract.
  4. Gradually mix in the egg whites until a thick, sticky dough forms.
  5. Transfer dough to a pastry bag or zip-top bag.
  6. Pipe small, silver-dollar-sized rounds onto prepared baking sheets.
  7. Cover the tops generously with pine nuts.
  8. Dust lightly with powdered sugar.
  9. Bake for 18–20 minutes, checking frequently after 18 minutes.
  10. Remove when the edges are lightly golden.
  11. Cool on the baking sheets for approximately one hour.
  12. If needed, freeze the cooled cookies for 30 minutes to help release them from the parchment.

Notes

Use almond paste, not marzipan. The dough will be sticky. When doubling the recipe, the original instructions recommend five egg whites.