What's the difference between pine nuts and pignoli?

Pine nuts (also called pignoli or piñón nuts) are the seeds of pine trees and can be commonly found in pine cones . According to Michigan State University, the pine nuts we buy usually come from stone pine and pinyon pine trees, because they produce a larger seed that's better for eating and easier to harvest.

What are Pignoli cookies made of?

Originating from Sicily, traditional pignoli cookies are made from almond paste, granulated sugar and egg whites . They're soft and chewy, with a crisp exterior edge (similar to macaroons). Waxy pine nuts provide an exterior crunch, which naturally compliments soft inside texture.

Why are pignoli so expensive?

Besides this, pine trees are also difficult to harvest and involve extremely labour-intensive processes. The cones are first hand-harvested followed by sun-drying and deshelling the cones before the nuts are extracted. Because the cones take a while to process and harvesting is difficult, the nuts are rather expensive.

Why are pignoli nuts so expensive?

There are a few reasons why pine nuts are more expensive than other nuts and edible seeds. First, it takes quite a while to cultivate the seeds and extracting them from the pine cones is no easy feat.

What is the most popular Italian cookie?

Most Popular Italian Cookies Amaretti. These lovely almond-flavoured biscotti were supposedly first made during the Middle Ages. ... Ricciarelli. ... Baci di dama. ... Chocolate-Pistachio Biscotti. ... Savoiardi. ... Canestrelli. ... Biscotti al Cocco. ... Pizzelle. More items... Oct 22, 2020

Why are my pignoli cookies chewy?

The main ingredient in Pignoli cookies is almond paste, which is a mixture of finely ground almonds and sugar. This almond paste provides a dense and chewy texture to the cookies . The almond flavor is further enhanced by the addition of almond extract or sometimes amaretto liqueur.

What is another name for pignoli nuts?

pine nut, edible seed of a pine (genus Pinus). Pine nuts, small, creamy, ivory-coloured seeds—sometimes known as pine kernels and also sold as pignoli, pinyons, or piñons—have been appreciated for their exquisite flavour since prehistoric times.

What is another name for pignoli?

Pine nuts , also called pignoli, are small, ivory-colored seeds from the cones of various pine trees.

Can you eat raw pignoli nuts?

Pine nuts are commonly used in pesto due to their buttery taste. They also can be added to various dishes. They are delicious raw and can be easy to carry with you as a snack . You can roast pine nuts by baking them in the oven or toasting them on the stove.

What kind of nut is pignoli?

Pine nuts , also known as pignoli or pinon nuts, grow on trees of the Pinaceae family. They are a kind of tree nut. A person with a tree nut or peanut allergy may or may not be allergic to pine nuts but should speak with an allergist before eating them.

Italian Pignoli (Pine Nut) Cookies Recipe on Food52 (2024)

Christmas

by: Food Blogga

March19,2010

4 Ratings

Italian Pignoli (Pine Nut) Cookies Recipe on Food52 (1)

Makes about 30 cookies

Jump to Recipe

Author Notes

Biscotti may be the stars of Italian cookies but pignoli cookies are the talented understudies just waiting to be discovered. Pignoli cookies are mildly sweet yet have a full-bodied nutty flavor from almond paste that lingers pleasantly on your palate. The crispy exterior reveals a chewy interior that gently pulls away as you bite it. Once you taste a pignoli cookie, you may just think it's a star. —Food Blogga

What You'll Need

Ingredients

2 ¹/₂ cupspine nuts
1 (7-ounce) tube of almond paste
³/₄ cupsugar
2 egg whites
¹/₂ teaspoonpure vanilla extract
¹/₄ cupall-purpose flour
¹/₄ teaspoonsalt
Powered sugar for garnish, optional

Directions

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Pulse 1/4 cup of the pine nuts in a food processor until coarsely ground. Break the almond paste with your hands; add to the processor; process until just mixed. Add the sugar; process until mixture is crumbly. Add the egg whites and vanilla; process until the dough begins to come together. Add the flour and salt; process until fully blended and smooth.
Pour the remaining pinenuts into a small bowl. Using a teaspoon and slightly moistened hands, take about 1 teaspoon of batter and roll it into a ball. Gently drop the ball in the pine nuts and turn until completely coated. Place the cookies 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake for 20 minutes, until lightly browned.
Cool on racks. Dust with powdered sugar before serving, if desired. Stored in an airtight container, cookies should last for 7-10 days.

Tags:

Cookie
Italian
Pine Nut
Holiday
Christmas
Vegetarian
Dessert

Contest Entries

Your Best Italian Dessert

See what other Food52ers are saying.

FrugalCat
Patty Khuly
hennef7
ZiggyPiecrust
aargersi

Popular on Food52

21 Reviews

Cheryl December 15, 2022

Again, pignoli cookies never ever have wheat flour in them. I ought to know as I grew up in an Italian family. Ground almonds (or almond paste or almond flour), egg whites, sugar and pignoli. That’s all that goes into these traditional Italian cookies. This is definitely not a traditional Italian biscotti recipe for Pignoli. By the way, Biscotto is Italian for cookie (singular) and biscotti is plural for cookies.

doris T. December 15, 2022

Cheryl they are adding flour to make up for the structure that a beaten to stiff peak egg white adds, agreed this is not traditional. I am also Italian. Overall recipe does not work!

doris T. January 23, 2021

Found these to be not what a real pignoli cookie should be. Not beating the egg whites makes for not a proper cookie. My daughter wanted to try this recipe and I had the gut feeling it would not be great but I wanted to let her lead. She is 19. Very disappointed and a waste a very expensive ingredients. By the way. so annoyed this is my first review ever!!! I never do this.

helen November 24, 2019

Love the recipe but it would be helpful to include the weight of the pine nuts. How many ounces is 2.5 cups?

ellent124 November 4, 2019

Made this weekend for my mom's 95th birthday celebration. They are fabulous! Love almond macaroons and the pine nuts got toasty and delicious. Will definitely make again...I only WISH they lasted 7-10 days...not one left for me today :( ;)

FrugalCat May 3, 2018

I made pine nut cookies years ago. I just used the Toll House recipe, subbing the pine nuts for the chocolate chips and walnuts.

Bill P. January 5, 2018

Just made these today! I see the comments go back 8 years! They came out great! I cut the amount of sugar in half. The almond paste I bought was sweet enough. :)

Lynne February 12, 2018

By cutting the sugar in half, they were still ok? I was concerned about the amount of sugar and wanted to use less. The taste and consistency was ok?