Unique and flavorful, Italian pignoli cookies combine the richness of almonds with the nutty, buttery goodness of pine nuts! These bite-sized pine nut cookies are easy to make, have a delightful balance of sweet and savory flavors and are a classic in Italian baking.

Coated in pine nuts and irresistible, these Italian pignoli cookies are made with simple ingredients and are a staple in any Italian bakery or kitchen. The combination of buttery pine nuts with almonds is simply heavenly!

There is no chilling involved in these Italian pine nut cookies which makes them super easy to make! If you would like, though, the dough can be made in advance and baked later or store baked pignoli cookies in the freezer to enjoy whenever the mood strikes!

If you love traditional Italian cookie recipes, these taralli cookies and ricotta cookies are not to be missed and these naturally gluten-free Italian ricciarelli cookies and coconut almond cookies both deserve a place in your holiday baking!

What are Pignoli Cookies?

A classic Italian cookie, pignoli cookies are also called pine nut cookies or amaretti cookies. They are a simple cookie with a soft and chewy texture and a crispy exterior coated in pine nuts.

These authentic pine nut cookies are full of sweet, distinct almond flavor and just as perfect to make at Christmas as they are year round. Made in the traditional way, this recipe for pignoli cookies is both naturally gluten-free and dairy-free.

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Traditional: Ground almonds are a classic Italian cookie ingredient that results in a sweet and nutty treat.
Elegant with rich taste: Pine nuts add a rich buttery taste that results in a luxurious cookie.
Unique texture: With a soft and chewy center and crisp pine nut coated exterior, these cookies will become a new favorite.
Quick and easy: Combine the ingredients easily in a food processor and with no chill time these cookies come together quickly in just over 30 minutes.

Ingredients

Pine nuts: A must for the best pignoli cookies! While these are expensive, you could buy them in bulk and store them in the freezer.
Toasted almonds: Making pignoli with toasted almonds instead of almond paste makes this cookie not only more economical but they have also have a less intense nutty taste.
Granulated sugar: White granulated sugar adds a sweet taste to the cookie. Use more sugar if you like extra sweet cookies.
Salt: Just a pinch to enhance all the other flavors in the cookie.
Egg whites: You will only be using the egg whites in this recipe, save the egg yolks for this egg yolk lemon cake!
Extract: Pure vanilla extract or almond extract. Almond extract will add a more nutty taste to the cookies.
Powdered sugar: Optional for dusting your cookies.

How to Make Italian Pignoli Cookies

Toast your almonds. Place almonds in a single layer on an un greased baking sheet. Bake until they are golden brown, remove immediately from the pan to cool in a clean bowl. Do not leave the nuts on the cookie sheet as they will continue to bake.

Roasting the nuts on a baking sheet and in a white bowl.

Make your cookie dough by adding your cooled almonds, sugar and salt to a food processor or blender and blend until a very fine powder is achieved.

The nuts in the food processor and ground.

Move the powdered ingredients to a large bowl then stir in the egg whites and extract. Mix until the dough is combined.

Form into pignoli cookie dough balls or crescents then dip the cookies into the pine nuts on the plate.

Forming the cookies and rolling in pine nuts.

Place them with pine nuts top up on the prepared baking sheet, dust with powdered sugar.

The cookies on the baking pan sprinkled with powdered sugar before baking.

Bake until the pine nuts are golden brown. Cool about 5 minutes on the pan, then move to a wire rack to cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar before serving if desired.

Variations

For best results in this pignoli cookie recipe, I recommend to follow the instructions as written, but you can try a few substitutions or add-ins if you would like!

Almond paste: Instead of making this with toasted almonds, you can use almond paste which can be found in the baking section of most grocery stores. I would suggest purchasing two tubes of almond paste.
Almond flour: Substituting almond flour for the almonds will result in a denser cookie, you may need less or more.
Citrus zest: Add some lemon zest or orange zest for some bright flavor in the cookie.
Cinnamon: A pinch of cinnamon can add a warm taste to the cookies.

Expert Tips

Smooth dough: A food processor or blender is best to make the smooth pignoli cookie dough.
Egg whites: You will only need the egg whites for this recipe. Two large eggs contain roughly ¼ cup egg whites.
Sticky dough: If the dough is too sticky, try wetting your hands to help form the balls or cookie crescents. Alternatively, if the dough is too dry and the pine nuts are not sticking, roll the dough in egg whites.
Adhere to cooling times: Let your cookies rest for the required time before moving them otherwise you risk them falling apart.

How to Store Pignoli Cookies

To store: Store pignoli biscotti cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for one week.

Freezing cookies: Flash freeze pignoli cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet until frozen. Once frozen, store in a freezer safe bag for up to 2 months. Thaw cookies on the counter at room temperature and if desired warm in the oven at 250°F until crisp.

Recipe FAQs

Are pine nuts and pignoli the same?

Pignoli (pronounced pēn-yō′lē) is the Italian word for pine nuts, so yes! This type of nut is from the seeds of a pine tree and in Italy they are called pinoli.

Are pignoli cookies gluten free?

Yes! There is no flour in this recipe which makes this Italian cookie recipe completely gluten-free.

Why are pignoli cookies expensive?

This is due to the recipe ingredients. Classic Italian pignoli cookies often contain almond paste which is both hard to find and can be a bit pricey. Pine nuts are also one of the more expensive nuts to purchase as they are both slow growing and labor intensive to harvest.

Why did my pignoli cookies become hard?

If you have baked your cookies too long, they will be crunchy. As cookies are stored, they will become less soft as well. For soft and chewy cookies only bake your pignoli until the pine nuts turn golden brown.

Can I use almond paste or marzipan instead of ground almonds?

There are many variations to this pignoli cookies recipe and many recipes may call for one or the other. You can use either but you may need more or less of each. I used toasted almonds as they are more readily available and less pricey than almond paste and marzipan.

Marzipan has more sugar so your cookies will be more sweet and you will probably want to use a lesser amount of marzipan (11 oz) and also possibly decrease the added sugar. Almond paste contains more almonds and is less sweet but more nutty. You would need around two tubes (16oz) of almond paste.

Whether you enjoy these Italian Pignoli Cookies as a sweet ending to a meal, shared with friends and family on special occasions, or savored with a cup of coffee or tea, I hope you enjoy them as much as we do. Enjoy!