Italian Pignoli Cookies
Last Updated on February 27, 2026 by Kiersten James
Classic Italian pignoli cookies made with almond paste, sugar, and egg whites, topped with pine nuts and baked until chewy and fragrant.
These pignoli cookies (pronounced “peen-yoli“) come from my mother-in-law’s grandmother on Arthur Avenue in Little Italy, the Bronx.
If you know Arthur Ave, you know the bakeries. And if you know the bakeries, you know these cookies.
No flour. No butter. Just almond paste, sugar, egg whites, and pine nuts pressed right into the top.
They’re chewy, fragrant, slightly crisp around the edges, and heavy with real almond flavor.
Why You’ll Love These Italian Pignoli Cookies
- Deep almond flavor from real almond paste
- Extremely chewy center
- Lightly crisp edges
- Pine nuts toasted only on top (not wasted underneath)
- Naturally flourless and dairy-free
- Straight from Arthur Avenue’s Little Italy, in the Belmont neighborhood
Ingredient Overview:
Almond paste: The foundation. It gives the dense, chewy texture and unmistakable almond flavor.
Sugar: Sweetens and helps create a slight crackle on top.
Egg whites: Bind the dough and create the chewy interior.
Pine nuts: Gently pressed into the top only. They toast and give contrast without burning the bottoms.
Texture & Flavor:
These are extremely chewy. Not cakey or crisp.
They explode with almond flavor and leave a beautiful bakery aroma in the kitchen long after they’ve cooled.
If you place them among checkerboard icebox cookies, cream cheese thumbprints, and raspberry-filled Italian butter cookies, they anchor the platter.
Every Italian cookie tray needs them.
For Holidays & Large Batches
For Christmas trays or parties, I triple the recipe and use my Ninja blender.
I then divide the dough in half – one half becomes pignoli cookies, the other half becomes piped almond macaroons with maraschino cherries. They both use the same recipe.
Same dough. Two classic Italian bakery cookies. I’m all about being efficient.
How to Make Italian Pignoli Cookies
Equipment:
Ingredients:
- 1 pound almond paste
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large egg whites
- 1/2 cup pignoli nuts
Make The Dough:
Preheat oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Add the almond paste and sugar to a food processor. Blend until the mixture looks like damp sand and no large chunks remain.
Add the egg whites. Blend again until a thick, smooth paste forms.
The dough will be very wet and sticky – more like a thick batter than traditional cookie dough.
Scrape the dough into a bowl. Trying to scoop directly from the food processor bowl is super awkward and frustrating, especially when doubling or tripling the batch.
Portioning:
Using a 1-tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop and drop dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets about an inch apart.
Do not roll into balls. Do not coat in nuts. Just scoop and drop.
Add Pine Nuts:
Gently press pine nuts firmly into the tops of each cookie. Cover the surface generously, but do not push them into the bottoms – 7 or 8 nuts are usually enough.
Bake:
Bake at 350°F on the middle rack until the edges are lightly golden. The centers should remain soft, the tops should be pale, and the pignoli should be lightly toasted.
Let cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes. Carefully transfer to a cooling rack using a metal spatula. These are delicate and sticky while warm.
Storage:
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. They also freeze beautifully once baked.
Italian Pignoli Cookies (Chewy Almond Paste Cookies)
Classic Italian pignoli cookies made with almond paste, sugar, and egg whites, topped with pine nuts and baked until chewy and fragrant.
Ingredients
- 1 pound almond paste
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large egg whites
- 1/2 cup pignoli nuts
Instructions
Make The Dough:
Preheat oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Add the almond paste and sugar to a food processor. Blend until the mixture looks like damp sand and no large chunks remain.
Add the egg whites. Blend again until a thick, smooth paste forms.
The dough will be very wet and sticky - more like a thick batter than traditional cookie dough.
Scrape the dough into a bowl. Trying to scoop directly from the food processor bowl is awkward and frustrating, especially when doubling or tripling the batch.
Portioning:
Using a 1-tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop and drop dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets about an inch apart.
Do not roll into balls. Do not coat in nuts. Just scoop and drop.
Add Pine Nuts:
Gently press pine nuts firmly into the tops of each cookie.
Cover the surface generously, but do not push them into the bottoms - 7 or 8 nuts are usually enough.
Bake:
Bake at 350°F on the middle rack until the edges are lightly golden.
The centers should remain soft, the tops should be pale, and the pignoli should be lightly toasted.
Let cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes.
Carefully transfer to a cooling rack using a metal spatula. These are delicate and sticky while warm.
Storage:
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. They also freeze beautifully once baked.
Recommended Products
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you.
