Pignoli cookies don’t look like much when you’re a kid. They resemble ‘adult’ cookies, not as visually appealing as a dollop of jam or a shell of tasty icing. I wish I could have told my young self she couldn’t be more wrong about Pignoli cookies.
The crisp delights are robed in nutty, oily, mild flavored pine nuts, which mingle with the sharp sweetness of the almond to make an unforgettable texture. The overall effect of this cookie is a smooth and chewy indulgence that you can’t help but become a fan of. It’s an old school favorite that could easily turn into the next big trend if it ever caught on.
These are easy to assemble, though a bit expensive to procure, you won’t be let down. Pine nuts and almond paste are costly ingredients, but they are special and should be treated as such. Not all cookies are for everyday snacking.
Due to the high oil content of the almond paste, working in a wax or cannabis concentrate is like playing with play doh. This means you get an intense potency that would be perfect for knocking out that one asshole uncle so he just takes a nap.
Pignoli Cookies
(Adapted from Italian Food Forever 2011)
- 5oz Pine nuts
- ½ cup Powdered sugar
- ½ cup Granulated sugar
- ¼ tsp Salt
- 2 Egg whites
- ¼ cup Flour
- 1 cup Almond paste
- .5 g Cannabis concentrate (hash Kief oil butter wax all work)
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Use a silpat or silicone baking mat with your sheet pans for best results. Take half the almond paste and work in decarboxylated concentrate with your hands. Fold and press in until uniformly mixed with the almond paste. In a bowl, sift together both sugars and flour.
Use a pastry cutter to work almond paste into dry ingredients. When mixture resembles fine crumbs, add egg whites in small amounts until dough comes together, you may not need them all. Dough will be a little sticky, use wet fingers to pinch off 1” ball. Roll in pine nuts and place on mat. Bake 20 minutes, rotating halfway. Pull mats onto wire racks to cool. Allow to cool 100% before moving, eating, or removing from mat.
Store 2 weeks in airtight container, 4 weeks in fridge, indefinitely in freezer.
Make these classy cookies to bring generations together, just take it ½ a cookie at a time if you’re a beginner. I suppose the younger generation will have to take the lead on dosage.
Photos Danielle Guercio [Instagram @danizig]
