Pignoli

Makes about 5 dozen

Another recipe from grandma. It took a little while to get these to taste like my memory of the ones she always made us. The trick was adding a little flour, which she "forgot" to include in the recipe she gave me. She had a tricky little smile on her face when I told her I figured it out. I use all-purpose flour to make these cookies a little lighter in texture, but you can sub in almond flour to keep them gluten-free if that's your thing.

If you drink your coffee black like I do, this is a perfect cookie. Their tiny size makes them just sweet enough, and the pignoli add a creamy texture that is honestly luxurious with each sip of coffee. A welcome feeling on another rainy quarantine day.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 8 oz container almond paste (grandma says it should be Solo brand)

• 2 large egg whites

• 1 c granulated sugar

• 1/4 c all-purpose flour

• Pignoli (you can sub in sliced or slivered almonds here)

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DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 325 F & line cookie sheets with parchment.

2. In the metal bowl of a stand mixer, break the almond paste into tiny pieces & use a pastry cutter to mix in the sugar until well combined. There should not be any loose sugar at the bottom of the bowl.

3. Set the met bowl in place in the stand mixer & set to a medium-low speed. Let the mixer run for a few minutes until you see the sugar mixture start sticking to the sides of the bowl a little bit.

4. Add the egg whites one at a time with the mixer still running.

5. When the egg whites are fully incorporated in the mixture, gradually add the flour & mix briefly until just combined. The dough will be tacky, but should not completely stick to the palm of your hand when rolled. If the dough is too wet, add a little more more flour by the Tablespoon.

6. Scoop rounded teaspoons of the dough, roll into balls, & dip the tops into the pignoli (don't be stingy).

7. Place each piece about 1 inch apart on the prepared cookie sheets.

8. Bake about 17-18 minutes or until very lightly browned on the edges.

9. Cool about 5 minutes on the cookie sheets, then carefully peel the cookies off of the parchment & finish cooling on wire racks. If the bottoms of the cookies stick to the parchment, let cool a few minutes more before trying again.