Easy Pignoli Cookies with Almond Flour (No Almond Paste)

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These easy pignoli cookies are a popular Italian cookie made with almond flour instead of almond paste — simpler and cheaper than the classic version, and naturally gluten-free. The dough comes together with just a few ingredients (almond flour, sugar, eggs, and almond extract), then gets topped with pine nuts and baked until chewy in the center with lightly golden edges.

Pignoli cookies are a staple of Italian-American holiday cookie trays, and this almond flour version tastes just like the ones from an Italian bakery — without hunting down a can of almond paste!

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What are Pignoli Cookies?

Pignoli cookies (pronounced pin-YOH-lee) come from southern Italy, especially Sicily, where almonds and pine nuts have been baked into sweets for centuries. Italian immigrants brought them to the U.S., and they became a fixture in Italian-American bakeries — especially around Christmas and Easter, when no cookie tray is complete without them.

The pignoli cookies were one of my mom’s specialties (probably because it is her favorite cookie). She made this recipe for sooooo many years that I’ve lost count! I’m estimating that she made about 1000 of these cookies a year!

Another very popular Italian cookie is something called the Italian wedding cookie.

Are Pignoli Cookies Gluten-Free?

Yes — pignoli cookies are naturally gluten-free. Traditional recipes use almond paste or almond flour rather than wheat flour, and this version is made entirely with almond flour, sugar, eggs, and pine nuts. Just double-check your almond flour’s label if you’re baking for someone with celiac disease, since some brands are processed in facilities that also handle wheat.

Watch How to Make

Prefer to watch instead of read? See exactly how I make it in the video below!

Ingredient Notes

Almond flour — use finely ground blanched almond flour, not almond meal; the coarse grind makes gritty, crumbly cookies. You’ll need about a pound (4¾ cups / 454 g — see King Arthur’s ingredient weight chart). Weighing beats measuring: almond flour compacts easily, and over-measuring is the top cause of dry cookies. This is what replaces the almond paste in traditional recipes.

Sugar — plain granulated, about a pound (2¼ cups). Half gets beaten with the eggs until fluffy, which is what gives these their light, chewy texture; the rest goes in with the flour.

Eggs — two large whole eggs, plus a third on standby if the dough is crumbly. Whole eggs (instead of the egg whites most recipes use) make these richer and chewier than bakery meringue-style pignoli. You’ll also use one extra egg white, thinned with water, to make the pine nuts stick.

Pine nuts (pignoli) — the signature topping and the only splurge ingredient. I use about 3/4 cup of raw nuts to top the whole batch — raw, not toasted, since they toast in the oven. You can find these at Costco or Trader Joe’s if you have those stores nearby; keep extras in the freezer; they go rancid quickly at room temperature.

Almond extract — a full tablespoon, and it does the heavy lifting for that bakery almond-paste flavor. Use pure, not imitation, if possible.

Method Overview

The method is simple: beat the eggs with half the sugar until light and fluffy, then mix in the almond flour, remaining sugar, and almond extract until you have a stiff dough that holds together when formed (add the extra egg if it’s crumbly).

Scoop into balls just smaller than a golf ball, roll each one until smooth, slightly flatten them, dip the tops in egg white and then in pine nuts, and bake at 340°F for 20 to 22 minutes — just until barely golden. Don’t overbake; they should stay chewy in the center.

This recipe makes about 40 cookies — they only puff about 30% bigger, so you can fit 20 per half-sheet pan without them touching.

Dough Consistency

I was surprised to see that dough for these cookies is rather stiff, but it is NOT dry. You’re looking for a marzipan-like texture: moldable, holding its shape easily when formed into balls. To get there, add the almond flour slowly at the end, and if the dough still seems too dry, work in another half to whole egg. My mom recommends a ratio of 1 pound almond flour: 1 pound sugar: 2 large eggs. Add the extract and pine nut topping, and voila, you have these cookies!

Troubleshooting Pignoli Cookies

Why did my pignoli cookies spread too much?

Spreading usually means the dough was too warm or too wet. Chill the dough for 20–30 minutes before dipping, and make sure you measured the almond flour correctly (454 grams — weighing is more reliable than cups). If your eggs were on the large side, add almond flour a tablespoon at a time until the dough holds its shape.

Why did my cookies crack on top?

A few cracks are normal and traditional. Deep cracking usually means the oven was too hot or the dough was too dry — check your oven with a thermometer and don’t overbake past 22 minutes.

Why are my pignoli cookies dry and crumbly?

Overbaking is the usual culprit — pignoli cookies should come out of the oven looking slightly underdone in the center; they firm up as they cool. Too much almond flour will also dry them out, which is another reason to weigh it.

Tips for baking with almond flour

Use finely ground blanched almond flour, not almond meal — the coarser grind makes gritty, crumbly cookies. Almond flour browns faster than wheat flour, so watch the bottoms in the last few minutes. For measuring, follow King Arthur Baking’s weight standard of about 96 g per cup.

Make-Ahead, Storage, and Freezing

Freezing: Both the dough and the baked cookies freeze well. Freeze dough balls (before the pine nut coating) on a tray, then bag them for up to 3 months; thaw in the fridge overnight, roll in pine nuts, and bake as directed, adding a minute or two. Baked cookies freeze for up to 3 months — thaw at room temperature, uncovered, so they don’t go soft.

Make ahead: The dough can be made up to 2 days in advance — wrap it tightly and refrigerate. Let it sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes before dipping in pine nuts.

Storage: Store baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or refrigerate for about a week. Layer them between sheets of parchment paper so the pine nuts don’t snag.

Other Favorite Italian Cookies:

• Italian wedding cookies
• Ricotta cookies
• Italian fig cookies

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