Italian Pignoli Cookies

Pignoli cookies are my dad’s favorite. Not one holiday has passed without these light traditional almond flavored delights in our home. As a family we have all stood in line several times a year to purchase these cookies from our favorite Italian bakery. Sometimes you’re not so lucky. After waiting hours, you can get to the head of the line and find out they’ve been wiped out. So when I figured out how to make these without baking I was thrilled and I can’t wait to share this recipe with my family this upcoming holiday season.

The other advantage of making these from scratch is that instead of costing a small fortune (it’s crazy how expensive these little bastards are to buy), I can make dozens for the price of a few. Ridiculously easy, you will never have to buy these ever again.

Marie begged me to make these after tasting them the first time. They are so light that you don’t feel bad eating a dozen by yourself…trust me, I know and so does Marie. We scoffed these down offering maybe one to the kids, but otherwise, both of us were completely selfish.

One thing I want to point out after making them three times now. Don’t use dark maple syrup. It made a huge difference in flavor and color and I didn’t like the cookies made with the darker syrup.

RAW VEGAN RECIPE: ITALIAN PIGNOLI COOKIES

2 cups almond meal

1/2 cup golden maple syrup

1 tblsp almond extract (this is optional, but it makes a huge difference in flavor)

1 cup raw pignoli nuts

With a fork mix almond meal, maple syrup and almond extract until it forms a dough like consistency. You will need to wet your hands in between forming the cookies. Roll into small balls and flatten with your palm. Dip and press cookies into the pignoli nuts. Place in dehydrator overnight at 115 degrees. Cookies will be light and dry on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside.