As Christmas comes closer, and the chaos of the holidays ensues in your homes, a simple cookie recipe could be just what you need to help ease yourself into the holiday spirit. 

Pignoli Cookies

These chewy Italian pine nut cookies are the simplest you can imagine, and are sure to brighten your day!

Servings: 10-12 cookies.

Ingredients:

• 8 oz almond paste
• 1 egg white
• ½ cup sugar
• Roughly 2 oz pine nuts
• Optional: a few drops of vanilla or almond extract
• Powdered sugar for dusting

Directions:

1. Cut almond paste into chunks, and add to a food processor with the sugar, and pulse until you have a sand-like consistency. If using, add a few drops of almond or vanilla extract.
2. Add the egg white little by little, just until the mixture comes together to form a soft and sticky dough (you may not need the whole white).
3. Use a spoon to scoop walnut sized bits of dough, and roll them in your hand to form a ball. Then, lay the pine nuts into a bowl or plate, and roll the dough ball in the pine nuts until they adhere on all sides.
4. Place the balls on a parchment lined baking sheet. Make sure to space them out, as they spread when they bake.
5. Bake the cookies at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for about 15-20 minutes, or until they are cooked through and just lightly golden brown.
6. Remove the cookies and allow them to cool completely before serving. Dust with powdered sugar if you like.

Struffoli

These fried dough balls covered in a simple honey glaze are as easy as it gets, and are sure to impress!

Prep time:          Cook time:        Total time:

90 mins              10 mins             4 hrs + 10 mins

Ingredients:

• 4 large eggs
• 2 tsp orange zest
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 tbsp granulated sugar
• ¼ cup salted butter, melted
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• 5-6 cups vegetable oil for frying

Glaze:

• 1 cup honey
• 2 tbsp orange juice
• ½ granulated sugar
• Rainbow nonpareils

Instructions:

1. Add eggs to a food processor and pulse until frothy. Then add orange zest, vanilla, sugar, and butter, and process until fully combined and foamy.
2. Add flour and baking powder, and pulse until combined. The dough will be very sticky.
3. Wrap dough in a sheet of plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes, or up to overnight.
4. Once chilled, transfer dough to a lightly floured surface. Divide dough into four even sections. Roll each section into a long rope, about the same thickness as your finger.
5. Cut each rope of dough into sections ½ to 1-inch wide.
6. Roll each section into a ball, no larger than a marble. Sprinkle with flour to keep them from sticking to each other while rolling the remaining dough.
7. Add 3 to 4 inches of cooking oil to a heavy bottomed pot set over medium-high heat. Allow oil to reach 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
8. Fry dough balls in batches of around ten, moving them around so the oil coats all sides. They will brown quite quickly.
9. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the balls out of the oil, onto a plate lined with paper towels to absorb excess oil.
10. To make the honey glaze, add honey, orange juice, and sugar to a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir to combine, and until the sugar dissolves.
11. Add the fried dough balls to the saucepan and toss to coat fully.
12. Add dough balls to a large bowl, and sprinkle generously with the rainbow nonpareils.

Tips and Tricks:

• When making pignoli cookies, you can use any kind of nut you want to coat your cookies, so long as they won’t burn when baked in the oven.
• Chilling your struffoli dough for a longer time will make it easier to work with later.
• When making struffoli, work with the dough quickly, as it will warm up and become sticky if you work with it for too long.