I’m on a bit of an Italy kick. Or rather, an Italian-esque foodie kick. More on that coming up, but I was trying to think of a cookie that was sort of Italian. There are of course Florentines and Biscotti and Baci di Dame, but I thought I would make up a new recipe. I came up with these chocolate cookies with toasted pine nuts (pignoli) and rosemary. I know, I know, it might sound a little strange but they actually turned out really really well. The rosemary isn’t overwhelming and the pine nuts are lightly crunchy. They are also really easy to make. Enjoy!
Ingredients
1 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/2 pound bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 stick unsalted butter, cubed
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon table salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary
Directions
Preheat the oven to 325F. Prepare baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat.
In a large skillet, toast the pine nuts over moderate heat, tossing occasionally, until they are golden, 5 to 7 minutes. Be careful not to let them burn; this can happen very quickly. Transfer the pine nuts to paper towels to drain any oil that may have come out (they are by nature an oily nut) and cool completely.
Meanwhile, in a large heatproof bowl set over a medium saucepan of simmering water, melt the chopped chocolate with the butter, stirring occasionally, until smooth, 5 minutes; let cool to room temperature but absolutely do not refrigerate.
In a small bowl, mix the flour with the baking powder and salt. In the work bowl of your stand mixer, beat the eggs with the sugar at medium-high speed until thick and pale, about 3 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the melted chocolate, then fold in the dry ingredients. Stir in the pine nuts and rosemary.
Scoop 1-tablespoon mounds of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake for about 12 minutes, until the cookies are dry around the edges and cracked on top. Transfer the cookies ?to a rack to cool completely before serving.
