These classic Italian pignoli cookies are made according to an old Veniero family recipe, using simple ingredients including almond paste, honey, egg whites, and pine nuts.

Way back in 1894, a Southern Italian immigrant named Antonio Veniero opened his own social club on 11th Street between First and Second Avenues in New York City. Several years later, Antonio brought several “mastro pasticcieres” (master bakers) over from Sicily and Veniero’s became a full-scale Italian pasticceria. More than 125 years since its opening, Veniero’s Pasticceria & Caffé is still owned by the Veniero family, and it’s a true East Village landmark. It’s one of New York’s only remaining old-world Italian bakeries, and many of the original recipes are still in use to this day.