We are just days away from Thanksgiving and even though I’m not doing the bulk of the cooking this year, I’ve got a hefty menu of desserts to make. I’m looking forward to going to my parent’s house for the feast. Mom always has a lovely place setting for her dinner guests with colorful leaves and other natural elements. That’s what inspired these almond pinecones. You can use them as edible decor at each place setting or bag them as takeaway gifts. Or you could just serve them on a dessert tray next to the pumpkin pie.
A version of these pinecones is the usual decoration for Bûche de Noël, but these are slightly larger and made with homemade almond paste. This paste only takes minutes to whip up and I use it for so much of my winter baking. It’s my favorite filling for bear claws (remember these?).
You’ll need a good amount of sliced almonds to make these. Try to choose the most perfect ones for the pinecone scales. These pinecones lay flat, so you’re only covering one side with almonds. The work goes faster than you’d think!
These get a dusting of cocoa powder to give them a realistic pinecone appearance and the excess is dusted off with a pastry brush.
Almond paste confections always remind me of fall and winter holidays. I plan to make more of these for my December festivities. Click over to the Etsy Blog for get recipe and lots more step photos!
Elegant Almond Pinecones for the Holiday Table
OMG, they are gorgeous! I love pinecones…
Cheers,
Rosa
You do such creative things! So much fun! Now my shortbread and other Christmas treats look boring! I may try these to create a little wow ..
Once made, should these be kept in the fridge or at room temperature? How long will they safely keep? I would LOVE to make them for Thanksgiving, but I'm not sure I'll have time to make them a day before the holiday..
Hi Jordie!
Yes! These can be stored in the refrigerator. You could also use reconstituted egg white (or meringue powder) instead of the fresh egg. Use the amount as directed on the package to equal one egg (usually 2 ounces). This would make the pinecones shelf stable.
-h
This looks like art to me. Perfect!
Wishes for tasty dishes,
Linda
Squee! So beautiful Heather
You slay me with your Pyrex ?
Can you do this same process only use a chocolate truffle as the base??
Hi Julie,
The thing about chocolate ganache is that it melts at body temperature. Handling a truffle with your fingers for long enough to insert all of those almond slivers, you’d definitely get some melting. You could possibly place a truffle on a cold plate and try to not touch it as you insert the sliced almonds.