Step 1

Preheat your oven to 325°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat.

Step 2

Buzz the sugar, 1/3 of the pine nuts and rosemary together in a food processor until you get small bits of pine nuts and rosemary sugar. Don't process into a paste. Pour the mixture into a bowl and add the almond or acorn paste, salt and egg white. Mix into a paste. You want this to be wet but workable. Sometimes you need a second egg white.

Step 3

Option 2: Start with the 2 egg whites and, if you need it, add a tablespoon or 3 of all-purpose flour so you can form balls with your hands. I prefer this, but the cookies will no longer be gluten-free.

Step 4

Divide the dough into 12 to 16 pieces - or about a heaping tablespoon per cookie - and roll with moistened hands. Gently set a cookie ball onto the whole pine nuts, rolling to coat. Set the cookie on the baking sheet. If rolling the dough in the pine nuts proves difficult, you can set pine nuts on top of each cookie after it's on the baking sheet.

Step 5

Bake the cookies for 15 to 18 minutes, until you see just a bit of browning. Let them cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes, then dust with confectioner's sugar if you want to. Move them to a rack to cool thoroughly. They should keep in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days.