Soft Pineapple Cookies are moist, little treats that deliver bits of pineapple in every bite. The pineapple lovers out there will appreciate the fruity glaze on these cookies that give them an extra burst of tropical flavor!
Pineapple may be the perfect summer treat, but these simple drop cookies are a great way to add a little sunshine to any occasion!
Table of contents
My mom has been making this easy pineapple drop cookie recipe for years and it’s definitely a family favorite! When it comes to baking for a celebration of any kind, mom heads up the cookie brigade and these pineapple drop cookies are one of her most popular recipes.
I can’t think of any party or holiday that did not include pineapple cookies. They are a great addition to a cookie tray any time of year along with Sicilian Almond Paste Cookies, “Cuccidati” Italian Fig Cookies, and Anginetti.
Ingredient Notes
- Crushed Canned Pineapple in juice: Put the pineapple in a fine mesh sieve set over a bowl to drain it and reserve the juice for making the icing.
- Shortening: You can substitute butter, but the shortening gives the cookies a lovely soft texture. Butter flavored shortening is a good choice if you want the buttery essence with the benefits of shortening.
- Eggs: Be sure to let your eggs come to room temperature before starting to make these cookies.
- All-purpose Flour: Measure the flour by spooning it into your measuring cup and leveling it off.
- Confectioners’ sugar: This is used for the frosting.
Pineapple Cookie Recipe Instructions
Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set them aside.
1. Make the cookie dough
Mix the flour and baking powder in a medium bowl and set aside.
- Use an electric mixer to beat the eggs and sugar together in a large bowl, until the eggs are light yellow and fluffy.
- Add the shortening and beat on medium speed until the shortening is creamed in to the batter, about 2 minutes.
- With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
- Scrap down the sides of the bowl and once the flour is fully blended into the cookie batter, stir in the crushed pineapple.
2. Bake the Cookies
- Use a teaspoon to measure and drop the cookies about 2″ apart onto the parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes. The cookies will start to turn a light golden brown on top and the bottoms will be lightly browned as well, when they are done. The cooking time may vary depending on the size of your cookies.
- Cool the cookies on a wire rack.
3. Frost the cookies
- Mix the powdered sugar and reserved pineapple juice until you have thick but pourable glaze.
- Dunk the top of each cookie in the glaze and set them on a wire rack to dry.
Baking Tips
- Starting with room temperature ingredients ensures that your cookie batter blends evenly.
- If you want uniform sized cookies, use a small cookie scoop to measure and drop the cookie dough.
- The cookies will rise and spread a little so don’t overcrowd them on the cookie sheet or they will bake into each other.
- For easier clean up, place a sheet of wax paper under your wire rack to catch the frosting drips.
Storing and Freezing
Once the frosting has dried on the cookies, they can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for several days. If you need to layer them, I suggest placing a sheet of wax paper or parchment paper between each layer, so the cookies don’t stick to the frosting.
This is the perfect cookie recipe to make ahead because they freeze beautifully. We always have some of these delicious cookies in the freezer in case unexpected company drops by. Just place them in a freezer safe container and then wrap the container in plastic wrap. Stored this way the cookies can be frozen for up to 6 months.
Want to Try More Easy Cookie Recipes?
At Easter we always have cross shaped, anise cookies called Pani di Cena. They are such a delicious treat!
You will love buttery, Pizzicati Cookies, that you can fill with your favorite jam or Nutella!
I love to get your feedback so if you tried this Pineapple Cookies recipe or any other recipes on this website, please leave me a comment below. I hope you enjoy our recipes and look forward to hearing from you!
You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest for more recipes your family will love!
Nonna’s Homemade Italian Pineapple Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
- 2 Eggs
- 1 cup Sugar
- ¾ cups Shortening
- 2½ cups Flour
- 2½ tsp. Baking Powder
- 1 cup Crushed Pineapple Drained, reserve the juice
Pineapple Glaze Frosting
- 2 cups Confectioners Sugar
- 4-5 Tbsp. Pineapple Juice
Instructions
Cookies
- Preheat your oven to 375°. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, mix the flour and baking powder.
- Combine eggs and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Beat on a medium speed, until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Add the shortening to the egg mixture and mix until the shortening is creamed into the batter.
- With the beater on low, slowly add the flour mixture to the the egg mixture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure that the flour is evenly mixed in to the batter.
- Add the crushed pineapple and stir well to combine and evenly distribute it into the batter.
- Use a teaspoon to drop the batter onto the cookie sheets. Make sure to leave about 2 inches between cookies as they will rise and spread slightly.
- Bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes or until the cookies begin to turn slightly golden.
- After removing the cookies from the oven, allow them to cool on the cookie sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack. Cool completely before frosting.
Pineapple Glaze Frosting
- Combine the confectioners sugar and pineapple juice. Stir or whisk until the frosting is thick but pourable.
- Frost the cookies using small spatula or dunk the tops of the cookies in the frosting. Set the cookies on the wire rack and allow the frosting to set before storing.
These are my all time favorite cookies that you and your mom make. So tender and delicious! I highly recommend them for any pineapple lover.
Hi I am excited to bake these cookies! Can you freeze the pineapple cookies? Thank you.
Hi Donna These cookies freeze really well. Make sure you pack them in a airtight container with waxed paper between the layers. We even frost them before freezing them and they thaw beautifully. I hope you enjoy the recipe. It is one of our favorites!
Can these pineapple cookies be made into a bar?
Hello Karen! I have never tried making them into a bar so I really can not say if it would work. I think if you wanted to try it you would have to adjust the cooking time and check often to see if the middle was done.
Hi there! I’ve been wanting to make these for about a week now; I’ve never baked any pineapple cookies, like ..ever, so I’m excited to try it. I don’t know if anyone still watches this or if anyone will respond but I figured it’s worth a shot. I have two questions as I am currently about to start ..
1. Would it likely be alright, or negatively effect the recipe, if I took the 3/4 C. of shortening and switched it out for half (6 T. I think is half) butter? So, instead of 3/4 C. (or 12 T) of shortening, I do half butter and half shortening? I don’t have a ton of experience with shortening, at least not recently, but I’ve read online that splitting a shortening measurement into half butter and half shortening is kind of the best of both ingredients when it comes to baking .. the cookies made of come out quite as tall but they definitely wouldn’t be quite as thin as if I only used butter at least that’s how it’s explained online and other recipes, as a general rule of thumb I guess.
And finally 2. If I wanted to store the cookie dough after mixing in the pineapple, what is store well in the refrigerator or freezer for any amount of time? I was originally going to have the recipe since this is a new thing and my family can be very timid with new recipes or baked goods haha, but I forgot and didn’t realize I had forgot until I was already creaming the shortening in. So I made the whole thing and I’m hoping I can store it but unsure how. I don’t have plastic, or cling – wrap, but I have parchment, foil and of course some Ziploc baggies. So I was thinking of using a large Ziploc but then that might not be best in the freezer, lol… maybe I can shape the dough like Pillsbury does and then I’d just have to the whole thing defrost before cooking, as opposed to taking out a 1-3 person portion to cook and leaving the rest in whatever storage.
Lastly, I want to say thank you for sharing this recipe I know it’s going to be something interesting and I’m excited to try it and share it with everyone. You are directions are very clear and comprehensive and it’s also helpful to be able to see others comments. Definitely will come back to this website in the future when I want to do something in unknown territory again 😁
Thank you very much! Take care!
Hi Clint and thank you for coming to my site and trying my recipe! I have never tried to substitute butter for the shortening, but I don’t think it will negatively impact the out come of the cookies to do half and half. If you want to freeze the dough I would try double bagging it in the Ziplock bags so you don’t get freezer burn. If you have a plastic container that can go in the freezer you can also use that. If you want to freeze individual cookies, lay them out on a cookie tray and put the tray in the freezer. Then when they are frozen, transfer them to a zip lock bag and you can take out only the number you want to bake instead of the whole thing. Good luck!
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I’m sorry for the typos…I was using voice-to-text…I hope I didn’t make my comments incomprehensible because I didn’t re-read before posting. I guess I’m so used to being able to go back and edit if need be…I forgot I’m not a registered member and this isn’t exactly a “forum” haha. Sorry again. Thanks!
No Worries! I hope I got back to you before you finished the cookies!