Red wine cookies are typical rustic and crunchy Italian biscuits, very common especially in the Castelli Romani area and throughout the Lazio countryside; these simple and delicious cookies usually have a donut shape and are served after a meal accompanied by a glass of wine, in which to dip them. Dairy-free and eggs-free, red wine cookies are not fine pastry biscuits, rather they resemble those of grandma; their recipe is in fact very ancient and, as often happens with these traditional recipes, they are prepared without precisely measuring the ingredients. In fact, usually only the liquid ingredients are measured and the flour necessary to make the dough workable is gradually added.
However, I will indicate the precise doses, but know that if you put a little more or less flour it does not affect the success. To prepare red wine cookies in Italy we use baking ammonia, which makes them crispier for longer. If you can’t find it, you can replace it with baking powder. In many recipes, the wine biscuit dough is flavored with anise seeds: if you don’t like them, you can not use them.
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Ingredients for about 12 Italian red wine cookies
- Power 112,38 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 16,37 (g) of which sugars 5,93 (g)
- Proteins 1,77 (g)
- Fat 4,36 (g) of which saturated 0,46 (g)of which unsaturated 3,70 (g)
- Fibers 0,48 (g)
- Sodium 33,26 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 25 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
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How to prepare Italian red wine cookies
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To prepare the red wine biscuits, start by putting all the dry ingredients in a bowl: flour, ammonia (or baking powder), sugar, a pinch of salt and anise seeds if you use them.
Mix briefly with a wooden spoon and make a hole in the centre; pour the red wine and then the oil.
Mix with the wooden spoon, until you form a compound that you can knead with your hands. Transfer it to the surface and knead it briefly, forming a homogeneous dough. If it is too soft, you can add a little more flour.
The dough for red wine cookies does not need to rest, so you can start forming your cookies immediately. Divide the dough into 12 balls of roughly the same size.
Take the first ball and form a fairly thick roll.
Then close it, forming a donut 1-1.5 inches (3-4 cm) in diameter. Continue in the same way with the other 11 balls of dough.
Put one or two tablespoons of sugar in a small bowl and pass the donuts on one side, so that the sugar adheres to the cookie. Arrange the red wine biscuits slightly spaced on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
Bake them in a preheated oven at 356 °F (180° C) for about twenty minutes, until they are colored on the surfac. Remove from the oven and let them cool completely.
Serve the Italian red wine cookies at the end of the meal, with a glass of red wine, or with sweet or liqueur wine.
How to store wine cookies
The red wine biscuits, thanks also to the presence of baking ammonia, keep for a long time: in a tin box even for two or three weeks.
Tips and variations
With the same recipe you can prepare white wine biscuits or use a liqueur such as vinsanto or limoncello.
To obtain more crunchy and golden wine donuts, after placing them on the baking tray, sprinkle them with more sugar.
Varied doses for servings