Try these wine cookies for a new cookie experience. These crunchy, light, not too-sweet cookies are made with red wine and cherry liqueur. It can’t get any better than that. They make a perfect addition to the cold season.
When winter comes and the holiday season is near, there is always wine and mulled wine somewhere near you. If you have any wine leftovers, usually you’d use them for cooking a sauce or something, but they will work perfectly for these wine cookies, too.
These cookies in particular are made with mulled wine, which is spiced with cinnamon, orange, cloves and nutmeg. However, every wine, that is a bit on the sweeter side, will do great.
Wine cookies are an Italian recipe. They are traditionally made with grape must, red wine or white wine. I decided to use mulled red wine. Originally they are called ciambelle al vino, because of their form. They look like doughnuts, which is ciambelle in Italian. However, I’ve changed the shape as well. Ans I added a pattern on top of them. I found they look prettier this way. What do you think?
Making the dough is so simple. I know I always say that. But it’s true. All ingredients come together in one bowl and the dough is soft and smooth. Try to resist to kneading it for too long. You should knead it for a short time only and then form it in your desired shape, dip it in sugar and bake.
Additionally, changing the size of the cookies changes the baking time as well. They will double in size after baking. Therefore, make sure you leave some space between them. Also, the texture will be crunchy, inside and outside. You’ll notice those lovely thin cracks on the surface. Once take a bite, eventually, after a minute, they will slowly start to soften.
Italians like to dunk them into sweet wine. Just like they do with cantuccini and vin santo, I imagine. But I think they taste great with mulled wine, coffee, tea or your favourite wine, as well. Try them to find your favourite combination.
If you are looking for a different type of cookie, then check these cookie recipes out: classic cantuccini, these gorgeous chocolate crinkle cookies, unusual spicy pepper cookies or these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.
These wine cookies can be stored in a cookie jar for up to 5 days. After that period of day, they still taste good, but a bit harder to bite.
Ingredients for about 25-30 wine cookies:
- 150 ml mulled red wine (or any sweet red or white wine)
- 30 ml cherry liqueur
- 150 g sugar
- 130 ml sunflower oil
- pinch of salt
- 500 g flour (00)
- 10 g baking powder
- sugar for garnish
Start with preheating the oven to 180°C.
Then, in a bowl mix mulled red wine, liqueur, sugar, salt and oil. In a second bowl, mix flour and baking powder. Stir in the flour, a little at a time until well combined and smooth.
Take about one tablespoon (about 30 g) of the dough and form a ball. Dip one side of it in sugar and place it (sugar side up) on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Keep them 3 cm apart. At this point, you can flatten it a bit or use something to make an imprint. I used a spiral whisk to press the pattern in the cookie.
Push them in the oven and bake for 18-20 minutes or until light golden. Transfer them from the baking sheet to a wire rack and allow to cool.
Finally, serve them freshly baked. The wine cookies taste best paired with a cup of spiced mulled wine, a cup of coffee or a lovely cup of tea.
Enjoy.
