Red Wine BISCUITS (cookies)
The flavors of the wine and olive oil bring a smile to any Italian dinner table – so why not continue those great flavors to your dessert!? That is exactly what I thought when I stumbled across this recipe the other day. The [light] extra virgin olive oil lends just enough flavor to come through (and hey – its good for you too, right) without overpowering.
If you like a really sweet cookie – please stop reading now! These are just sweet enough to work on that sweet tooth without being too super sweet.
A perfect ending to a great Italian dinner. They also make a great ending for a Not-So-Great dinner as was my case! Yes, these cookies were the ending to a not so successful night of having my parents over. My parents fed me for more than 20 (25, whatever – who’s counting, and I was in college for some of those years) years, so I enjoy having them over for dinner. After my horoscope last week I invited my parents over for dinner for the weekend. I made crab cakes (tried a recipe without egg – they fell apart), baked french fries (great, could have been crispier and about 1/2 the salt), and caesar salad (too much anchovies for the boy). This was not a GREAT dinner (although I am sure my mom cooked a few failures for us when I was growing up, and I survived because I don’t remember them) but the company was good. We ended the meal with these fresh Red Wine Cookies (for the record – dad hated them)
INGREDIENTS
(makes 16 – 24, depending on ring size)
- 4 cups flour (I did 3 cups all-purpose & 1 cup wheat – it can handle even more wheat if you want)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 c + 1 T mild extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 c + 1 T dry red wine (Sirah was today’s choice – but feel free to use your favorite “dry” red OR white wine!)
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- Granulated sugar, for topping
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add wet ingredients and stir until a soft dough forms: it should clump together when you squeeze it in your hand. If it is still too dry, add a little more wine by the tablespoonful (I ended up just dunking each ball in some wine to make it a little moister before rolling each one).
Divide the dough into small (golf ball sized) pieces. On a flat, unfloured surface, use the palms of your hands to roll each piece into a 1/2″-thick rope. Don’t be afraid if the dough “cracks” as you roll, as long as it’s not crumbling (I had trouble working with it when it was cracking – so just get a tiny bit of wine on your ball before rolling it out). Pinch the ends of each rope together to form a ring.
Dip one side of each biscuit in sugar and place on the prepared pan. Bake about 15 minutes, until bottoms are golden. Cool completely on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.(You can also freeze in a ziploc bag/plastic container after baking, and taken from the freezer as needed. Let biscuits come to room temperature before serving.)
“Beauty [taste] is in the eye [mouth] of the beholder” Although my dad might not have been the biggest fan (on, I think he hated these pretty much) of these, please try them because I think you will enjoy them! & always remember “if at first you don’t succeed: try, try again!”