Italian Wine Cookies

This being September and the first day of Autumn just around the corner, I'm thinking about all the things that I can bake. With cooler temperatures Ron will let me use the oven more. :)

Today happens to be my granddaughter Emma's birthday. She is 4. It is also my Mom's birthday. She is 74. We are having a little party tonight in the garage. (Garage Supper instead of Garage Breakfast) Ron will be grilling Smoked Pork Chops. I will be making Cheesy Potatoes and probably Green Beans with Bacon. But where the baking comes in, my sister Mary will be making and decorating the birthday cakes. So I won't get to bake for the party. :(

But those of you who know me know that won't stop me from baking. I found a couple of recipes that need to be experimented with.

How does Italian Wine Cookies sound? It calls for 1 cup of red wine. How wide open is that?? This could take several batches to see what I like best. And of course I will have to share and find out what my friends like best. And then there is all of those open bottles of wine that can't go to waste. What is a girl to do???

This recipe is actually from an Italian. (Don't you just love the internet?) It had to be converted to American measurements. How much fun is that? I loved looking up the conversions, very interesting. But I'm odd that way. Anyway, here is the Italian Wine Cookies:

3 Cups Flour
1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Oil
1 Cup Red Wine (or white, or blush)
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 Cup Raw Sugar

Mix together the flour, sugar and salt. Add the wine and mix with a spoon. Add the oil and mix again. Dough may have to be worked with your hands. (A silicone spatula worked great.) You don't want it to be too sticky. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. (Notice there is no leavening.)

Dust your counter with a little flour.  (I used a mixture of powdered sugar and corn starch that I had already made up.) Take tablespoon size pieces of dough and form them into a rope. Secure the two ends together to make a doughnut shape. Lay on a parchment covered cookie sheet and cover with plastic wrap until you are done forming all of the cookies.

Take each cookie and press gently into the raw sugar and place sugar side up back on the cookie sheet.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for bout 15 to 20 minutes. Till just starting to brown on the edges.

Store in an airtight container. (if they last that long)

OK that's the original recipe. Now for the fun part. I changed out the oil for 1 Cup melted butter. The dough had to stay in the refrigerator longer was all.

The wine that I used was from Santa Maria Winery in Carroll, Ia. The "My Blackberry" wine. I love sweet fruity wines. Right out of the oven the wine flavor is not very pronounced. I think if they sit for at least a few hours or even days the flavor will develop better. (Do you think I can wait that long???) But still, anything with a very light subtle flavor will get lost in these cookies, I would think.

The Italians dip these in their glass of wine. They are a bit crisp and the dunking would soften them up. I will have to try that later tonight.

Here is a picture of the different stages of the cookie. Wine, dough ball, dough rope, formed, dipped in sugar, baked, sampled.