Recipe: leftover wine cookies

Let me guess: you did Dry January, but somewhere during that month you forgot all about it and, without thinking, popped open a bottle of wine. Quickly, you put the cork back in. Then February came, but not drinking was actually going so well that the wine is still in the bottle. No? Didn’t go that way at all, but do you sometimes simply have wine left over? Then make these cookies!

This easy recipe has been made for generations and comes from the area around Rome, and almost everyone (who drinks wine) usually has the necessary ingredients at home. The great thing is that it doesn’t matter whether you use red or white wine—you’ll simply get slightly different cookies. They’re not super sweet, and you can dip them in milk or coffee for breakfast, or after dinner in, for example, (red) dessert wine.

How to make the leftover wine cookies

• Preheat the oven to 170 degrees.
• Mix the wine, oil, sugar and salt in a bowl.
• Slowly add the flour while stirring with a spatula, until the dough starts to form a firm lump.
• Knead with your hands until all the flour has been incorporated.
• Shape into balls of approximately 2 cm or slightly larger.
• Roll the balls into elongated rolls and bring the ends together to create a doughnut shape.
• You can optionally sprinkle them with some sugar now if you want sweeter cookies.
• Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 20–25 minutes, until golden brown.
• Let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack.

Also read:

• Food guide: Tuscany
• Australian favorite: Tim Tam cookies
• You’ll want to try these South American cookies