Wine cookies – ciambelle al vino

10 September 2012

When I was a little girl this “Ciambelline al vino” – small wine cookies – was my favorite.

These wine cookies recipe originates in the Castelli Romani area south of Rome. Some call these cookeis “‘mbriachelle“, literally “drunk” since you use wine as main ingredient, but don’t worry, you won’t be eating alcohol.
I remember it was easy and funny, perfect for children! The taste, I assure you, is really amazing. Adults often dip these ring-shaped wine cookies in red wine.

You’ll find these cookies especially in local fairs and old bakeries, where traditional recipes are the most sold items. Anytime I see them I think about my childhood, and how beautiful it was to prepare my own cookies.

Wine cookies are a staple in Roman trattorias and often served as a sweet ending to meals. Usually they’re paired with a glass of dessert wine like Passito or Vin Santo. These cookies embody “cucina povera”, the Italian tradition of making delicious dishes with humble ingredients.

Wine Cookies: healthy snacks and children

Nowadays children are too much into ultra processed sugary snacks, packed with preservatives (even the so-called “healthy” or “vegan” ones). This tendency is one of the culprit in the rise of child obesity (in the Med as well) and a plethora of health problems.

People think that cooking at home is difficult, that you need specific skills to do it and you need a lot of time. However there are a huge variety of recipes you can prepare in no time and will certainly be healthier and tastier.

Even though these cookies are not low in sugar, or packed with nutrients, they’re still much better than a store-bought product made of ingredients you cannot even pronounce.

To make this recipes healthier you can use raw sugar and whole wheat flour, this will give a boost of fibers and some minerals. You also won’t find trans fats or saturated fats here, only extra virgin olive oil, rich in unsaturated fats (omega 3) and hydroxytyrosol, an antioxidant that helps our heart in fighting cardiovascular diseases, helps our skin and also is also helpful in preventing cancer.

When using anise in the recipe you’ll also be adding some good minerals like manganese, iron and also calcium.

Wine Cookies: ingredients and variations

The classic ciambelline recipe includes:

Flour – Usually all-purpose, but you can use whole wheat for a rustic texture and a slightly healthier version.
Wine – Traditionally there is no wine of choice. Both white and red wine work. Changing the wine influences the color and flavor of the cookies, so you may try different once for different flavors.
Sugar – regular caster sugar is perfect for the crunchy texture of the outside of the cookies.
Olive oil – Gives the cookies a crumbly, melt-in-the-mouth texture and its distinctive taste. You can however swap olive oil for sunflower or peanut oil.
Anise seeds –Anise seeds are the main variable ingredients in the cookie recipe. Actually in many places they’re know as anise cookies instead of wine cookies. They provide a subtle licorice-like aroma, anise is totally optional but gives and extra authentic touch.

Variations:

Some recipe from outside Lazio call for lemon zest or cinnamon for extra aroma, a nice variation but far from the traditional recipe.
Different wines create subtle taste changes, you can try sparkling wine, dry wine, white red or whatever you have on hand. If you have some leftover wine that may not be too good to drink, this recipe is the perfect way to avoid wasting it.

The wine evaporates when cooking and what remains in the cookie is only the taste, no alcohol residue!

Measurement

The classic recipe for these cookies is measured in “glasses”. I know that maybe sounds strange, however we’re talking about a very ancient recipe. In old days scales were not easily found in old households, whereas regular drinking glasses were mostly the same size everywhere.

It usually calls for 1 glass for each moist ingredient and the sugar, the flour instead may vary. I usually try to reduce the sugar content as much as I can, and this recipe below is as good as the original one but with a reduced content of oil and sugar.

A regular drinking glass usually contains around 250ml of water, so adapting the recipe to cups can be easy. Anyway, if you use a medium size water glass it will work too.

Wine cookies: TIPS

When using whole wheat you may need slightly less flour, since the fibers will absorb more liquid.
You can store the cookies in an air tight container for weeks (but I doubt they would last that long..)

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