What are wine crackers and how can I make the best ones?

Wine Blog
May 23, 2022
10 Min.

The phrases “wine tasting” and “wine opener” are known in the wine world, but wine cookies? Yes, just as you have just seen, wine cookies are a succulent pastry work that I assure you, will leave your palate full to the fullest.

When we talk about wine cookies, as the name suggests, it is not a term that can be used to refer to crackers with a very dry characteristic, which often have no flavor and are served at wine tastings, as an accompaniment.

Actually, these wine cookies are a specialty adopted by Italy, specifically as a pastry delight from the Rhode Island region to the world.

They are really special, these wine cookies, and are somewhat unknown, which is why we invite you to take a look at this article, where we are going to share with you some facts you did not know about wine cookies, and of course, we are going to get into the recipes. Don’t loss a thing.

Go head!

Let's talk a little about wine cookies

First of all, and before going into details about wine cookies, let’s move to the region of Rhode Island, where these pastry delicacies come from.

Beyond showing itself as a fairly large population of Portuguese, this region is the cradle of a very special and proud Italian-American heritage, it is not as large as cities like New Jersey or New York, but its density is notorious.

This region is characterized by how blessed they are in the culinary field, besides being full of bakeries where wine cookies are the specialty of the house.

But, not everything is good news, and there are certain problems to get the wine that adorns these special cookies.

So much to buy the wine, the same happens with the rest of ingredients of the preparation, it is somewhat complicated, to acquire these products in large quantities.

This is why it is complicated to manufacture these cookies by large producers, as it requires a constant supply of bottles, which are purchased independently at regular prices in any liquor store and no, the same happens with products such as baking powder, where there is a small discount for the purchase of large quantities.

Don’t worry, we don’t have the best wine at your disposal, but we will mention this later, for now keep learning a little more about these amazing wine cookies.

So what are wine cookies?

We are with that, wine cookies are actually somewhat sweet, and although this makes them different from conventional cookies, their attractive and peculiar ingredient (wine), attract the attention of many lovers of these very special cookies.

These cookies are prepared with white wine in some cases, but mostly with red wine, but end up at the end, with a purple hue quite characteristic of these cookies.

They are cookies that are also open to the creativity of those who prepare them, for example, there are those who in the preparation decide to use fennel seeds, which provide that quite subtle and delicious flavor, or anise. Undoubtedly, it is not as common as a chocolate cookie, but it is quite exotic to the palate.

These wine cookies, like many things in nature, have times when everything becomes more intense, and they are consumed especially during the winter and, at the end of the main courses, as a dessert or dessert.

Cookies have become one of the characteristic accompaniments to Christmas dishes in many Italian homes. But, in many places in Italy, they are often eaten as a breakfast or even as a typical mid-afternoon snack. And as you can’t miss, there are those who accompany these wine cookies with a little more wine in their glass.

We will talk about how you can prepare them later, if you want to experiment and taste a delicious flavor, we bring for you this pastry delight. Just say, delight your palate with our delicious wine cookies, our culinary specialty.

What do I need to make my own wine cookies?

It is clear that wine must be present, since it is in this case the main ingredient. In this case you have many options at your disposal since you can use red wine, sweet wine, white wine and even grape must, which by the way we will give you some recipes that you can make at home with this ingredient.

Then you will need leavening flour, the one used to make cakes, or all-purpose flour, although it is also valid to use gluten-free or spelt flour, which is richer.

We cannot miss the sugar, and for this you can use the typical white sugar, or failing that, brown sugar, which seems to be healthier.

You can also use some raisins, which are much better if they are dehydrated. And, if you want to experiment a little more, anise powder or its seeds can be useful, but this is not a must, and they change the original flavor a little.

Of course the oil is essential, but here you have options available, as you can use the vegetable oil of all life, and even olive oil, but we will explain in another separate recipe, how to prepare with olive oil these wine cookies.

Last but not least, you will need baking powder, this will be in every recipe and it is necessary to keep the cookies light and very delicious when in contact with the most demanding palate.

A curious fact…

While it is true that wine cookies were adopted by the Italian culture, in Latin American countries and areas of North America such as New York they are especially popular, and in addition to their pleasant taste, their braided shape makes them look quite attractive to the public.

For this reason, we invite you to taste our wine cookies, or otherwise, use the good wine we have for you and get out of the routine making delicious cookies that will leave happy those who try them.

How do I prepare my wine cookies?

Now we are getting to the moment you were waiting for, because we are going to talk about how you can prepare these wine cookies in a very basic way, where you will only need the essential ingredients and you will see that the process is quite easy.

Ingredients:

Dry ingredients:

One and a half cups (240 grams) of the all-purpose flour.
You need about 70 grams of sugar. That would be about a third of a cup.
2 large tablespoons of dried grapes, about 20 grams.
2 teas- poons, or what is equal, 6 grams of anise powder or seeds. Of course, this point is according to your taste, this is optional.
A small spoonful of yeast, more or less about 5 grams.

Liquid ingredients:

1/3 cup of wine.
¼ cup vegetable oil.

Preparation instructions

Once you have the ingredients you need to use at hand, you only need to follow the next steps:

Before starting the preparation process, the first thing to do is to preheat the oven to approximately 360F/180C.
Find a small bowl, and there you will start adding the wine along with the raisins and if you wish, with the seeds or aniseed powder.
Then you will need a larger bowl, you are going to place the flour along with the baking powder and mix with the whisk.
Then add the vegetable oil with the wine, the raisins and the anise seeds and start mixing with the spatula until the mixture has enough consistency to create a ball of dough.
Now use your hands, because you will knead for one minute until the dough is smooth; however, you should not use these ingredients for a longer time.
Now take small pieces of the dough and with the palm of your hands you are going to make small rolls with the pieces of dough on the kneading board, so that you form a kind of snake.
You must have a baking tray covered with parchment paper, where you are going to put the rolls, and then place them in the oven at the same preheated temperature, for only 20 minutes.
When you take this tray out of the oven, let the wine cookies cool, then place them on a plate and sprinkle a little sugar on top.
Now all that is left is to enjoy your preparation which, as they do in Italy, you can accompany with a glass of wine and leave your palate so full that you will not want to taste anything else for now.

Recommendations you should know about the delicious wine cookies

When preparing wine cookies you can add a few drops of chocolate to the mixture, preferably white, I assure you that this divine dessert will be even more delicious.

You can accompany them with wine, it is the best option, but you can also opt for a cup of coffee or cold milk to dip the cookies.

This type of cookies are ideal to give a good gift, because I assure you that very few people know this culinary specialty, so you will be the one who offers the best gifts, because it is not only a good gesture, but the experience of making another person feel a sensation of exquisite taste in your mouth.

You will find that this type of cookies is an excellent idea when you have a romantic date or something like that.

What about, if I want to store my wine cookies?

If you want to store your wine cookies, you can do it without any problem, but if you store them well, they can be kept for up to two weeks without being damaged.

Of course, you should store them in a glass jar or a tin box, keeping it somewhere cool in the house.

Other wine cookie recipes

Now you know in a very simple way, how you can prepare at home some delicious wine cookies, but what if I tell you that you can make better ones?

Let’s see below, reviewing the recipe with which you can make some good wine cookies for afternoon snack, using in this case, white wine and olive oil.

White wine cookies with olive oil

These cookies have become the weakness of many, and in this case, this recipe presents a combination between sweet and savory that you are going to want to prepare, and of course, what better than a quiet afternoon to experiment in the kitchen some variations of the traditional recipe?

After experimenting with new recipes and so on, we see how wine cookies, despite their “little fame”, are beginning to gain ground for the exquisiteness that they offer to our palate, and also, it is a preparation that allows us to play with the ingredients, and give a personal touch.

But yes, the only essential is the wine without a doubt, you can choose white, sweet or red wine, but this requirement is fundamental.

Now we will see that there is a recipe for wine cookies using white wine and olive oil, which are quite creative, quite innovative and that I assure you will give you a pleasant experience during its preparation.

Yes, you read that right, you are going to combine white wine with olive oil, but the result will be something that your palate will be grateful for, that’s for sure.

Perhaps it sounds like a strange combination, and even more so to prepare some cookies, it is even more curious its place of origin, because unlike the “conventional” wine cookies that we discussed at the beginning of this article, these white wine cookies with olive oil have their origin in the South of France, specifically in the area of Languedoc – Roussillon.

The curious thing about this recipe, it stands out at first sight, even though it is from France, no butter is used, and of course, it is based on the recipe of the conventional wine cookies, but using white wine; which by the way you will find in our wine catalog, so you can take a look and check the best quality wines from all over Houston.

How is the texture of the olive oil wine cookies?

Actually, very few people have had the pleasure of trying these incredible and innovative cookies, which, despite the unusual combination of white wine and olive oil, the result in terms of texture is quite harmonious and I assure you that trying them will be the best.

Its texture becomes crunchy at the ends and as you get closer to the center you will notice how it becomes softer and with more dough, where you will notice the flavor of the olive oil, a little discreet.

Most likely you will not be able to identify the taste of olive oil or white wine, but the overall flavor you will feel will be quite delicious.

Now let’s take a look at the recipe, which will only take you 40 minutes to prepare and with the quantities we provide, you will have a total of 24 wine cookies to enjoy.

Ingredients to use

2 cups and ¾ cups of flour, for all-purpose.
½ cup of sugar, and a little more, so at the end of preparation, you can rosier the cookies on top.
½ ½ teaspoon of baking powder.
½ teaspoon of very fine sea salt.
½ cup of olive oil.
½ tablespoon of vanilla extract, to enhance the aroma.
½ cup white wine, which should be drier and sweeter.

Step by step preparation

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
Have a couple of baking sheets covered with baking paper and keep on standby to place the dough when the cookies are already molded.
Mix in a bowl the flour with the sugar and the baking powder, in addition, you will also add the salt and, with the help of a hand mixer you will progressively incorporate the ingredients and eliminating all traces of lumps that may remain.
Then add the olive oil and start mixing more vigorously.
Now in a separate bowl, you are going to dilute the half tablespoon of vanilla extract with the white wine, then integrate it with the rest of the ingredients and start mixing until the mixture has a consistency that you can handle with your hands and is easily moldable to make the cookies.
Start kneading with your hands on a strong surface, so that the solid ingredients can be better incorporated. While you are kneading, you will realize that it is ready to make the cookies because the dough is soft, greasy and very pliable to the touch.
Now it’s time to start making small balls and flatten the mixture, then with the help of molds, you will create the shape you want. Now you are going to spread each shape over the sugar in all its parts.
Then put the cookies on the baking sheets and bake them in the oven for 20 minutes.

Some recommendations...

After 10 minutes in the oven, your wine cookies will be ready, now you must rotate both trays, that is, the one that was on top in the oven you change it for the one that was below, this way you ensure a more even baking.

A good tip, although you can wait for them to cool and eat them immediately, it is best to wait a day, hold your desire to eat this delicious preparation and enjoy it to the fullest a day later.

When you are going to store them, we recommend adding a few sprigs of rosemary, as it will give an additional touch to their aroma.

Recipes you can make using wine cookies

Once you have prepared your delicious wine cookies, how about adding them to another preparation? This will surely blow your mind, and even more when you see the following recipe we are going to give you:

Cake with wine cookies

We already know by now how to prepare some good wine cookies, but their flavor and exquisiteness is so great that it would not be right for it to stay there, that’s why with this cake with wine cookies you will take these incredible cookies to a supreme level:

Ingredients to use

Choose about 10 to 20 wine cookies.
Then 150 ml of condensed milk.
400 ml of milk.
Two eggs.
1 cup of sugar.
1 small cup of cornstarch.
Some nuts.

Preparation

Boil 200 ml of milk in a saucepan, when it starts to heat, add the 150 ml of canned condensed milk. We proceed to mix until it gains more thickness in its texture, then we turn it off and let it rest for a while.
In another smaller bowl, we are going to add 150 ml of milk to mix it with the eggs, cornstarch and sugar. When compacted, we add this mixture with the one in the pot and proceed to heat it over low heat for five minutes, and when the mixture is compacted, stir it for another five minutes.
Wih the remaining 50 ml of milk, soak the wine cookies and then start to assemble the cake.
Then in a tray, place a little of the mixture and then the wine cookies on top, repeating this process until you reach the top. In the last layer, add the wine cookies without soaking them in the milk to finish.
Place for a few hours in the refrigerator and all that remains is to enjoy the wine cookies in this small homemade cake.

Where can I find wine cookies?

First of all, we will tell you that in our store you will find the best wine not only to taste it, but also to make your wine cookies and other preparations, but not satisfied with this, we bring for you delicious wine cookies that you can use in any recipe and enjoy an afternoon with family or friends, and I assure you, your palate will feel a pleasure, never tasted before.