Wine with a Twist (cookies)

These are cookies that have wine IN them.  They are better with coffee then they are with  wine. This is a variation that I had to depend on one year when I LOST THE RECIPE. It wasn’t really, really lost, and I have since found it. The problem was

I ORGANIZED MY RECIPES

I have since found it, but , of course, I couldn’t put my hot little hands on it this morning. Because I organized my recipes – again. Or some of them. Sorta.

Now, I have organized my recipes more then once. More then twice. More then….you get the picture.

Boxes

And by boxes, I mean more then one. More then 2……

Binders

and by binders, I mean more then one. More then 2….you get the picture

Recipe cards

Assorted sizes and designs. Most of them are as blank as this one.

and then then there are odd slips of paper tucked into cookbooks……and the digital diaster….but but enough whine

…on to wine cookies …

Wine cookies have already been requested for this Christmas.  My mother asks for them. So they’re on the list. I’ll be baking them her kitchen.

For the last several years, I’ve gone to the ancestral home for cookie baking marathons because

1. there’s just plain more room at the ancestral home and
2. my mother tells stories of her family when there are cookies in the oven
3. and…it’s more fun with other people around. Who come around when they hear that cookies are being baked.

One version of

WINE BISCOTI

4 2/3 cups of AP flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ cup sugar

¼ – 1 teaspoon anise seeds (How much anise taste do you like? If you prefer, ½ teaspoon anise extract or 1 teaspoon anise flavored liquor. Add the seeds with the drys – the liquids with the wets….)

¾ cup red wine

2/3 cup EVO

Topping:

¼ cup sugar

2 Tablespoons sugar

 

1. Preheat oven to 350° and line a baking sheet with non-stick foil, parchment paper or a silpat sheet.
2. In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar and anise seeds. Mix well with a whisk.
3. Add the wine and olive oil (*and extract) and stir all together with a wooden spoon to form a soft dough (adjust with more flour if too wet and more wine/oil if too dry).
4. In a smaller bowl, combine the ¼ cup sugar with the cinnamon and set aside.
5. Scoop out Tablespoons of dough and form them into ball 1inch in diameter. Roll the balls into the sugar/cinnamon mix and place 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet.
6. Bake in a 350° oven for 15 – 20 minutes or until golden.
7. Remove from baking sheet and cool on a rack.

From Italian Cooking and Living May 2006, p. 16.

Italian Cooking and Living not the issue with the cookie recipe

wine cookies made with white wine and formed into rings

 

Wine cookies made with red wine and made into a snails

 

Wine with a twist cookie

Aglio e Olio

Aglio and Olio is Garlic and Oil and that’s another Meatless Monday Dish.

The Garlic and Oil are the sauce for spaghetti.

Spaghetti with Garlic and Oil

10 garlic cloves, thinly sliced(most other recipes call for less – but then it’s merely garlic-ish and not garlic. Garlic keeps you healthy and the parsley helps your breath)

6 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley ( plus more for sprinkling on top)

1 pound spaghetti

Grating cheese

1. Start a pot of water for the spaghetti
2. Put olive oil and slice garlic in another pan over medium heat. PAY CLOSE ATTENTION HERE. Do not get distracted for the next 3-4 minutes. Stir this occasionally until the garlic just starts to begin to brown – 2-3 minutes.
3. Add the red pepper flakes and the chopped parsley. Stir it around and remove from the heat.
4. When the water comes to a boil, add salt and the spaghetti.  Cook until al dente. Save a ½ cup of the pasta water and then drain.
5. Put the spaghetti back in the cooking pot, add the garlic and oil mixture and ¼ cup of the pasta water. Toss over medium heat until all the spaghetti is well coated, adding more water if necessary.
6. Serve with grated cheese.

From Mario Batali. Molto Gusto. p. 140.