Today, Feb 19th is the birthday of one of my famous Italian actors, gone too quickly, but never forgotten..Massimo Troisi. I remember him most for his last movie role in Il Postino (The Postman), a fictional story embellished to the true life story of exiled poet Pablo Neruda, who lived out some of his life in Italy. The movie was filmed on the island of Procida..one of my favorite hideaways.. this little paradise is neatly tucked into the Gulf of Naples. A true romantic, most of Neruda’s poems are about love but some are odes to foods and wines mixed in with love sonnets.
Ode To Wine by Pablo Neruda (excerpted)
……..Wine stirs the Spring,
happiness bursts through the earth like a plant,
walls crumble,
and rocky cliffs chasms close
as song is born
……………….
Early white wines of Spring will soon be appearing on many tables. If you have any leftover..especially just a cup… These biscotti are the perfect way to use the leftover white wine…since it is delicate and can’t be stored for long periods of time, especially when opened. ..
White Wine Cookies (or Ciambelline al Vino)
1 cup sugar
1 cup sunflower oil
1 cup dry white wine
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 tsps sugar for the top
3-4 cups flour
1 tsp grated lemon peel
First combine oil and sugar to make a creamy paste. Add in wine. Then add in vanila, lemon peel, then blend in flour with hands, a little at a time, until a smooth ball is formed. Divide dough into small pieces of approximately 1 1/2 tablespoons each. Roll each piece into a thin rope,pinch the edges, then form a small ring. Dip one side into granulated sugar. place on baking sheet llined with parchment paper and bake in an oven preheated to 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
Congratulations to Award Winning Chef Vincent Tropepe who was selected Chef of the Year by the USACC this week with an award ceremony at his restaurant in NYC ..EPOCA..truly a talented chef!!
For more great recipes, get your copy of the book selected as Best Italian Cuisine Book of the Year by Gourmand World Cookbook Awards The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions-2nd edition
The Postman, Procida and Ciambelline al Vino | How To Make White Wine Biscotti
These look great! Can’t wait to try them. What is the yield for this recipe? Guessing 24 or 36?
Crystal, thanks for visiting and sharing your comments! You are absolutely correct, this recipe will yield anywhere between 24-36 + or – depending on the thickness of each cookie. Let us know how they turn out!
Maria
Hi Maria! I tried these cookies out today and I think the proportions might be off? I ended up needing an extra 2-3 cups of flour in the batch because it was like syrup with just two cups. And in doing so it made the batch size much larger, so I ended up with about 9 dozen 1 1/2″ cookies. I suppose I could have made them larger. 🙂 That said, they are quite good! Not too sweet and very munchable. I’m glad for the extra cookies so I can give some away to friends. Thank you!
Crystal :thanks for letting us know. Quantities for ingredients can always vary depending on type of flour, and other ingredeints used. There are always so many variables. The yield always varies depending on thickness of the cookies. Happy to hear they worked out for you and also thanks for sharing your experience with this recipe.
Maria
a wine is better than any other drinks.. cheers!