Italian Sweet Taralli Cookies

by Dorothy Reinhold on November 6, 2022


Print This Post Print This Post Donut-shaped cookies on a plate with additional cookies on a cooling rack in the background

Italian Sweet Taralli are like a dense cracker rolled into a little donut-shaped ring, dipped in crunchy sugar and baked, for a sweet cookie snack.

What are Taralli?

Taralli are so hard to describe. Is it a breadstick, cracker, pretzel or British biscuit-type thing? It’s a mashup of all of those, and is a not-too-sweet crunchy cookie that you will find yourself falling in love with. 

Let’s discuss what it is NOT. It is NOT an overly sweet American-style cookie, like a chocolate chip cookie, or a gooey bar cookie, or a frosted cookie. From an American perspective, I think of them more a lightly sweet cracker, if you know what I mean.

2 Italian Sweet Taralli Cookies on a white marble counterI think it makes a perfect cookie for a holiday cookie platter (especially with sparkling sugar on the outside), and will totally satisfy those for whom traditional cookies might be too sweet or too much. This cookie is ALL THAT, with a crunchy, clean taste. 

Taralli can be savory (often flavored with fennel or anise seeds, red pepper flakes or black pepper, rosemary, oregano, Parmesan or some other cracker-like flavoring along with the white wine, flour and olive oil) and are served with drinks, an Aperol spritz, or wine. They make a great addition to a charcuterie board. 

4 donut-shaped Italian Sweet Taralli Cookies on a leaf-pattered plate But this recipe is a sweet version of Taralli and can be dessert, a snack with coffee or tea, or even a breakfast sweet.

Taralli are said to have originated from the south of Italy — Puglia and Campania. They’re considered cucina povera, or “poor kitchen,” due to their simple ingredient list. Cucina povera is a peasant style of cooking that is appreciated  for its use of inexpensive, everyday ingredients to make delicious dishes.  

How to make Italian Sweet Taralli Cookies

A variety of ingredients for Italian Sweet Taralli Cookies laid out on a white marble countertopFirst, as always, assemble your ingredients. For this recipe, you’ll need…

  • Dry white wine (I used Sauvignon blanc, but use what you have on hand. It should be dry wine, not a sweet wine)
  • Good-quality extra virgin olive oil (I used Amy Riolo Selections extra virgin olive oil, but again, use what you have or prefer)
  • All purpose flour, unbleached (my favorite brand is King Arthur)
  • Sugar
  • Salt
  • Baking powder
  • Ground cinnamon (I prefer Penzey’s Vietnamese Cinnamon for its pungency, but use what you like)
  • Coarse sugar crystals (I like the King Arthur white sparkling sugar)

Mix dough in a large bowl either by hand with a wooden spoon, or in a stand mixer on low speed.

A hand rolls out a piece of dough while 6 addtional pieces of dough are on the white cutting boardPortion dough into pieces (the recipes make 48 cookies). Please note that if you taste the raw dough, you will think it tastes heavily of wine and olive oil. This changes during baking!

Roll them out by hand into 4-inch cylinders.

2 columns of 7 cylinders of rolled cookie dough on a white cutting board, with a hand holding a measuring tape to measure their lengthMeasure your first one, and make them all roughly match that!

A hand forms a donut out of a dough cylinder on a white cutting board, with other dough cylinders on the boardRoll into little donuts, and pinch the ends to form a circle.

Hand holds a donut-shaped cookie that is dipped into colored sugar crystals in a white bowlDip tops into sugar crystals. You can use one color, or 2 colors as I did today. Change up the colors to line up with a holiday or the birthday person’s favorite color!

Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. They won’t spread during baking, so they can be placed fairly close together. 

A baking sheet full of donut-shaped Taralli cookies with color sugar on top, in the ovenBake.

Hand holding a spatula has 2 cookies being moved to a cooling rack, from a gold colored baking sheetRemove from oven and use a spatula to put cookies on a cooling rack.

40 Italian Sweet Taralli cookies on a cooling rack Let them cool completely before storing in an airtight container at room temperature.

Shall we bake some Sweet Taralli? They’re easy!

Italian Sweet Taralli Cookies

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Yield: 48 cookies

Italian Sweet Taralli Cookies

Italian Sweet Taralli are like a dense cracker rolled into a little donut-shaped ring, dipped in crunchy sugar and baked, for a sweet cookie snack.

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup white wine
  • 3/4 cup good-quality extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 3/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • For outside of cookie: 1/2 cup colored sugar or sugar crystals (or additional granulated sugar)

Directions

  1. Heat oven to 350F degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper and set them aside.
  2. In a large bowl, combine wine and olive oil, and stir to combine. Stir in flour, sugar salt. baking powder and cinnamon. Mix well to combine ingredients, and continue mixing until dough forms a ball. (I did this in a stand mixer on low speed, but you can absolutely do it by hand with a wooden spoon.)
  3. You will be forming 48 cookies, so I like to separate the dough into equal quarters, and work with one-quarter of the dough at a time. To form cookies, on a cutting board or clean surface, pinch off pieces of dough and roll each piece into a 4-inch cylinder (like a little cigar). Bring the 2 ends together and pinch them so they stay put, to form a circle. Repeat this action to form 48 cookies. Logistically, I did one tray of cookies and put it in the oven to bake while I worked on the second tray. Again, if you are working with one-quarter of the dough at a time, each dough quarter will make 12 cookies.
  4. In a wide shallow bowl or a on a plate, put the finishing sugar. Dip the top of each formed cookie into this sugar.
  5. Place cookies 1/4-inch apart on the baking sheet. (Cookies will not spread.) Bake for 18-20 minutes, until the cookies are hard and bottoms just begin to turn golden (lift one up to look at it!). Remove the cookies from the oven and cool on a cooling rack.
  6. Makes 48 cookies.
  7. They freeze well, in an airtight container.

Notes

Recipe source: Adapted from Taralli dolci al vino/Sweet Wine Biscuits, in the cookbook "Italian Recipes for Dummies," by Amy Riolo (2022, John Wiley & Sons Publishing).

https://www.shockinglydelicious.com/italian-sweet-taralli-cookies/

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Italian Sweet Taralli cookies on a cooling rack

About the book

Italian Recipes for Dummies cookbook coverThis recipe is adapted from a great new book called “Italian Recipes for Dummies,” by Amy Riolo {affiliate link}. It’s an authoritative, deeply researched book by Riolo, who is an award-winning, best-selling author, chef, and TV personality. I plan to keep it on my shelves as a resource for whenever I need to consult about Italian recipes and foods. She has this Taralli recipe listed under “Holiday and Special Occasion Treats,” and it is that, for sure! Even though it is not at all like a gooey, overstuffed American cookie, it still satisfies as a sweet bite to finish a meal. That’s what I like about these. They are not overly sweet or cloying, yet they tell my mouth that I have had dessert! 

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{ 25 comments… read them below or add one }

Donna Long October 26, 2023 at 10:38 am

I am going to make several “test” batches also.
Toying with the idea of adding orange extract to a test batch. Hmm.

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold October 26, 2023 at 9:17 pm

Donna,
I like the orange extract idea!

Reply

Catalina November 9, 2022 at 11:56 am

I am so curious to try these cookies in the sweet version! They look so good!

Reply

Lisa November 9, 2022 at 10:08 am

I am loving this recipe! I cannot wait to make these.

Reply

Kathryn November 9, 2022 at 6:56 am

I grew up eating these cookies and I’m so glad I have your recipe so I can make them now. I can’t wait! Thanks so much!

Reply

Inger November 9, 2022 at 6:43 am

These look like a different kind of Italian cookie and never met one I didn’t like so count me in!

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold November 9, 2022 at 9:51 am

Inger,
I’m with you. I never met an Italian cookie I didn’t like!

Reply

Beti | easyweeknightrecipes November 8, 2022 at 9:31 am

These cookies are incredible!! I would love to make a batch!

Reply

katerina @ diethood.com November 8, 2022 at 9:30 am

I can’t wait to try these cookies! They look and sound amazing!

Reply

Erik November 8, 2022 at 8:23 am

Such a fun cookie recipe. Really excited to share this with family!

Reply

Rebecca November 8, 2022 at 7:31 am

Wow, these look fantastic. My boys said we should try to make these. Can’t wait. Thanks for all the tips.

Reply

Jolene November 8, 2022 at 6:19 am

I have not had these in years, I definitely need to put them on the to-make list!

Reply

Terri Steffes November 8, 2022 at 4:51 am

Yummy. I love cookies and I thought I had tried them all, but nope! Thanks for the details in making these.

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold November 8, 2022 at 10:31 am

Terri,
They were new to me, as well!

Reply

Erin | Dinners, Dishes and Dessert November 8, 2022 at 3:12 am

Looks absolutely fantastic! I’m excited to try this!

Reply

Sandra November 7, 2022 at 8:51 pm

Love these cookies! They’re perfect with coffee or tea!

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold November 8, 2022 at 10:31 am

Sandra,
Exactly!

Reply

Colleen - Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck November 7, 2022 at 8:36 pm

Not a cookie I’ve seen before but definitely one I’d love to eat!

Reply

Hezzi-D November 7, 2022 at 5:48 pm

They look like little donuts! So cute!

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold November 8, 2022 at 10:31 am

Hezzi,
They DO! They are so flippin’ cute on a platter!

Reply

Julie November 7, 2022 at 4:09 pm

Perfectly festive cookies! I love that they are not overly sweet and customizable with the sugar coating.

Reply

Beth November 7, 2022 at 3:04 pm

These are ABSOLUTELY going on my Christmas treat menu this year. Of course, I’ll have to make a few batches before that. You know, just to ensure the quality. Yeah, that’s it. Testing…

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold November 8, 2022 at 10:32 am

Beth,
I call that “poison control.”

Reply

Karen's Kitchen Stories November 7, 2022 at 1:47 pm

I love the King Arthur sparkling sugar too! I’ve made tarali, but the savory kind. I’ll have to try these.

Reply

Wendy Klik November 7, 2022 at 1:07 pm

You got my attention with the savory versions. I’m definitely going to try some for on an appetizer buffet.

Reply

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