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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.
I 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.
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
First, 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.
Portion 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.
Measure your first one, and make them all roughly match that!
Roll into little donuts, and pinch the ends to form a circle.
Dip 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.
Bake.
Remove from oven and use a spatula to put 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 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
- Heat oven to 350F degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper and set them aside.
- 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.)
- 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.
- In a wide shallow bowl or a on a plate, put the finishing sugar. Dip the top of each formed cookie into this sugar.
- 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.
- Makes 48 cookies.
- 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).
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About the book
This 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!
Christmas Cookies Week!
Welcome to #ChristmasCookies Week, that time when we soften the butter, fire up the oven, and make cookie trays for family, friends, and neighbors. This year more than 20 top-notch bloggers are sharing their very favorite creations for all to make and enjoy. Join us for a week’s worth of Christmas cookie deliciousness.
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- Italian Sweet Taralli by Shockingly Delicious YOU ARE HERE!
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Other Shockingly Delicious Christmas cookie recipes you might like
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{ 25 comments… read them below or add one }
I am going to make several “test” batches also.
Toying with the idea of adding orange extract to a test batch. Hmm.
Donna,
I like the orange extract idea!
I am so curious to try these cookies in the sweet version! They look so good!
I am loving this recipe! I cannot wait to make these.
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!
These look like a different kind of Italian cookie and never met one I didn’t like so count me in!
Inger,
I’m with you. I never met an Italian cookie I didn’t like!
These cookies are incredible!! I would love to make a batch!
I can’t wait to try these cookies! They look and sound amazing!
Such a fun cookie recipe. Really excited to share this with family!
Wow, these look fantastic. My boys said we should try to make these. Can’t wait. Thanks for all the tips.
I have not had these in years, I definitely need to put them on the to-make list!
Yummy. I love cookies and I thought I had tried them all, but nope! Thanks for the details in making these.
Terri,
They were new to me, as well!
Looks absolutely fantastic! I’m excited to try this!
Love these cookies! They’re perfect with coffee or tea!
Sandra,
Exactly!
Not a cookie I’ve seen before but definitely one I’d love to eat!
They look like little donuts! So cute!
Hezzi,
They DO! They are so flippin’ cute on a platter!
Perfectly festive cookies! I love that they are not overly sweet and customizable with the sugar coating.
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…
Beth,
I call that “poison control.”
I love the King Arthur sparkling sugar too! I’ve made tarali, but the savory kind. I’ll have to try these.
You got my attention with the savory versions. I’m definitely going to try some for on an appetizer buffet.