I used to bake Galletas de Vino or Chilean Wine Cookies with my mom as a kid. The first thing I learned to cook was cookies; I was her kitchen assistant.
These cookies are very economical as they have no butter or much sugar. Sugar was one of the most expensive ingredients in colonial Chile since it was challenging to cultivate sugarcane.
Nowadays, sugar is obtained from sugarbeets in Chile.
The result is a crispy cookie with only a hint of sweetness. Do not skip the sugar dusting before baking, or the cookies will be too bland. MJ Montecinos from Temuco shared this recipe with me on Facebook. It is her family recipe. My family recipe was lost, but from what I remember, it was very similar.
You may be interested in the recipe Chocolate Alfajores.
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Chilean Wine Cookies
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 30
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Oven-baked
- Cuisine: Chilean
Description
An easy cookie with a distinct flavor.
Ingredients
Units
- 3 ½ -4 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- pinch of salt
- ½ cup oil
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup white wine
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200C or 400F.
- In a large bowl, sift together 3 ½ cups flour, powdered sugar, and baking powder. Add salt and stir to mix.
- In a pyrex jar, mix the oil, wine, vanilla, 1 egg, and one egg yolk, stir to mix (5 seconds). Save the egg white to paint cookies.
- Pour the oil mixture over the sifted dry ingredients and stir with a spoon initially, then use your hands. Knead until you form a dough. If you need to add more flour, do it ¼ cup more each time.
- Roll half of the dough on the floured counter, give it a rectangular shape and cut as shown in the picture. The strips I made them 16 cm long and about 8 mm wide. Pinch 3 strips together and braid. Repeat with remaining dough.
- Paint the braids with egg white and sprinkle with sugar.
- Place on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and bake for 20-22 minutes until golden.
- Cool on a rack and store an airtight tin for up to 1 week.
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