# HELP! Italian Wine syrup cookies



## miadonata (Jan 21, 2008)

My grandmother was from Bari, Italy and made "cookies" for special occassions, but never told anyone the recipe, or let us see exactly what she was mixing together. They were her "special" cookies and she took her recipes to the grave. She made a simple dough, rolled out thin, cut in long ribbons and inch wide. Sometimes she would leave them in ribbons about 3 inches long, sometime's she made loose knots. But she'd quickly deep fry them, drain them, and then plunge them into a pot of deep red wine syrup that had been made much earlier in the day, and was simmering/reducing on the stove for hours beforehand. There was a full bottle of some sort of red wine, mixed with a couple of pounds of sugar to start this syrup. I remember she'd also sometimes have a handful of fresh chicory in the wine too, but only cause I was nosey.... she would remove it before she let anyone else in the kitchen. The cousins have tried desperately to recreate this but no idea of the proportions? What kind of wine? What was in the dough? I've found all sort of fried cookies, usually with honey syrup, on other sites... b ut never this concoction, which was heaven. Any help???


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## JFanelli (Dec 3, 2015)

I too have the same story.  I remember my great grandmother making these cookies and boiling the syrup.  I have the recipe, however, I do not know how long the chicory syrup takes to cook...I think pretty long!  If anyone has any information regarding the cenci cookies and the syrup; please help.


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## Steve Kroll (Dec 3, 2015)

I'm not sure about the cookies, but there seem to be a number of recipes for cenci cookies that come up on Google.

The syrup sounds like some variation of vino cotto, which isn't traditionally made with wine, but rather grape juice that's been boiled down to syrup-like consistency. I suppose, though, it might be easier in this country to use sweetened wine since unfermented wine grape juice is a little harder to come by.


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## JFanelli (Dec 3, 2015)

*Wine/Chicory Syrup*

Thanks very much.
I was able to make it tonight and it came out great.  
Now for the cookies and the frying/dipping!


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