"What does it take to be "officially" recognized as a country?"

Good question. Confederate officials did meet and correspond with foreign powers, but never achieved full recognition as an independent and equal country by these powers. Historian Henry Blumenthal details some of the Confederacy's attempts to handle foreign recognition in his article "Confederate Diplomacy: Popular Notions and International Realities." (_The Journal of Southern History_ Vol. 32, No. 2 (May, 1966), pp. 151-17) He writes:

"To win recognition, President Jefferson Davis tried different approaches, usually using cotton as an instrument of policy. At first he was so anxious to impress upon the world that a civilized and moderate administration had assumed the reins of the Confederate government that he opposed an all-out war. With the Confederacy asking for nothing more than independence, the President thought, Europe and the United States might perhaps come round and admit the legitimacy of this request. The original instructions to the commissioners the Confederacy government sent to Europe did therefore not include requests for substantial foreign aid or alliances. All the Confederacy basically desired was the conclusion of the usual treaties of friendship and commerce with countries extending recognition to it. As the war dragged on, this policy was revised. But even then, though seeking loans and ships, pleading for the lifting of the crippling blockade, and demanding recognition as a right, the Davis administration continued to frown upon outright foreign intervention. As late as November 7, 1864, Davis told the Confederate Congress that all he desired was recognition. In spite of the Confederacy's precarious condition in 1864, he still thought that recognition would be a powerful factor in the restoration of peace. It would bolster the morale of the Confederate people and embolden those Northerners who favored peace." (156-157)

Clearly foreign consideration and recognition of the Confederacy's belligerent status did not equal actual recognition of Confederate independence. Blumenthal notes that as late as November 1864 Davis and the Confederate Congress acknowledged that foreign powers (most importantly France and Britain) had not extended official recognition.