Christmas Cookie #8: Louise's Raisin-Filled Cookies

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Grandma Louise and me

My Grandma Louise died in 1984, when I was only 4 years-old.  I don't remember much about her.  By then, she was already suffering from a lifetime of lupus and deteriorating health.  I can vaguely remember visiting her in the nursing home.  The image of her is faded in my mind.  Thankfully, I have the memories my parents share with me, a handful of photographs showing us together, and the recipes she passed down to my mother.


In a previous post, I shared Louise and Kenny's Swedish Rye Bread with you.  Today, I am making her raisin-filled cookies.

These cookies take more time than the others, but they are worth it.  The dough is light and silky, unlike the grainy texture of most cookie doughs.  The milk in the recipe makes the dough wetter, requiring more flour or cornstarch to roll them out than other sugar cookies.  The sweet raisin filling collapses the cookie in your mouth, unlike any other cookie I have tasted.

First, I combined raisins, sugar, water, and flour in my Vitamix
and ran it for about 15-30 seconds.
(You can chop them with a knife or run them in a food processor, too.)

Then, I cooked it on medium until it thickened.

I let it cool while I started making the dough.

I creamed the sugar and butter in my Kitchen Aid.

Then, I added vanilla and the egg.

At this point, I had classic sugar, butter, and egg combination

which starts most cookie doughs.

Then, I added milk mixed with salt and mixed it as much as possible.

The butter didn't blend into the milk very well.

Finally, I added flour, cream of tartar, and baking soda.

I made a sticky dough, almost the texture of noodles.

I rolled the dough out with my marble rolling pin

onto a flexible plastic cutting board dusted well with cornstarch.
I cut out circles with a glass.

Next, I spooned about a teaspoon of the raisin mixture

on the center of the dough. 

I used a paintbrush to apply water to the edges of the cookie dough

and then I place another circle on top,

pressing down on the edges to seal the cookie.

 I changed my mind at this point and decided to bake

the cookies on parchment paper in case the raisins

leaked out onto the pan. 

None of them did.

I made an extra batch of these cookies to share with my uncle

and my cousin.  They were both excited

when my husband dropped them off at their houses!

[Print this Recipe]

LOUISE'S RAISIN-FILLED COOKIES

Ingredients:

*3 c. chopped raisins

*1 c. sugar and 1/2 c. sugar, divided

*1/2 c. water

*4 c. and 1 tsp. flour, divided 

*1/2 c. butter

*1 egg

*1 tsp. vanilla

*1 c. milk

*2 tsp. cream of tartar

*1 tsp salt

*1 tsp. flour

*Cornstarch for rolling out dough

Directions:

1.  Combine chopped raisins, 1/2 c. sugar, 1/2 c. water, and 1 tsp. flour in medium saucepan.  Cook over medium heat, stirring often until mixture begins to thicken.  Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.

2.  Preheat oven to 375F.  In a large mixing bowl, cream 1 c. sugar and butter.  Blend egg into mixture.  In measuring cup, dissolve salt in milk.  Incorporate milk into mixture.

3.  Add 4 c. flour, cream of tartar, and soda to wet ingredients.  Mix thoroughly until soft dough forms.

4.  Roll dough very thin onto surface with cornstarch.  Cut circles out of dough.  Place circles on parchment paper lined baking sheet.  Spoon teaspoons of raisin mixture onto dough circles.  Wet edges of dough and place another circle over raisin mixture.  Seal the edges.

5.  Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Yields 2-3 dozen

Do you have a family member you can barely remember?  How do you remember them?

• Tomorrow, I will share my recipe for Hidden Kisses Cookies, crispy almond shortbread with a special Hershey's Kiss inside.
• You can find links to all my 12 Cookies of Christmas recipes here.