Raisin Spice Cookies

A while ago, I was chatting with my friend about raisins. Raisins are a key ingredient in a lot of British baking, especially in the Christmas cake and related items. As we like to buy new ingredients each year, that has left us with a plethora of raisins. We have regular raisins, petite raisins, sultanas, Hunza raisins currents, as well as a raisin medley. It’s a bit ridiculous looking at how many choices there are, just in my cupboard! For this recipe, I used petite raisins as they are a nice size for baking.

I find that raisins are often dry, but you can steep them to plump them up. This is a good step to take, and you’ll always have softer raisins. You can steep them in hot water, but I usually use an alcohol that will complement the recipe. In this case, I used cinnamon whiskey, as the dough also contained cinnamon and other spices. You can steep the raisins for a short while, but I let mine steep overnight, as it enhances the flavor and gives you some extra time. Don’t worry, the alcohol dissipates while the cookies bake, so you can’t taste alcohol at all.

When I was typing up this recipe, I noticed that it said you could refrigerate the dough before baking, for better results. Well, I didn’t see that and baked them as soon as the dough was ready, and they turned out fine. The raisins are soft and lovely, and the cookies have a great spice flavor. When you eat them, it seems like there is oatmeal in these cookies, but there isn’t. These cookies remind me of favorites from the past, and I may try taking this dough and adding white chocolate and cranberries, trying to recreate that favorite I had years ago.

Raisin Spice Cookies
3/4 cup raisins
1 1/3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a medium bowl, steep the raisins in hot water or alcohol. Cover the bowl and allow the raisins to plump for at least an hour. Drain the raisins thoroughly before using.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves; set aside. In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter, sugar, and brown sugar on medium until light. Add the egg and vanilla and mix on medium to incorporate.

With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture. When the flour is barely incorporated, remove the bowl from the mixer and add the raisins. Mix the raisins into the dough with a spatula.

Drop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, using about 1-1/2 tablespoons per cookie.

Bake for 11-13 minutes, until the cookies begin to brown, and they do not look doughy. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Rock Recipes