Raisin-Filled Cookies
My great-grandmother, Arizona Henry, loved Christmas because it meant making cookies with her friends. My sister Lisa and I were always sent to the other room while Grandma and her friends baked cookies all evening. Occasionally, they would bring us a bowl or spoon to lick, still coated with cookie dough. I guess they felt a little sorry for us.
We never bought gifts for anyone outside the family, so our Christmas gift was always a plate piled high with Grandma’s famous homemade cookies. This year, I want to share her favorite cookie recipe as a Christmas gift for all the readers of The Morgan Messenger.
These raisin-filled cookies take more time to make, but they are worth every second.
This cookie isn’t healthy, so enjoy it in moderation while celebrating the holidays with your family.
These cookies are more than a holiday treat. They are part of my family’s history. Long after the plates are empty and the kitchen is cleaned, we have memories. Recipes like this one are a reminder that traditions are made not just from ingredients, but from time spent together. My great-grandmother, Arizona Henry, may be gone, but her legacy lives on every Christmas one raisin-filled cookie at a time. There are two parts to this recipe: the dough and the filling. The dough needs to be cold, so plan that into your time.
Raisin-Filled Cookies
Dough
2 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup shortening
1 cup milk
2 tsp baking soda
4 tsp baking powder
7 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
Directions: Combine all dough ingredients, mix well, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Roll the dough out on a floured surface. Cut with a cookie cutter or the rim of a hard plastic cup. Place on a greased baking sheet. Add filling (see below). Top with another cookie. Press edges together with your thumb or a fork to seal. Bake at 300°F for 14 minutes.
Filling
1 (12-oz) box raisins
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 cup black walnuts
2–3 tbsp cornstarch
Directions: Cook raisins and water in a saucepan until tender. Add sugar and walnuts; mix well. Thicken with cornstarch until the mixture reaches a pudding-like consistency
Stacy Schultz is a Registered Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist, a former Morgan County Commissioner and is the author of “It’s Stacy’s Grandma ‘Zona’s recipes” and “Great Grandma Zona’s Wisdom & recipes: Comfort food made easy.” She has been in healthcare for 35 years at War Memorial Hospital.
