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Pap Steve

Old-Fashioned Raisin-Filled Sugar Cookies

Grandma Alice's raisin-filled sugar cookies, handed down from her mother. Soft nutmeg sugar cookie dough wrapped around a cooked raisin filling.
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Servings: 30 cookies
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Cookie Dough
  • 2 eggs beaten
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 cups shortening
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp cream of tartar
  • 1 tbsp nutmeg per the cards; start with 1 tsp and work up to taste
  • 5-6 cups all-purpose flour start with 5; add until soft but rollable
Raisin Filling
  • 1 1/3 cups sugar
  • 1 cup hot water
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 1 tbsp flour
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 4 cups raisins

Method
 

Make the Filling First
  1. Combine the sugar, hot water, butter, flour, salt and raisins in a saucepan.
  2. Bring to a boil over medium heat and stir until thickened, about 5-10 minutes.
  3. Remove from heat and cool completely before using.
Make the Dough
  1. Mix the eggs, sugar, shortening and milk.
  2. Stir in the baking soda, cream of tartar and nutmeg.
  3. Gradually add the flour, starting with 5 cups, until the dough is soft but manageable for rolling. Chill if needed.
  4. Roll out on a floured surface and cut into circles.
Fill, Seal and Bake
  1. Heat the oven to 350 F.
  2. Place a spoonful of cooled filling in the center of half the cutouts and top with the remaining cutouts.
  3. Seal and crimp the edges.
  4. Bake until golden, about 10-12 minutes.
  5. Cool on a wire rack.

Notes

Yield: 20-40 cookies, depending on how big you cut the circles and how much filling you use.
  • These are nutmeg-heavy. The cards call for a full tablespoon. Start with 1 teaspoon and work your way up.
  • The flour on the old card just says "flour." We validated 5 to 6 cups against modern sugar cookie recipes. Start with 5.
  • Make the filling a day ahead and keep it in the fridge. Cold filling is easier to spoon.
  • As with all recipes handed down generation to generation, details shift!

Pap Steve's Tips

Chill the dough.
A soft, shortening-heavy dough rolls much easier after some time in the fridge. If it fights you, chill it.
Go easy on extra flour.
Add it a little at a time. Too much makes a tough cookie instead of a tender one.
Crimp with a fork.
Press the edges with fork tines so the filling stays put. A dab of water or milk on the bottom edge helps it seal.
Cut a vent.
A small slit or hole in the top cookie lets steam escape and shows off the filling.
Don't overfill.
Too much filling squeezes out the sides when you seal.
Storage.
Keep cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for a few days, or freeze them for longer.