These are the kind of cookies that just beg to be taken outside on a pretty platter and served on napkins with a cool glass of lemonade to sip alongside. Which is exactly what my mother did when I was a little girl. They're unusual - the raisins are ground into a paste and then mixed into the batter. The resulting cookie has a crisp outer shell with a chewy middle and a deep raisin flavor. Just like I remember.
The recipe originally comes from my grandmother, and where it came from before that is anyone's guess. In fact, if anyone does know, both my mother and I would love to know!
In my grandmother's day, she ran the raisins through a meat grinder to mash them into a paste. My mother switched over to using a food processor, which is easier but makes a stickier paste. Tossing the raisins with a little of the flour beforehand makes it more manageable.
This is also one of those recipes that just requires shortening, though you could probably also use lard. My mother said she tried them a few times with butter and it just wasn't the same. In her words, "Use Crisco. Don't think about it. Just do it." Momma knows best, after all.
Makes about 60 cookies
2 cups (11 oz) dark raisins
2 cups (10 oz) all-purpose flour, divided
1 cup (7 oz) shortening
2 cups (17 oz) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups (8 oz) old-fashioned rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
extra sugar for rolling
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment.
Toss the raisins with 1/4 cup of the flour. Grind in a food processor with a blade attachment for 20-30 seconds until the raisins form a very thick paste and come together into a ball (see photographs below). You can also use a blender or a meat grinder to mash the raisins into a paste.
Cream the shortening and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs until the mixture resembles soft frosting. Beat in the ground raisins.
In a separate bowl, combine the remaining 1 3/4 cups of flour, oatmeal, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Beat this slowly into the egg mixture until a shaggy dough is formed and there is no more visible flour.
Use your hands to pinch off pieces of the dough and roll them into balls slightly smaller than ping-pong balls. Roll each ball in granulated sugar and arrange them two inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the cookies are crinkly on top and just starting to turn golden-brown around the edges.
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. Store in an airtight container for up to a week.
Related: Five Ways to Eat: Raisins
(Image: Emma Christensen)
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these look so good, you're killin me, emma!
I can't see any pictures :-(
The recipe sounds yummy, though.
wait wait why doesn't butter work? would coconut oil work?
@MissJulia - Oh, I think they "work" in that you'll end up with perfectly fine cookies, but my mom was just saying that they're not quite the same. Both the texture and the flavor will be a little different depending on the fat you use.
These sound fantastic!
These are so down my alley! They look so inviting and your description seals the deal. Thanks for sharing this recipe with us!
Will Spectrum shortening work just as well as Crisco? Or does it really truly have to be Crisco for the texture to turn out the way you remember?
I *love* oatmeal raisin cookies. I am gonna have to try this variation.
@slowlorus - I haven't tried them with Spectrum, but I really think it would work just as well as Crisco!
@emma -- Thanks! I'm on it then! btw since I always weigh my ingredients...are you sure it's 17 oz for the granulated sugar? My measurements for 2 c of sugar always puts me at 14 oz (400g).
These are in the oven right now! My shortening/sugar never really seemed to get fluffy and my dough was a little dry, so I wet my hands while I was forming the balls. The house smells fantastic right now. I <3 cinnamon.
Also, I had to smoosh the cookies as they were still very ping pong shaped after 12 minutes, then I baked them another 5 (my oven is weird). These cookies are just about ideal. Great texture and super tasty!
I made these, and gluten free! They were delicious, and I should have looked at the yield before making them so I could have scaled back the recipe. SO many!
http://www.heythattastesgood.com/2011/05/crinkle-top-oatmeal-raisin-cookies.html
When I was a child, back in the early fifties, I made a very similar cookie during the summers I spent with my aunt in Oregon. However we soaked the raisins in water, drained them and then ground them in the meat grinder! It made for a softer cookie that was crisp around the edges and chewy in the middle. i have tried to duplicate them, as I lost the recipe in the interim. Maybe it is the two cups of raisins, as I have been only using one. We didn't use cinnamon, just vanilla for flavoring. Thanks! I knew I would find it eventually. The Internet is really helpful.