Golden raisin cookies

One very common dish during the holiday season here is rice with raisins – it is served with the usual meat dishes for Christmas and New Year’s Eve dinners. I know people who love raisins in their rice, but most people I know hate it, including my husband and my sister – they’re 46 and 21, respectively, so you can imagine that the hate for rice with raisins is spread throughout different generations. :D

Growing up I was never a fan, either, for I did not understand why people would put something sweet in a savory dish – I thought it was such a waste of something as delicious as rice. :)

I grew up and learned that sweet and savory together in food is actually a good thing, but to be honest I’m still not a fan of rice with raisins: there are millions of other wonderful things to be cooked with rice and I prefer my raisins elsewhere, like in cookies – I used the golden raisins called for in the original recipe, but I am sure that they would be equally great with dark raisins, too.

I found that giving the dough a couple of hours in the freezer instead of the refrigerator is key here because the frozen raisins are much easier to slice.

Golden raisin cookies
from one of my favorite cookbooks

1 cup golden raisins
¼ cup (60ml) dark rum
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup (70g) confectioner's sugar
1 large egg
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 2/3 cups (235g) all-purpose flour
granulated sugar, for sprinkling

In a small bowl, combine the raisins and rum. Set aside to soak for at least 1 hour.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the butter and confectioners' sugar at medium-high speed until well blended and light, about 1 minute. Add the egg, salt and vanilla and beat until blended but not smooth (dough will look curdled at this point). Scrape down the sides of the bowl. At low speed, add the flour, mixing until just blended. Drain the raisins, discarding the rum, add them to the dough and mix until combined.

Divide the dough into two equal parts. Place each on a piece of parchment paper; shape dough into logs. Fold parchment over dough; using a ruler, roll and press into a 3.5 cm (1.4in) log – like Martha does here. Wrap in parchment. Chill in the freezer until very firm, 2-3 hours.

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F; line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
Unwrap one log at a time (keep the other in the freezer). Roll dough logs in the extra sugar, coating them evenly, then cut into 6mm (¼in) thick rounds; space 2.5cm (1in) apart onto prepared sheets. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden brown around the edges, 15-20 minutes. Cool on the sheets for 5 minutes, then slide the paper with the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes about 45 cookies