Bishops' Raisin Cookies
Fruit Cookies are a Delicious Alternative to Chocolate Chip Cookies
Sep 14, 2009
The Bishop family, with roots in Iowa and Illinois, has published Cookin' with the Clergy, a collection of traditional Midwestern recipes in honor of George L. Bishop and Barbara Denning Bishop. Many of these recipes are informed by the family's Irish and German heritage. One of these is the recipe for Bishops' Raisin Cookies. The use of baking soda as a leavening agent, the addition of raisins to the batter, and the light, cake-like texture of these cookies is reminiscent of Irish tea cakes. This recipe is reprinted with permission.
Boiling the raisins before adding them to the batter is an unusual, but valuable, step. Boiling releases vinegar from the raisins, which, with the addition of baking soda, produces bubbles of carbon dioxide. These bubbles are what make the cookies very light and cake-like in texture. Boiling also makes the raisins softer, which results in an especially moist cookie.
For heightened flavor, tea may be used instead of water for boiling the raisins. A tablespoon of brandy or rum may also be added to the boiling water, if desired. The recipe may also be altered by using currants or dried cherries instead of raisins.
Bishops' Raisin Cookies
Ingredients:
- raisins, 12 oz (or dried currants or cherries)
- 1.5 cups of unsalted butter (3 sticks), softened (but not melted)
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1 cup white sugar
- 4 eggs
- 5 cups of flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp vanilla
- Optional: 1 tbsp run or brandy for flavoring
Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F), and lightly grease a cookie sheet.
Steps:
- Cream together butter and sugars. Add 2 tsp vanilla.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Place 3 cups of flour on top of the butter, egg, vanilla, and sugar mixture, but do not mix! Set aside.
- Put the raisins in a saucepan. Add enough water to cover the raisins and bring to a boil. (If desired, add rum or brandy for flavor). Boil for five minutes (or until raisins have softened). Remove from heat.
- Using a slotted spoon, remove the raisins from the water and place them on top of the flour in your bowl. After all the raisins have been transferred, pour 1/4 cup of the water in which the raisins were boiled into a measuring cup.
- Add 2 teaspoons of baking soda to the 1/4 cup hot raisin water. The liquid should foam and hiss (the baking soda reacts with vinegar in the hot raisin water, forming carbon dioxide bubbles).
- Pour this liquid over the raisins and flour (on top of the egg, butter, sugar, etc., mixture) and mix.
- Drop the batter by the tablespoon on to the prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. The cookies will be lightly browned when they are ready to remove from the oven.
Enjoy!
References
Dolores L. Markey, Cookin' with the Clergy, Brennan Printing, IA. 2001.
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