Josy's Rosinen Guetzli
These are Sam's favourite Christmas cookies. Actually, they might be Sam's favourite cookies period. Josy, his mum, always keeps a big tin at the ready over the holidays.
We keep a document online where we catalogue our favourite recipes. This was the first recipe to be entered and the heading reads as follows:
My Mama's Christmas Raisin Cookies Yield: never enough
But before I get ahead of myself, I suppose I should come clean. I didn't quite manage to follow the recipe as written.
Sam, I added vanilla to your mum's raisin cookies.
And that's not all.
I plumped the raisins in tea.
I'm sorry.
After the chocolate cut-out fiasco, I promised to myself that I wouldn't make any more family recipes. But I actually love these cookies too. Sam still teases me about my first Christmas with his family, when he literally caught me with my hand in the cookie jar at 11pm, sneaking one of these raisin beauties.
They are an incredibly simple cookie, nothing fancy, just a good, solid, comforting treat. If you need to do some last minute baking, or baking with children, this is a great choice.
250 g butter, soft
200 g sugar
1 vanilla bean, scraped (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
2 eggs
100 ml milk
500 g flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
250 g raisins
Cream butter and sugar. Add vanilla.
In a measuring cup, whisk together eggs and milk, then add slowly to the butter mixture.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Fold the flour into the butter mixture, then add the raisins and fold in gently.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let cool in fridge for about 30 minutes.
When you are ready to roll
Preheat oven to 180 C / 350 F / gas mark 4
Form little balls (about 2 cm) and place them on a baking tray.
Bake for about 10 minutes.
I like to plump my raisins in advance. You can use booze (recommended) or tea to do this, just cover the raisins in the liquid and let them sit for an hour or so (or overnight). Strain and add to the recipe as directed.
Be careful not to overbake these, as they will be dry and crumbly. As soon as you can smell them and the bottoms are slightly golden, take them out.
