Raisin Pie Cookies

Make the dough: In a mixing bowl (using a wooden spoon) or in the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and vegetable shortening together until soft, then beat in the sugar to make a fluffy mixture. Beat in the egg, egg yolk, lemon rind, and nutmeg.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir the flour mixture into the creamed mixture. The resulting dough should be crumbly, but it should hold together when a sample is squeezed lightly. If the dough is too dry to hold together, mix in a few drops of lemon juice, but don’t overdo it -- the dough should not be moist.

Divide the dough in half; form each half into a ball. Wrap the balls of dough and chill them thoroughly, 1 hour or more. Meanwhile, prepare the filling.

Make the filling: In a small saucepan, combine the raisins, sugar, sherry, and lemon rind. Stir the flour and water together until smooth, then stir the mixture thoroughly into the raisin mixture. Bring the filling to a boil over medium heat, stirring, and cook it until thickened, stirring constantly. Add the vanilla and set the filling aside to cool.

Shape and fill the cookies: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, with an oven rack in the center position. Lightly grease one or two baking sheets.

Roll out one portion of dough between sheets of plastic wrap until it is 1/8 inch thick. Lift off the upper sheet of plastic and, using a 2 1/2" cutter, cut the dough into rounds. Lift the rounds onto a prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 1 1/2 inches apart. Gather and reroll the scraps and cut more rounds until the portion of dough has been used.

Stir the cooled filling again and place about a level measuring teaspoonful of filling in the center of each round. (You can use a little more, but there’s a slight risk of leakage as the cookies bake.)

Roll out and cut the other portion of chilled dough as described in step 6 above. Lay a round over the filling of each cookie, then gather the scraps and make more rounds until every cookie has an upper crust. With the tines of a table fork, crimp the layers together all around the edge. Prick the top of each cookie once or twice.

Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, in the center of the preheated oven for 11 to 13 minutes, or until they are firm and the edges are golden brown. Lift the pies onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Store the cookies in a covered container at room temperature for a day or two, or refrigerate them for up to two weeks. They freeze well, too.

Source: “Mrs. Witty’s Monster Cookies” S(Mrs. Witty’s Monster Cookies): “pp. 114-115” Copyright: “1983” Yield: “18 Cookies” - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 143 Calories; 5g Fat (29.5% calories from fat); 2g Protein; 23g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 30mg Cholesterol; 64mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 1/2 Fruit; 1 Fat; 1/2 Other Carbohydrates.

Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0