Old Fashioned Raisin Filled Cookies

Here’s an old-fashioned Christmas time treat that my extended family always looks forward to. My husband’s beloved aunt made them for years end years, but she recently transitioned to an assisted living facility and no longer has access to a kitchen so she handed the torch to me.

This recipe makes 35 huge sandwich cookies, which is not a problem for our large extended family, but you may want to consider scaling the recipe down if you don’t need quite so many. By the way, one of these cookies and a cup of coffee or tea make an excellent breakfast.

Forget about rolling the dough on a floured surface. It’s much neater to roll between two layers of parchment or wax paper. I rolled this dough to 1/8-inch thickness using rolling guides to ensure my dough is exactly the same thickness throughout.

See how easily the parchment releases from the dough? Again, no extra flour making a mess everywhere.

I cut my dough with a 3-inch round cutter. The cookies will spread a bit in the oven so you don’t want to make them any bigger than this.

To ensure each of the cookies end up the same size, I use a #50 scoop to portion the filling. NOTE how filling in the photo isn’t overly juicy - you may need to drain yours a bit before using. Too much liquid in the filling will make the cookies bottoms soggy.

Time to add a 2nd disk of dough for the top and press it down slightly to spread the filling a bit. Don’t go too far - you don’t want the filling to ooze out.

Gently press the edges together to seal the dough - no need for water or egg wash to glue the disks together.

If you want to be fancy, you can do a little crimp action with your fingers. Or you can go “old school” and crimp the edges with a fork. I’m feeling fancy today. Use a toothpick to make a little vent hole in the center of each cookie and chill for at least 15 minutes before baking.

The cookies puff and spread quite a bit in the oven so don’t put more than 8 on a half sheet pan (5 or 6 if you use a smaller cookie sheet).

Cool completely and enjoy! Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to a week.

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• pure vanilla extract https://amzn.to/3hxflWk

• rolling guides https://amzn.to/3587cCP

• parchment sheets https://amzn.to/3uM1G6o

• round cutter set https://amzn.to/36eDShn

• half sheet pans https://amzn.to/3gJjmHy

• silpat liners https://amzn.to/3Bj6uBx

• #50 scoop (NOT 50mm) https://amzn.to/3JfbvxE

---

Old Fashioned Raisin Filled Cookies

makes 35 very large cookies

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

Dough:

• 1/2 pound unsalted butter, room temperature

• 2 cups lightly packed brown sugar

• 3 large eggs

• 4 cups all purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Filling:

• 1 pound raisins

• 1 cup water

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar

• 2 tablespoons cornstarch

• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Recipe Directions

To Make the Dough (the night before baking):

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and brown sugar together until light and creamy (about a minute).

2. Add the eggs, one at a time, until each is fully incorporated; scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

3. Add the flour and baking soda until no traces of dry ingredients remain.

4. Transfer dough to a gallon-size zip-top plastic bag and chill overnight before using.

To Make the Filling:

1. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine raisins, water, sugar, and cornstarch, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reaches a full boil.

2. Remove from heat and stir in pure vanilla extract.

3. Transfer filling to an airtight container and allow to sit at room temperature until needed (can be made a day ahead).

To Assemble and Bake the Cookies:

1. Preheat oven to 350F, place rack in center position, and line 2 or 3 half sheet pans with silpat liners.

2. Allow cookie dough to rest at room temperature for 15-20 minutes before rolling (or knead until pliable).

3. Roll dough to 1/8-inch thickness between two layers of parchment or wax paper.

4. Use 3-inch round cutter to cut 8 bottoms per sheet tray.

5. Top each bottom with a #50 scoop of filling (a little over 1 tablespoon). Be sure to drain away excess liquid if your filling is very “juicy”.

6. Cut another 8 dough rounds to top the filling for each cookie.

7. Gently press to flatten cookies before crimping the two disks of dough together with your fingers or a fork; use a toothpick to make a small vent hole in the center of each cookie.

8. Chill for 10-15 minutes before baking.

9. Bake one sheet pan at a time for 10 minutes; remove from oven and allow cookies to cool completely before serving. Store leftovers in an airtight container.

Notes

• For best results, bake only one sheet pan at a time and be sure cookies have chilled properly before baking.

• No need for extra flour when rolling dough between two layers of parchment or wax paper.

• Filling should not be too goopy or “juicy” when filling the cookies. Drain away excess liquid before using to prevent the bottom of the cookies from getting soggy.

Prime Rib Roast

Nothing beats a perfectly cooked Prime Rib Roast (aka Rib Roast, Standing Rib Roast, or Christmas Roast). There are a number of cooking methods that produce amazing results, but many of them are not precise enough to be able to predict the exact time your roast will be ready to serve. That might be fine if you’re just cooking for your family, but when dinner guests are involved, it really helps to have a technique that can be calculated down to the minute. So that’s the technique I’ll be sharing with you today.

The first thing you’ll need to consider is what size bone-in Rib Roast to purchase. A Standing Rib Roast will contain 2-7 ribs. As a general rule, plan on one pound per person or 2 servings per rib. You can ask the butcher to “French” the ribs if you like (that’s when they scrape the ends of the ribs clean), but it’s not necessary (and you can save a little money if you don’t).

The next thing you have to consider is whether or not to get dry aged beef. Dry aged is going to cost a bit more, but some people prefer it. But either way, it’s going to be amazing so don’t worry about it too much.

The last thing you should consider is whether you want your rib roast cut from the “chuck end” or the “loin end”). I should mention, if you choose a 7-rib roast, you’ll get both ends automatically, but if you oder a smaller roast, you can choose which end of the roast you want. The chuck end (ribs 6-9) is located near the chuck and the meat contains more pockets of fat. The loin end (ribs 10-12) is located near the loin and the meat is more lean. Either way, the sous vide technique is going to provide super tender and flavorful results so it really boils down to personal preference.

Oh, and this is very important - be sure to order your standing rib roast so it’s ready for pickup a day or two before you cook it (24 hours is good, but 48 hours is even better).

Once you get your prime rib roast, you’ll need to calculate your timeline. This timeline will include dry brining for a day or two, allowing the prime rib to come to room temperature before roasting, the total time the prime rib will actually roast in the oven, and the time the roasted prime rib should rest before serving.

Here are the guidelines you should follow for each step in the process.

• Dry brine for 24-48 hours before roasting (24 hours is great, but 48 hours is better). Use 1 teaspoon Diamond Crysal kosher salt per pound or 2/3 teaspoon Morton kosher salt per pound (see the recipe below for directions).

• Allow the prime rib to sit at room temperature before roasting (1 hour per rib or 1 hour for every 2 pounds). DO NOT RINSE THE SALT OFF.

• Calculate total roasting time by multiplying exact weight of your roast by 14 minutes per pound.

• Allow the cooked roast to rest for 30-120 minutes before serving (30 minutes for small roast or up to 120 minutes for a larger roast).

EXAMPLE: So let’s say I’m cooking a 5-rib roast that weighs exactly 10 pounds - Here’s what I’d do:

• 1-2 DAYS AHEAD: Dry brine roast with the proper amount of kosher salt (see recipe below) for at least 24, but up to 48 hours.

• CALCULATE COOKING TIME: 10 pounds multiplied by 14 minutes per pound = a total cooking time of 140 minutes.

• ROOM TEMP: Allow a 5-rib roast to sit at room temperature for 5 hours before roasting.

• ROAST: Cook roast for 30 minutes in a preheated 450F oven, then lower the oven temp to 325F for the remaining time (in this case the remaining time is 110 minutes).

• REST: Remove roast from oven, tent with foil, and rest for about 90 minutes (for 5-rib roast) before carving.

Enjoy!!

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• roasting pan with V-rack https://amzn.to/2KgQhXt

• Diamond Crystal kosher salt https://amzn.to/41El2bw

• Morton kosher salt https://amzn.to/3UZQhZX

---

Prime Rib Roast

(plan on 1 pound per person or two servings per rib)

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 10 pound Prime Rib Roast (or 1 pound per person or two servings per rib)

• Kosher salt (1 teaspoon per pound if using Diamond Crystal or 2/3 teaspoon per pound if using Morton)

• 1/4 cup freshly minced garlic (about a whole head of garlic)

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper

• 1 tablespoon freshly chopped rosemary or dried thyme (I prefer rosemary)

Directions

Prep (1-2 days ahead):

1. Dry the roast well with paper towels and sprinkle it liberally on all sides with kosher salt (1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt per pound or 2/3 teaspoon Morton kosher salt per pound).

2. Place salted roast on roasting rack suspended over a roasting pan and refrigerate, uncovered, for 24-48 hours.

On the big day:

1. Calculate your total roasting time by multiplying the weight of the roast by 14 minutes per pound.

2. Remove prime rib from refrigerator and allow it to sit at room temperature for 2-6 hours, depending on the size of the roast - DO NOT RINSE THE SALT OFF (1 hour per rib or 1 hour for every 2 pounds).

3. Preheat oven to 450F and position the oven rack in the lower third of the oven.

4. Make a paste with the minced garlic, room temperature butter, olive oil, pepper, and freshly chopped rosemary (or dried thyme); spread paste all over the entire roast.

5. Place prepared roast back onto the roasting rack with the fat cap on top; pour 1 cup water into the roasting pan.

6. Roast, uncovered, for 30 minutes, then reduce the oven temp to 325F and continue roasting for the remaining amount of time from your calculations.

7. Remove roast from oven and tent with foil; allow to rest 30-120 minutes before carving (30 minutes for a smaller roast, longer for a larger roast).

Note

• The garlic/rosemary paste amounts listed in the recipe above are suitable for a 10-pound roast. Scale them up or down depending on the size of your roast.

More Holiday Recipes