These Raisin Puffs are remarkable! Like incredibly soft sugar cookies, and light as air. Soft, puffy, and thick! With a heap-ton of raisins – simmered to bring out deeper and richer flavor. These Raisin Puffs might sound ordinary, but they will knock your socks off!
Hey friends! Miraculously, I posted 4x last week. I can’t believe I managed to be so productive. Yay me. And I posted 4 pumpkin recipes. Yessss. What a great week. I loved every second of it. I hope you did too!
I just discovered a few days ago that my newsletter isn’t sending out, and I’ve got to get that fixed! If you missed any of the recipes from last week, I posted Pumpkin Spice Latte Rice Krispie Treats, Pumpkin Oatmeal Scotchies, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars, and Pumpkin Cupcakes with Nutella Buttercream! So much good stuff.
For a dinner idea, I also posted this Mediterranean Chicken & Pasta recipe, so there’s something savory for you too!
I thought I’d mix things up for you a little bit today. I suppose these Raisin Puffs are not exactly a fall cookie, but something about desserts with raisins have a fall vibe to me. What do you think?
Maybe I should post these Raisin Puffs closer to Christmas (yeah, I said it) so you have ideas for a Christmas cookie tray or for holiday cookie exchanges, but here we are in October, and you’re getting Raisin Puffs now.
These are a fave family recipe. My Gma got this recipe from a friend at church. She was attending a church potluck, and her friend brought these Raisin Puffs. My Gma loooooved them, and asked for the recipe. Simple as that.
Of our favorite family recipes, we all enjoy Raisin Puffs, but I think my Gma loves them the most. She didn’t even get this recipe until later in life, but once she discovered these cookies, they moved up the ranks quickly. Even though we haven’t had Raisin Puffs in the family as long as other recipes, maybe 15 years or so, they are still a classic to us now – she made them with such regularity!
She’s 92 now and doesn’t do much baking, but she always likes to help. When I’m home visiting, and we flip through recipes to decide what to make, she’ll stumble on these, and she says the same thing every time: “Raisin Puffs! I love Raisin Puffs. We’ve got to make these.” I guess that sounds like a pretty basic reaction, but maybe you have to hear how she says it. It’s always exuberant. 🙂
These are remarkable little cookies, and they don’t sound that exciting, but they’re quite spectacular. I don’t even really like raisins, but I love Raisin Puffs!
The raisins are simmered first in water before they’re added to the cookies, so they’re soft and moist, and they almost get a rum-like flavor. It’s unexpected, but even a simmer in water brings out a deep, rich flavor to the raisins. It’s fantastic. The cookies are like incredibly soft sugar cookies, and they’re light as air. Soft, puffy, and thick. They’re just like… puffs. Delicate and tender.
Raisin Puffs might sound ordinary, but they are a cookie where the whole is better than the sum of its parts, know what I mean? Try them, you’ll see.
Raisin Puffs
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup raisins
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup shortening
- 2 cups sugar divided
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- 2 tsp. vanilla
- 3 1/2 cups flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
Instructions
- Combine raisins and water in a small saucepan over medium heat.
- Simmer until water is almost completely reduced, about 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream shortening and 1 1/2 cups sugar.
- Add eggs and vanilla, beating until combined.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Gradually add dry ingredients to the mixing bowl, beating until combined.
- Stir in raisins.
- Place remaining 1/2 c. sugar in a small bowl.
- Roll dough into 1-inch balls, and roll in the sugar, thoroughly coating.
- Arrange dough balls two inches apart on parchment paper or silicone mat-lined baking sheets.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes, or until edges are golden, and centers appear set.
- Remove from heat, and allow to cool on cookie sheets for 2-3 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.
These are simple to make and are delicious. Thank you for the recipe.
I’m so glad! They’ve been a family favorite for a really long time now. I’m so happy you liked them! 🙂
Can these be frozen and do the raisins have to drain after being in the water?
Yes. These will freeze wonderfully! And the raisins will absorb a great deal of the liquid, but I do drain them of any extra liquid before stirring them in. Thanks for checking on that!
So I’m waiting for the last pan to come outs of the oven and they look yummy! My dough got crumbly after the last addition of the flour mixture but they rolled into balls with a little pressure, no problem. Mine didn’t flatten like the picture, so I was wondering what I did wrong. Can’t wait to eat them, and when I make them again, which I will, I’ll make sure my measurements are accurate. Thanks😊
How did these turn out for you?? Most of the time, mine are puffier too! I am not sure why the last batch I made came out a bit flatter, but you should find them to be pretty puffy, actually. I hope you enjoyed them!
I have a friend who is allergic to raisins. So, I make them with Craisins instead. What a wonderful surprise!! Now I have to make them both ways….especially at Christmas time!
Oh, great idea!! Did you still simmer the craisins in water?? I LOVE your suggestion here! Thank you. 🙂
Oh my goodness thank you for this recipe!! I have been searching for it for years! My childhood memories of these cookies are hazy but I remember the taste in ultraHD. My surrogate grandma made them constantly and I could never get enough! She died when I was quite young but I have never forgotten her kindness, her fluffy dog, and her raisin cookies! <3
Awww, that is so sweet. Your surrogate Gma sounded like a lovely person. I hope a bite of one of these will take you right back to those cherished memories. These are special to me too because my Gma loves them SO much. She went through such a phase with these where she made them ALL. THE. TIME!!! And they’re still one of her favorites. They really are wonderful — stewing the raisins brings out an insane amount of flavor. Happy baking! 🙂
These were simple to make a great recipe. I’m excited to bless friends and family with this new recipe!!
Yay! So happy you enjoyed them!
Hi Sarah, I just finished making these delicious looking cookies. I haven’t tried them yet, but am excited to shortly. I should ha asked first, but what shortening do you recommend? Thanks!
Hi Linda! I just use Crisco original shortening. 🙂 I hope you enjoy the cookies!!
These sound yummy! Can butter be used in place of shortening?
Hi there! LOVE this cookies, and I’m not even a raisin fan! I have never made these with butter, but if I was going to, I would probably only swap part of the shortening for butter. They call for 1 cup shortening, I’d go 1/2 cup shortening, 1/2 cup butter. I think this will add buttery flavor, which will be great, but will also make for a flatter cookie, FYI! I’d expect butter to cause more spreading and crispier edges!
Use butter flavor crisco !
Love that!
My cookies were not white like yours. They were light brown which i know is from the raisins Should i have rinsed the raisins?
No! But perhaps the cookie dough got overmixed a little at the end? The raisins do become very soft and distribute a bit when you combine them into the dough. How did they taste for you?
These cookies were delicious! Just the right amount of crunch on the outside, but still soft on the inside. Definitely a keeper!
Do you drain the raisins or put them juice and all in the bowl
I add them juice and all because they should have very little juice left by the time you simmer them. They get simmered to the point where hardly any liquid is left…
The raisin puffs are very more-ish! I think my dough was too sticky. It spread out in the oven and I had to bake nearly twice as long before it felt at all firm so finished up with more like crunchy biscuits than puffs! Should I add more flour? That said, I’m not sure if there will be any left on the rack to cool!
You have some incredible recipes – but so much sugar! I daren’t look at too many in case my teeth will fall out!
David
I was just curious, can you make and freeze this cookie dough?
Unbaked? That should work!
I tried to freeze The dough And it doesn’t freeze Solid the dough is still soft. I wanted to keep them for 4 weeks for a wedding. Will they still be good?
A co-worker brought us cookies that looked similar to these, they tasted like a snickerdoodle with sugar and raisins but no cinnamon. Do these taste like a snickerdoodle? 🤔
They do actually! Now that you ask! They are not dissimilar in taste and texture, yes.
Can you use butter for shortening
Not in these, unfortunately. But you could use butter-flavor shortening.
These are DELICIOUS! So easy and quick to make. Thank you for sharing
So glad you liked them!!
This recipe reminded me of cookies that my mom and aunts made. I used golden raisins and also sprinkled a little sugar on top when they came out of the oven. Delicious.
Made these and substituted lemon extract for the vanilla and added fresh lemon zest – totally delicious!! Tried to recreate lemon raisin cookies made by Sentry Foods in my husbands childhood days – came pretty darn close. Thanks for sharing this recipe 🤗