Macheesmo

These cookies are a symbol of my stubborn nature. When rum won the poll last week, I immediately wanted some Rum Raisin Cookies. It just made sense to me.

I settled on adapting a recipe, but ran into some issues. Specifically, the reviews on the recipe ranged from “Horrible!” to “Gross!” to “Exploded in my oven!”

Some bakers would close the browser at that point and continue the search. Not me though… I wanted these cookies. So, I made them and changed pretty much everything in the original recipe.

It was a stab in the dark but I got lucky and my version turned out great!

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Rum Raisin Shortbread Cookies

by Nick

Serves:

24 cookies

Prep Time:

20 mins

Total Time:

2 hrs

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Soft shortbread cookies that are heavy on flavor thanks to rum-soaked raisins! These are perfect sweet treats for the holidays!

Very adapted from a Martha recipe.

Ingredients

1 cup raisins

1/2 cup spiced rum

1 cup unsalted butter

1 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon orange zest

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon rum (from soaking)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling

Instructions

1) Soak raisins in rum overnight or at least for a few hours. Drain raisins and reserve 1 tablespoon of rum for recipe.

2) Add butter and sugar to a stand mixer or hand mixer and cream together until smooth on medium speed with the paddle attachment, about 3-4 minutes.

3) Add in zest, vanilla, rum, and cinnamon. Stir together.

4) Add in salt, and coconut followed by flour. Then add soaked raisins. Try not to overmix the dough.

5) Scoop dough onto two pieces of parchment paper. Roll dough tightly into a log about 1.5 inches in diameter. Let dough chill in fridge for at least an hour.

6) Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove dough from fridge and slice each log into 12 slices. Lay out cookies on a few baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Leave about 2 inches in between cookies.

7) Sprinkle cookies with raw turbinado sugar and bake for 15-16 minutes at 325 degrees.

8) Remove cookies and let cool on baking sheets. Store at room temperature, covered.

Rum Raisin Cookies

The Raisins

One thing I knew I liked about the recipe was that the raisins were soaked in rum overnight. That was a step I was keeping for sure.

I used a light rum for my version because it’s what I had, but spiced rum would be even better.

After the raisins soak for at least a few hours, drain them and reserve the rum. You’ll need some of it for the cookie recipe.

The Dough

There are some interesting pieces to these Rum Raisin Cookies that make the final cookies really light and wonderful. The recipe uses powdered sugar instead of granulated sugar and has no eggs in it.

Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar on medium speed until it’s fluffy and soft.

Then go ahead and add in a dash of the reserved rum, vanilla, cinnamon, and orange zest. The orange zest is very important to the finished cookies. Don’t skip it!

Mix all that stuff together and then add in your coconut and salt. I used coconut flakes for my version that I just crushed lightly, but shredded coconut would be best if you have it.

Next, add in the flour and mix the dough until it is just mixed together. As always, try not to over-mix the cookie dough or it will get tough.

Then stir in those soaked raisins!

Making the Cookies

Unfortunately, you can’t just slap this dough onto a baking sheet and bake it. You need to chill the dough before baking it which will prevent your cookies from melting all over the baking sheet as they bake.

So scoop the dough onto two pieces of parchment paper and roll them into two tight logs that are about 1.5 inches in diameter. They don’t have to be exact.

Store these in the fridge for at least an hour and then you can make the cookies.

Remove the parchment paper from the dough and slice each log into about 12 even cookies.

Lay the cookies onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper and sprinkle them with a good amount of raw turbinado sugar.

Bake these guys at 325 degree Fahrenheit for 15-16 minutes. They should be lightly browned around the edges and still a bit soft in the center.

Let these cool on the baking pan for 10 minutes or so before eating them.

I love the texture of these Rum Raisin Cookies. They are a bit soft, but have a nice crunch thanks to the sugar on top.

And when you hit one of those raisins, you’ll know it!

These are one of those cookies that looks unassuming, but is actually packed with flavor.

If you’re looking for some sweet treats over the holidays, these might just be for you!