Raisin Cookies / Üzümlü Kurabiye

RAISIN COOKIES RECIPE TUTORIAL

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A soft centre, a delicate shell, and little pockets of jammy sweetness from baked raisins…

Raisin cookies are one of those recipes that steal your heart at first kiss! They’re almost too simple to be special, until the kitchen fills with the familiar comfort of cinnamon and butter, the raisins swell into soft, caramel-like bursts, and suddenly you understand why these were the first cookies so many of us learned to bake.

I made my first batch when I was twelve, mostly because my friend and I wanted something sweet and warm that didn’t require much planning. What came out of the oven was far better than expected: lightly crisp on the outside, tender in the middle, and full of those deep, fruity notes that only baked raisins have. They didn’t last long :)

These are the cookies you make when you want something nice, familiar, and easy to make. When the house feels quiet. When a glass of milk is already waiting. When you want a treat that feels homemade in the best sense of the word (a little uneven, a little generous, and deeply comforting.)

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Ingredients

For the dough

• 250 g butter, melted and cooled

• 2 eggs

• 1 cup sugar

• ½ cup yogurt

• 1 tbsp baking powder

• ½ tbsp ground cinnamon

• 4.5 - 5 cups all-purpose flour

For the filling

• 1 cup raisins

• ⅓ cup roughly crushed walnuts (optional).

Directions

MAKING THE DOUGH:

• In a large bowl, crack 2 eggs and add ½ cup yogurt. Whisk lightly.

• Add 1 cup sugar and whisk until blended.

• Stir in ½ tbsp cinnamon.

• Slowly pour in the 250 g melted (but cooled) butter, whisking until smooth.

• Add 1 tbsp baking powder and mix well.

• Add 4 cups flour and begin mixing to form a soft dough.

• Add 1 cup raisins (and ⅓ cup walnuts, if using) and knead gently.

• If the dough feels sticky, add the remaining ½-1 cup flour little by little until the dough becomes soft, smooth, and easy to shape.

• Divide the dough into walnut-sized pieces and roll them into balls.

• Place them on a parchment-lined baking tray, leaving space between each.

BAKING:

• Preheat the oven to 380°F (180°C).

• Bake the cookies for 18-20 minutes, until lightly golden and blushed.

• Let them cool on the tray for a few minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

• The texture settles as they cool; crispy outer shell, tender centre.

SERVING

Serve these cookies with a warm cup of tea of milk once they’re fully cooled, when their flavour and texture are at their best.

They’re easy to share, easy to pack or to gift.

[Notes from the Kitchen]

• Butter temperature
  The butter should be melted but cooled before adding to the mix. Hot butter can scramble the eggs and change the texture of the dough.

• Why not add all the flour at once?
  Ideally, add 1/2 or 2/3 of the required flour for the recipe and knead until the dough absorbs it all (no white stuff left). If the dough is still sticking to your hands, add a bit more flour, clean the dough off your hand using the flour and knead until it disappears again. Repeat until the dough is no longer sticking to your hand.

  Flour absorbs moisture differently depending on humidity, temperature, fat content of the butter and yogurt, and the flour itself. Pastry recipes often call for a little more or little less flour each time you make it, depending on these factors. Adding the flour gradually helps you monitor exactly how much you will need, which keeps the cookies soft instead of dry. (This is one of the main reasons why pastry recipes tend to be hard for beginner bakers, because it takes some practice to develop a sense of dough consistency to achieve different outcomes. Raisin cookies are one of the easiest recipes for beginners. The butter makes the dough non-sticky and helps it tolerate extra moisture. Trust the butter, and just stop adding flour when it no longer sticks to your hand.)

• Raisins do something special
  During baking, raisins absorb moisture and sugar from the dough, becoming soft, jammy pockets that balance the cinnamon and butter.

• Storage
  Once fully cooled, store the cookies in a glass jar or airtight container at room temperature for a week. They’ll keep for much longer in dry storage, but it’s better to have fresh cookies :)

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