Amish Raisin Filled Cookies

If you follow my blog on a regular basis, you know how much I love Amish Cooking. In a way I relate it to being a Hippy in the Kitchen. The Hippy philosophy of cooking is simple, healthy and back to basics, much like the Amish. I have a large collection of Amish Cookbooks and even some that are hand written from Amish and Mennonite families in Kansas.
My favorite Amish Pie, and it was my father in- law's too, is Raisin. The Amish and the Mennonites make the best Raisin Pie.
I recently found this recipe in my archived Amish recipes.

Amish Raisin Filled Cookies:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Dough ingredients:
2 C Sugar
2 Eggs
1 C Shortening (Crisco)
1 C Milk
4 C Flour
2 tsp Baking Soda
4 tsp Cream of Tartar
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Vanilla

Filling ingredients:
1 1/2 C Dark Raisins (Chopped) The Amish actually grind them.
1 1/2 C Water
1 1/2 C Sugar
1 1/2 TBS Flour

Dough preparation:
In a mixing bowl with a hand mixer:
Shortening
Sugar
Cream well.
Add:
Eggs
Vanilla
Beat well.

Sift the dry ingredients.
In a bowl:
Alternately add dry mixture and milk. Add enough to make a dough that will roll nicely.

Place raisins in a saucepan on medium heat and add all remaining filling ingredients.
Bring to a boil.

Roll out the dough into 2" circles. Cut a 1" hole in half of the circles to be used for the tops.
Put 1 tsp of filling on the solid circle and put a circle with the hole cut out, on top.
Pinch the edges to seal them.

I like them to look a bit rustic and homemade. You can cut the circles by hand to do this, or use a 2" round cookie cutter.

Bake for 10 - 12 minutes or until golden brown.


Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!