| FILLED COOKIES ¾ cups vegetable shortening ¼ cup butter 1 cup white sugar 2 eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla 3 cups white flour 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking powder In a large glass bowl, cream shortening, butter and sugar together. Add eggs and vanilla and mix thoroughly. Sift dry ingredients and stir into wet ingredients. Dough should be slightly sticky. Do not add more flour or it will make the cookies tough. RAISIN FILLING: 1 cup raisins 2/3 cup water 1 cup white sugar 2 tablespoons cornstarch Juice and rind of one orange or one lemon - about 1 cup In a 2 quart sauce pan, bring raisins, and water to a boil. Remove from heat and cover. Let stand for 10 minutes or until raisins plump up. Mix cornstarch and sugar together and stir into raisins. Increase heat to boiling and cook until mixture has thickened. Add orange or lemon juice and rind. Set filling aside to cool. Mixture should be thick. Note: Apple, blueberry or cherry pie filling also works great with this cookie recipe. HOW TO MAKE THE COOKIE: Turn 1/3 of the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gently pat a small amount of flour on the top of the dough. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough evenly into a sheet about 1/3 of an inch thick. Cut circles into the dough by using a 3 inch cookie cutter or wide-mouthed bottle ring. Lift circles of dough carefully off the counter top with a pancake turner and place each one an inch apart on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Top each circle with a tablespoonful of filling. Place a circle of cookie dough over the top of each mound of filling. Crimp the top and bottom edges of the cookie dough together with a fork. Repeat the process until all the dough is used up and the cookies are filled. Use only enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to the counter or rolling pin. Too much flour will cause the cookies to be tough. Bake 350 F for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. |
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