Cook's Corner Cookiethon set for Nov. 19th

It is time to submit our cookie recipes to the annual holiday cookie section of the Dispatch which will appear November 19th.  This is an entire section just for cookie recipes which the Dispatch kitchen tests before putting them to print.  For the last two years I have submitted cookie recipes and this is the one I have sent in for the November issue.  There is no promise of having the recipe printed, but it is fun to think about the recipes one sends in with a little story about the memory it has cast.  Here is mine for this year:

Doris Lechler <dorislechler77@gmail.com>	10:58 AM (17 minutes ago)

This raisin filled cookie recipe is well over one hundred years old.  My Grandmother Pearl's specialty was this particular cookie.  As I read this recipe I am horrified at its content, but as I clearly remember enjoying these cookies, and I am 78 years old, I find myself still alive and well.  I got to spend a week each summer at my grandmother Pearl's house and she had a piano and a flapper dress that had belonged to my aunt Grace.  I would get a raisin filled cookie, don the dress, and pound on the piano for hours; I had no talent for the piano, but a lot of imagination.  One day I was so wrapped up in my musical talent and my spiffy outfit, I forgot the cookie laying on the piano.  I went home and quite awhile later visited again and the cookie was still there.  After several visits with the cookie in place, I asked Mother about this and she said that grandmother was losing her sight and she simply missed it when dusting. It must have been the lard that preserved it because it stayed plump and held its shape for longer than I care to think about. Enjoy. LOL

Filled Raisin Cookie

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup lard (I am sure I used butter or Crisco.)

5 cups flour

1 tablespoon sour milk

1 teaspoon baking powder

3 eggs

1 teaspoon baking soda

 pinch nutmeg and a teaspoon of vanilla

Filling

1 cup raisins

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

1 teaspoon corn starch

nutmeg and vanilla again

cook the filling until the raisins are plump and filling has thickened

Chill the dough over night. Roll out thinly. Cut out bottoms and put in a spoonful of the cooled filling.  Cut out tops and place on top of the filling and crimp the edges to seal the puff shut.

Andy has been to the farmer's market today.