Raisin Pie Shortbread Cookies

These Raisin Pie Shortbread Cookies taste just like a piece of delicious raisin pie! Ready to eat in under 2 hours! A must-try cookie recipe!

My mom is always trying to find some of her old family recipes to share with me for this blog. She recently shared a handwritten recipe titled "Raisin Pie Shortbread Cookies". The problem was that the instructions were incomplete. Like seriously incomplete.

I made it a challenge to figure out how to make these cookies with only the ingredients and a few scribbles for the instructions. Not an easy task. And I am doing all of this when my wife does not like raisins. Thank God she can bring them to work!

My Mom's Raisin Pie recipe is one of the most popular recipes on my blog. Unusual to many but absolutely delicious. I love the raisin filling in that pie so when Mom said she had a recipe for sugar cookies with a raisin filling, well I needed to make it as soon as I could.

Turns out the process for making the filling for these cookies is very similar to that of the raisin pie. Actually the flavor profile of these cookies is very similar to that of my raisin pie.

💭 Recipe Tip

Don't you hate it when raisins get stuck together in a big clump? To unstick the raisins, wet your hands with a little water then work the raisins apart.

💭 Recipe Tip #2

The dough for this recipe is very sticky. You will need to use a lot of flour when you roll it out. This is normal and you didn't do anything wrong. Just be mindful that you will need more than the 2 cups of all purpose flour the recipe calls for.

For more great recipes with Raisins, I suggest you check these recipes out:

📋 What Ingredients do I need

You will need the following ingredients to make this Raisin Pie Shortbread Cookies recipe (see recipe card for quantities): White Sugar, Eggs, Milk, Baking Powder, Shortening, All Purpose Flour, Salt, Vanilla Extract, Raisins, Water and Lemon Juice.

🥣 How do I Make Raisin Pie Shortbread Cookies

Make the Cookie Dough

In a mixing bowl, cream the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the salt, eggs, flour and milk. Continue to mix until just about all of the flour is incorporated.
Add the baking powder, baking soda and vanilla extract and mix to combine. The dough will be very soft and sticky. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Make the Raisin Filling

In a small saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch and a ¼ cup of the water to form a paste. Stir in the remaining water, lemon juice and raisins.
Over medium heat, cook until the mixture thickens and the raisins plump, about 5 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Cool to room temperature before using it.

Make the Raisin Pie Shortbread Cookies

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Using about ⅓ of the dough at a time, roll out the dough on a well-floured surface to about ⅛-inch thickness. Use as much flour as necessary to roll it out without it sticking.
Cut the dough into rounds using a 2 ¾ inch cookie cutter. Place one on the prepared baking sheet, spoon 1 generous teaspoon of the raisin filling onto the circle and then top with another round of dough. There is no need to seal them shut as they will while baking. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.
Bake the cookies until lightly golden brown on top, about 15 minutes. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes on the baking sheet and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.