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If you’re a raisin fan, this one is for you. Raisin Filled Cookies bake up with a light cinnamon kiss on the outside and a soft, gooey raisin center on the inside. They remind me of a fig newton, only cozier and more old fashioned. The dough is tender, the filling is jammy, and every bite is pure nostalgia.
5 Star Reviews ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Very good recipe turned out wonderful” – Ron
“I LOVE raisins and just had to make these cookies. They’re SO SO good. Even my hubby who doesn’t like raisins (on their own) enjoyed the cookie. YUM.” – Lisalia
“I sometimes make with a merichino cherry filling (for my son who loves cherries). They are delicious and also freeze well.” – Tanya
Why I Love these Cookies
These Old Fashioned Raisin Filled Cookies are a family treasure. My mom first made them after getting the recipe from a dear friend while serving at a camp. Her friend was famous for these treats and the other missionaries cheered every time a fresh batch appeared. The day my mom baked them again, I stole a plate and the recipe so I could share it with you. I kept sneaking cookies on the drive home and barely saved enough to photograph. They are soft, chewy, and that raisin center is everything.
What to serve with Raisin Filled Cookies:
- Ice cream – cinnamon or vanilla ice cream for a warm and cold combo
- Cozy sips – hot apple cider or hot cocoa
🩷 Emily
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Dough – white sugar, shortening or butter, eggs, flour, sour cream, pure vanilla extract, baking soda, baking powder, salt
- Filling – raisins, white sugar, brown sugar, lemon juice, nutmeg, water, melted butter, flour
- Optional finish – a light sprinkle of cinnamon sugar on top before baking for sparkle and crunch
Ingredient Additions and Substitutions
- Nuts: stir chopped walnuts or pecans into the raisin filling for crunch
- Chocolate: swap part of the raisins for mini chocolate chips if you like a cocoa twist
- Other dried fruit: cherries, dates, figs, or prunes can replace raisins measure for measure
- Fat choice: all butter for flavor or all shortening for the softest texture
- Spice: add a pinch of cinnamon to the dough or finish with cinnamon sugar before baking
How to Make Raisin Filled Cookies
- Simmer the filling until thick. Combine raisins, sugars, lemon juice, and nutmeg with water, bring to a boil, then stir in melted butter and flour and cook briefly until glossy and thick. Cool.
- Mix the dough until soft. Cream sugar with shortening, beat in eggs and vanilla, then stir in sour cream and dry ingredients.
- Roll and cut on a lightly floured surface to about 1∕6 inch thick, then cut circles.
- Assemble by placing a circle on a lined sheet, spooning a little cooled filling in the center, and topping with a second circle. No need to crimp, just press lightly.
- Top and bake with a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar if you like, then bake at 400°F until lightly golden.
- Cool on a rack so the centers set and the edges stay tender.
Recipe Tips
- Plump raisins fast by soaking in hot water for 10 minutes, then drain well
- Keep filling in place by letting it cool before assembling
- Prevent sticking with parchment paper so the bottoms bake evenly
- Even cookies come from rolling the dough to the same thinness every time
- No fork seal needed since the dough bakes together and stays soft
- Cutest edges happen with a round cutter, though hand-formed rounds work great too
Frequently Asked Questions
Place raisins in hot water, microwave briefly, then soak about 10 minutes and drain.
Cool completely and store airtight. The moisture from the filling helps keep them tender.
Homemade cookies keep 2 to 3 weeks at room temperature and about 2 months in the fridge. They also freeze well for 8 to 12 months. Always store airtight.
Yes. Flatten two small dough balls into rounds by hand, sandwich the filling, and bake.
Try maraschino cherries, dried cranberries or cherries, or mix in nuts for texture.
Make Ahead and Storage
- Make ahead dough — refrigerate up to 48 hours well wrapped
- Freeze dough — freeze discs up to 2 months then thaw overnight in the fridge
- Filling — make and refrigerate up to 4 days or freeze up to 2 months
- Baked cookies — cool, layer with parchment, and store airtight at room temp or freeze
More Recipes With Raisins
- Cinnamon Rolls
- PB&J Energy Bites
- Healthy Oatmeal Cookies
- Broccoli Salad
- Fruit Cake
- Read More: 33+ Easy Dessert Ideas
These Raisin Filled Cookies are soft, nostalgic, and perfect for gifting or holiday trays. If you bake them, leave a rating and a comment with your twists. Your tips help me and other readers. 🩷
Raisin Filled Cookies
Ingredients
For the cookie dough:
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup shortening
- 3 eggs
- 5½ cups flour
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
For the raisin filling:
- 8 ounces raisins
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- dash of lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1½ cups water
- ¼ cup melted butter
- 5 tablespoons flour
Instructions
For the raisin filling:
- Place raisins, sugars, lemon juice and nutmeg in a medium saucepan.
- Cover the ingredients with water and bring to a boil in a medium saucepan.
- Then stir in melted butter and 5 tablespoons of flour to thicken for about 1 minute.
- Once thick, remove mixture from heat and set aside to cool.
For the cookie dough:
- Preheat oven to 400℉. Cream together the sugar, shortening, and eggs.
- Add remaining ingredients to create a dough. Roll out cookie dough on a lightly floured surface about 1/6" thick and cut out circles.
- Place circles on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a baking mat. Spoon 1-2 teaspoons of raisin filling into the center of the circle.
- Top with another circle cookie, no need to seal the edges.
- Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on top (optional) and bake for 10 minutes, or until light brown in color.
- Cool completely on a wire rack.
Notes
- Texture choice: shortening yields the softest cookies. Butter gives richer flavor.
- Plump raisins for extra jammy filling by soaking in hot water 10 minutes.
- No fork crimp needed since the layers fuse in the oven and stay tender.
- Hand formed option works if you do not want to roll dough.
- Storage: airtight at room temp 2 to 3 weeks, fridge 2 months, freezer up to a year.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Love this recipe?
We want to hear from you! Please leave a review.
What size circle do you use?
We used a standard 3″ biscuit cutter for this recipe but a 2 1/2″ would also work great. Hope this helps!
Very good recipe turned out wonderful
These are my Grandmother’s favorite cookies!
I LOVE raisins and just had to make these cookies. They’re SO SO good. Even my hubby who doesn’t like raisins (on their own) enjoyed the cookie. YUM.
What a great idea, loved the stuffed part! Adds a good flavor
My whole family loved these cookies! I had never seen a filled shortbread quite like this before and I am so glad I gave it a try!
I have some lovely dried blueberries and sweet cherries and strawberries. Do you think they would translate well into these cookies?
I’m confident the cherries would turn out great because I’ve baked with them before. I haven’t baked with dried blueberries or strawberries, so I’m not so sure if they would work as well. Thank you for asking. If you end up trying it, please share how they turn out with us.
I sometimes make with a merichino cherry filling (for my son who loves cherries). They are delicious and also freeze well.
Oh wow! My husbands grandfather (96!) will absolutely LOVE these, as will the rest of our family. Do you happen to know or think they fill freeze okay? Thank you for this recipe!
You can freeze these cookies. Place them in an airtight container or heavy-duty freezer bag. They should keep for up to 3 months. I hope your grandfather enjoys them!
They freeze beautifully!
can you tell me how much a cup of shortening is in grams or mil.
also the same for the raisins how many grams is 1 lb. package raisins?
I honestly have no idea– your best bet is looking for an online conversion chart for these items.
Thank you for asking! 1 cup of shortening = 205 grams. 1 lb of raisins = 454 grams.
Yum! Thank you for the nice recipe and have a great weekend!
I have been looking for a recipe that my MIL used to make that my hubby tried to duplicate using dates.. he remembers a very white cookie that is baked with dates. My mom used to do date filled cookies but assemble the cookies after and her cookies were much darker using brown sugar. This may be the recipe!!