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Maida Heatter's Chocolate Cookies with Gin-Soaked Raisins

4.2

(38)

Active time: 40 min Start to finish: 10 hr (includes soaking raisins)

Cooks' notes:

•You can soak raisins in gin up to 1 week.

•Cookies keep in an airtight container at room temperature 5 days.

Recipe information

  • Total Time

    10 hr (includes soaking raisins)

  • Yield

    Makes about 12 large cookies

Ingredients

1/2 cup golden raisins
1/3 cup gin
3 cups sifted confectioners sugar (sift before measuring)
2/3 cup sifted unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch-process (sift before measuring)
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (unsifted)
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 large egg whites
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
8 oz pecans (2 1/4 cups), toasted, cooled, and coarsely chopped

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Combine raisins and gin in a cup and let stand at least 8 hours to macerate.

    Step 2

    Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour 2 large baking sheets, shaking off excess flour.

    Step 3

    Mix confectioners sugar, cocoa, espresso powder, flour, and salt with an electric mixer at low speed. Add egg whites and vanilla and continue mixing until smooth.

    Step 4

    Drain raisins in a sieve, without pressing, then add raisins to dough with pecans. Stir until thoroughly mixed. (Dough will be thick and sticky.)

    Step 5

    Working quickly, drop 1/4 cup dough for each cookie onto a baking sheet, spacing cookies at least 3 inches apart, and gently pat down each mound to about 1/2 inch thick.

    Step 6

    Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, in middle of oven, rotating sheet halfway through baking, 15 to 17 minutes total, or until cookies appear cracked and centers are just set. Cool cookies on sheet 1 minute, then transfer carefully to a rack to cool completely.

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