California Raisin Cookies

Add half of the beaten egg and mix well with a whisk.

Add the other half of the egg and mix until just combined. Be sure not to overbeat—just mix until even.

Add the sifted cake flour and the raisins that have been chopped in a food processor, then roughly fold together with a spatula until evenly mixed.

Put on gloves and lightly mix a few more times until just even. Do not knead excessively.

Divide the dough into 3 equal portions, shape each piece and wrap it well in baking paper, then freeze in the freezer for 1 hour until firm. Slice into 1 cm thick pieces. (I don’t have cookie cutters; I just shaped the logs by hand in baking paper. The sliced cookies are about 5 cm long and 3 cm wide—just for your reference.)

Arrange on a baking tray, leaving enough space between each cookie.

Preheat the oven to 170b0C (top and bottom heat). Bake on the middle rack for about 18 minutes, until the surface is lightly golden brown.

The cookies will be a little soft right out of the oven—that’s normal. Transfer them to a cooling rack; once completely cool they will be crisp.

Crisp and tender, sweet with a hint of tartness—can you believe they’re even tastier than cranberry cookies?

Here is a picture of the raisins.