These cookies are soft and chewy and loaded with flavor from honey and spices

Honey Raisin Cookies

For Fun:  When you use honey for baking it makes the end product fluffy and moist. I grew up with my sister and her husband raising bees on the ranch so my family used honey in a lot of recipes.  This was one of my favorites.  This was also the first recipe I made when I started baking with so it’s the one that got me started.                                                                            

This dough needs to be refrigerated for at least 1 hour before baking so plan accordingly.  

In a medium bowl pour the boiling water over the raisins and set aside.  In a separate large baking bowl add the butter and sugar and cream together using a spoon.  Add the two eggs and mix until well combined.  Add two cups of the flour, the salt, baking soda, nutmeg and cloves and blend well.  Add in the oatmeal and blend again.  Pour in the water and raisin mixture and the honey and mix gently.  Add in  the remaining two cups of flour and continue to mix gently until everything is well combined.  The dough will seem very wet and more loose than you might normally expect for a cookie dough.  Cover the bowl with plastic and refrigerate for at least one hour.  

When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).  Spoon the dough onto a greased or parchment lined cookie sheet.  The dough will still be very sticky so you can use two spoons or use your finger to form dough drops of approximately a 2 tablespoon size.  Bake for 10-12 minutes until the cookies are golden brown and feel slightly firm to the touch. Remove the pan from the oven and let the cookies rest for a few minutes before transferring the cookies to a cooling rack.  

The cookies will stay fresh for more than a week if you store them in an airtight container.