This rum raisin cookies recipe brings a touch of European elegance to your baking. It combines juicy raisins with a splash of rum in a delicate, chewy texture. Perfect for those who love a sophisticated yet easy-to-make treat.
This cookies recipe is part of my collection of cookies and bars on the blog. Here you are going to find over 80 recipes to try, like this Classic Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, Peanut Butter Snowball Cookies, or these Triple Chocolate Stout Brownies With Nuts.
Some of them are more popular than others, but each one of them deserves some attention. I hope you go through them and discover some gems.
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🙋♀️ What Are Rum Raisin Cookies
Rum Raisin Cookies, or "fursecuri cu stafide și rom" in Romanian, are a simple treat that mix the rich taste of rum with sweet raisins in a soft, buttery cookie. They're made with basic ingredients like butter, sugar, eggs, and flour, with rum-soaked raisins adding a special flavor.
To me, these cookies are a reminder of home and my mom's baking. They're as loved in Romania as chocolate chip cookies are in the U.S., making any moment or celebration a bit sweeter. They're also great as gifts, especially around Christmas, for anyone who loves cookies.
💝 Why You Will Fall In Love With This Recipe
- Simplicity at Its Best: With straightforward steps and common ingredients, these cookies are a breeze to make.
- Versatility: Perfect for any occasion, like a casual Sunday tea or a festive holiday table.
- Unique Flavor Profile: The combination of rum and raisins offers a distinct taste that sets these cookies apart from your everyday sweet treat.
📝 Ingredients Needed
Here is a visual display of the ingredients for these cookies. Make sure you check the recipe card at the bottom of the article for full amounts and instructions.
- Powdered Sugar: Adds a refined sweetness, creating a delicate texture.
- Butter: Unsalted, please. We don't want salty cookies.
- Eggs: They bind the ingredients together and add moisture.
- All-Purpose Flour: Give the cookies the structure needed.
- Raisins: Not just for texture, but for bursts of natural sweetness.
- Rum (or Extract): This is where the magic happens. It's not just flavor; it's a whole mood.
🔀Variations and Substitutions
- Not a fan of raisins? Try dried cranberries or tart cherries. Maybe chocolate chips?
- For a nutty twist, walnuts or pecans can add an interesting crunch.
- If you're out of rum extract, real rum works wonderfully, especially for soaking the raisins. Otherwise, use vanilla extract, but the cookies will lose that authenticity.
Related: Jam And Walnuts Rugelach Cookies
👩🍳 How To Make These Cookies
(Make sure you check out the recipe card at the bottom of this article for full instructions.)
- Step 1. Cream the butter and sugar until it's fluffy and light.
- Step 2. Gradually incorporate the eggs.
- Step 3. Sift in the flour and mix gently to incorporate it.
- Step 4. Stir in the raisins and rum.
- Step 5. Refrigerate the dough until firm. Drop the cookies on a baking tray.
- Step 6. Bake.
💡 Expert Tips For the Perfect Batch
- Let the dough chill in the fridge.
- Give the cookies space on the baking sheet; they love to spread out. One secret would be to keep the dough in the fridge and move quickly when you make the cookies.
- Watch the oven closely – Do not to bake them for more than 10-12 minutes, just until they are golden brown around the edges.
- They will be fragile, so leave them for 5 minutes on the baking tray to cool, then move them to a cooling rack.
- Don't forget that the rum flavor is what makes this cookie special. Without the rum flavor, they are quite plain. You can replace the rum flavor (extract) with actual rum if you prefer. Place the raisins in a bowl, pour two tablespoons of rum over, and allow them to hydrate for about 30 minutes.
🍽️ Serving Suggestions
Pair these cookies with a robust coffee, like my recipe for Turkish coffee, or a mellow tea. They're not just snacks; they're conversation starters. On a dessert table, they sit beautifully next to a plate of Kossuth Kifli (Half Moon Cookies), another delicious recipe from the old times, these Jam Crescent Pastries, adding a rustic charm, or these Easy Mexican Wedding Cookies.
📦 Storage
Due to their slightly sticky nature, it is best to layer them between sheets of parchment paper in an airtight container. This way, they maintain their texture without becoming a cookie clump. The batter can be refrigerated for up to 3 days, in case you need to bake the cookies later.
💬Recipe Faqs
Absolutely! Wrap it well and freeze for up to a month.
Yes, you can use a gluten-free all-purpose flour blend in place of regular all-purpose flour. However, the texture might be slightly different.
If your cookies spread too much, it might be because the dough wasn’t chilled enough.
More Cookie Recipes To Love
📖 Recipe
Rum Raisin Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs
- 2 cups of powdered sugar
- 2 sticks of unsalted butter room temperature
- 2 cups of all purpose flour
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 tablespoon rum flavor or 2 tablespoon real rum
Instructions
- Cream the butter with the powder sugar until smooth.
- Incorporate the eggs one by one.
- Add the flour gradually.
- Add the raisins and the rum flavor to the batter. Mix to incorporate all ingredients.
- Refrigerate the dough for an hour, in the same bowl you mixed it. The dough will be soft initially, but it will be easy to scoop into small balls after refrigeration.
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper and drop with the spoon small balls of batter, leaving 1-2 inches distance between them. Cookies will spread a lot.
- Bake the cookies in the oven for no more than 10-12 mins. Keep an eye on them, as they should be in the oven only until they become lightly golden brown at the edges.
- Leave them on the cookie sheet for about 5 minutes, then transfer them to a rack to cool.
Notes
- Customizable: Substitute raisins with dried cranberries, cherries, or chocolate chips. Add nuts for crunch, or swap rum extract with real rum or vanilla for different flavors.
- Expert Tips: Chill the dough, space cookies on the baking sheet, watch baking time closely, and let cookies cool on the tray before moving.
- Storage Tips: Store baked cookies between parchment papers in an airtight container; refrigerate batter for up to 3 days for convenience.
Sara says
My son is presenting a project about Romanian foods at school, and he chose these cookies to make to share with his classmates... we are excited to try them! Before we make them, I wanted to check with you to make sure I am reading correctly - you use powdered sugar, not granulated? I have never used powdered sugar in a cookie recipe, so I'm interested to see how it turns out! 🙂
The Bossy Kitchen says
Hi Sara, I am so happy to hear about your son and the project about Romanian foods. He cannot go wrong with these cookies. Yes, there is powder sugar in them instead of granulated. You are right. If you're using the sugar for creaming (with fat), you generally need to use a coarser sugar. The coarser sugar doesn't dissolve too quickly, therefore it allows the air to be incorporated in the batter. But these cookies are flat, as they expand a lot during baking and this is how they should be, for being traditional. The texture is a little bit crunchy outside and soft inside. Make sure to use the rum essence, this will give the cookie the traditional taste, otherwise they are quite bland as they don't have other flavors. Add raisins, walnuts, or both. Bake them for only 10 minutes, otherwise they dry out. Let me know if you liked them. My nephew is 8 years old and his favorite cookies are those. He asks for them as snacks in his lunch box at school or when he goes on a school trip. They are delicious! Good luck and thank you for visiting!
Sara says
Thank you for getting back with me! The cookies were a hit! Turned out great, and all 3 of my kids are asking me to make them again!
The Bossy Kitchen says
How awesome is that? I am so happy to hear that they were a great success! Thank you for visiting and I hope you find more recipes on the blog to try! By the way, i suggest you try the Jam and Walnuts Rugelash: https://www.thebossykitchen.com/jam-and-walnuts-rugelach-cornulete-cu-gem/ this is another great recipe for treating a crowd with a special dessert.
Jhenifer says
Is there Romanian name for these cookies? We are going to try them for my daughter's Around the World birthday party. I am very excited. I always love anything with rum flavoring. Thank you!
The Bossy Kitchen says
Hi, Yes, these cookies are called: Fursecuri cu Stafide si Rom(Foor-sai-coore coo Stafeedai shee Rom)- I hope you can read it 🙂 Somebody else made these cookies for a child party and they were a hit! they are really delicious! Good luck and thank you for visiting!
Snjezana says
You're not using baking powder or baking soda - or did you forget to write it down?
The Bossy Kitchen says
There is no baking powder or baking soda in these cookies. I suggest you to not add anything to them, just follow the recipe for an authentic taste. 🙂
Susan says
Can the raisins be soaked in rum or will this spoil the cookie?
The Bossy Kitchen says
If you squeeze the raisins before you add them to the dough, it will be fine. I usually add rum flavor and skip the soaking raisins in the actual rum, but you can try and let me know.:-)
Ellen Wortmann says
Greetings from Germany. I made the cookies now. And my husband likes them, me too. Thank you for the nice recipe. I often try the things you suggest.
The Bossy Kitchen says
You are so very welcome! I am happy you liked the recipe. It is indeed a good one. I make these cookies very often as well.:-)
Deedee says
These were wonderful, and are my new favorite cookie recipe. I used real rum for the cookies, but I see in your recipe that you say "rum flavor', or "rum essence". Are you using the rum alcohol, or rum extract?
Mary Martikke says
Yum!! Your rum cookie recipe is amazing. I had some raisins soaking in rum for a few months which I usually use to make bread pudding, but when I came upon your recipe, I decided to use my rum raisins in your recipe. I did let them drain for a few minutes, but the rum-soaked raisins were amazing---didnt need to use rum flavoring as the rum from the raisins took care of a need to add more DELICIOUS !!!!!! A KEEPER RECIPE
Yulia says
Could you use an actual rum, not the rum essence?
The Bossy Kitchen says
Yes, you can use actual rum, place the raisins in a bowl and pour 2 tablespoons of rum and 1 tablespoon of hot water over them and let them hydrate in that liquid for about 30 minutes. I will add that to the recipe. Great question, thank you! 🙂
Ally says
Can these cookies be made in advance? I'm making Xmas cookie boxes to give as gifts and want to add these. Will they keep for at least two weeks or will they go stale?
The Bossy Kitchen says
They go stale if you make them now, as there is a lot of butter in them. BUT, you can make the dough and freeze it for later, or make the cookies and freeze them for a few hours on a single layer, then move them to a bag and put them back in the freezer until you need them. Don't put them in a bag on top of each other from the beginning, as they will stick together and break. Thaw them at room temperature.
Ally says
@The Bossy Kitchen,
thanks for the tip!
I ended up making a triple batch, rolling them into balls and freezing them. Had some leftover from the first gift bag packing and I see what you're talking about, they're definitely best fresh. Now I have a good stock to pop in the oven spontaneously. Thank you for sharing this fantastic recipe! My husband and I are all over these as soon as they come out of the oven.
Meow says
these are very eggy, but delicious! do they need stored in the frig?
Gabriela says
No, they don't need to be stored in the fridge.