Orange Raisin Date with Walnut Cookies

New Year's 2025 Good Luck Cookies

I usually go on line and find out what fruit is good luck for the coming year. Well, it is oranges and grapes. I will not put grapes in my cookies, but I will put raisins. This is how I started the process for this year's cookie. Here is a web site (Globe aware) that lists different cultures and what they consider good luck food for 2025.

I wanted a plumper raisin, so I opted for the golden raisin. To me they are a little sweeter and I think they will go really well with the orange. To add a little more sweetness, I added dates. Topping the whole cookie off, I added a little crunch with the chopped walnuts.

Ingredients

• Butter unsalted 
• Sugar white
• Eggs 
• Mascarpone
• Orange juice (I used Navel Orange)
• Orange zest (I used Navel Orange)
• Vanilla extract
• Rum extract
• All-purpose flour
• Ground cinnamon
• Ground ginger
• Baking powder
• Kosher Salt
• Raisins golden
• Dates pitted
• Walnuts

Making Orange Raisin Cookies

There is a little prepping, but not too much. So grab your cutting board and a sharp knife and we will get started.

Prepping

In a small bowl, weigh or measure the sugar and set it aside. Next, in a larger bowl, weigh or measure the flour. Add to the flour the salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and ginger. Using a whisk, blend the dry ingredients together and set the bowl aside.

Now you want to zest the orange. You notice I do not go over the same spot any more than twice. You still see a lighter colored orange and not white (called the pith). If you are zesting and start zesting the white, that will add bitterness to your cookie dough. The pith has health benefits, but you don't want it in this cookie. Then cut the orange in half and juice both halves.

Next, you want to cut the dates into small pieces. I cut up 18 pitted dates to get ¾ of a cup. Depending on the size of your pitted dates, the count could be more or less than what I cut up.

The walnuts I purchase are already chopped. If what you have at home are whole walnuts or very large pieces, you may need to chop yours smaller.

Mixing the Cookie Dough

Cube the butter into the mixer bowl. If the butter is still cold, this will help to warm it up a little faster.

I mix the butter on a medium mixer speed for about 2 minutes. This, of course, depends on how cold your butter is. I find I have to stop the mixer and push the cold butter through so it falls into the bowl and then continue to mix. You want the butter to have soft peaks.

Now add the sugar. Since there is more sugar than butter, even after mixing on a medium mixer speed for 3 minutes, it still looks a little grainy. That is ok.

Now comes the eggs. I break the egg into a small bowl to make sure there are no egg shells that will go into my cookie dough. Mix the first egg into the dough before adding the second.

Time to add the orange zest and juice along with the rum and vanilla extract. You also want to add the mascarpone.

Mix for 2 minutes on a medium mixer speed. It will look fluffy. Scrape down the sides and add the flour about a third at a time. This should only take about a minute to get all the flour mixture mixed into the wet ingredients. Try not to over mix.

I take a spatula and go around the sides and across the bottom of the mixer bowl to make sure all the flour has been mixed in.

Now, add the golden raisins, chopped dates, and the chopped walnuts. Mix for about 5-10 seconds.

I now take a spatula and make sure the raisins, dates, and walnuts are sort of evenly dispersed throughout the cookie dough.

Cover and chill for 2 hours. I usually run errands while the cookie dough is chilling. This is called multitasking. lol

Baking the Cookies

Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C or 180°C), and line 2 cookie sheet pans with parchment paper. I use a medium size cookie scooper. I add twelve scoops to a sheet pan.

Bake for 12-14 minutes. Once out of the oven, move the cookies to a cooling rack.

Enjoy! I wish you all good luck in the coming year.

FAQ's