Filled Raisin (MM) Cookies

Heaven.  Heaven on a cookie sheet, if you like raisin filled cookies.  Use a jar of the mince fruit I canned :)

2 cups shortening
2 cups sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
4 eggs
2 Tbsp milk
2 tsp vanilla
6 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Cream together shortening and sugars.  Add eggs, milk, and vanilla.  Mix in a seperate bowl: flour, soda and salt.  Add to wet mixture and mix to combine.  Seperate into 5 or six equal parts and form into rolls in wax paper.  Freeze until solid (ish) about 30 minutes.  Slice into 3/8" slices, and place one layer on a baking sheet.  Fill with 1 tsp mince fruit, and then cover mince with another slice of cookie dough.  Do NOT flatten, press, or seal.  They will bake and seal in the oven for you.  Bake 375 Degrees  for 10 minutes.

**Note:  I did this recipe and these cookies were fantastic.  But I made the rolls too big and only came out with about two dozen cookies that had to be baked a bit longer.  I will make my rolled dough cylinders smaller next time.

Minced Fruit (Credit Brett Jensen and Family) (They called it Mincemeat)

I was never a mincemeat fan until THIS....THIS is DELICIOUS!  I'm going to try making baklava this year with it, it's SO delicious.  Mincemeat has no meat in it.  It's just fruits and spices, cooked to delicious sticky satisfaction, and it's so good.

2 pints chopped green tomatoes
3 pints chopped tart apples, peeled.
2 lbs. raisins
1/2 cup vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)
6 cups sugar
4 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cloves
2 tsp ground allspice

Run green tomatoes, apples, and raisins through a meat grinder or food processor.  Mix everything in recipe together in a large pot.  Bring to a boil and simmer several hours until it's thick.  Mine took about 6-8 hours.  Made a dozen pints.  I filled hot sterilized jars with the very hot mince, and inverted them to promote seal.  Only one didn't seal, used that for the cookies I'm posting next!