Persian Raisin Cookies (or Nan-e keshmeshy)

These are my favorites! They are the first Iranian sweets that I learned how to make and they have been perfected many times:) They are light, crisp and the sweetness is just right!

From New Food of Life by Najmieh Batmanglij
Makes: about 50-60 cookies
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 cups raisins (I used currants)
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Spread out wax paper on a cookie sheet.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine melted butter, vanilla, and sugar; then add the eggs. Mix well until creamy.

3. Add raisins and mix well.

4. Fold in the flour until a soft dough forms.

5. Drop teaspoonfuls of batter on the wax paper, leaving about 2 inches between each spoonful. I flatten them out a little bit with the spoon to make sure that they bake thinly.

6. Place the cookie sheet in the center of the oven and bake about 10 minutes, or until slightly golden. Be careful not to burn them. If you see that the sides are getting dark, take them out of the oven.

7. Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool. Gently lift the cookies off the wax paper.

You can also add a little bit of lemon or almond extract to the dough, or lemon zest. I've also tried making them with dried cranberries and they turned out really delicious. You could also add nuts if you like. The nice thing is you can really make it with whatever you like! But the traditional way of doing it is like the recipe.