Yogurt Covered Raisins
Raisins in a soft, tangy coating made from strained yogurt cheese, butter and powdered sugar, rather than the sugar and hydrogenated palm kernel oil that fills a supermarket box. Dry the fruit properly and the coating sets in about four hours.
Ingredients
The Fruit
- 2 1/2 cups raisins about 15 ounces, golden, dark or a mix
For the Yogurt Coating
- 4 ounces yogurt cheese labneh, or 1 1/2 cups Greek yogurt strained overnight
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar sifted
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
Equipment
- Large saucepan
- Steamer strainer
- Medium saucepan
- Whisk
- Mixing bowl
- Wax paper
- Flat plate
Instructions
Plump and Dry the Raisins
- First, set the raisins in a steamer basket over boiling water, cover, and steam for 5 minutes until they swell and soften.
- Spread them on a clean towel in a single layer and leave them for about 20 minutes, until the surface is completely dry to the touch. Damp fruit is the single most common reason a batch never sets.
Make the Coating
- Next, warm the butter and yogurt cheese together in a small saucepan over low heat, whisking, until smooth and pourable. Take the pan off the heat before it starts to bubble.
- Then stir in the sifted powdered sugar in three additions, with the vanilla and the salt, until the mixture is thick, glossy and falls from the spoon in a ribbon.
Coat and Separate
- After that, tip the dried raisins into the warm coating and fold until every piece is covered. Chill the bowl for 10 minutes so the coating firms enough to hold its shape.
- Spread the mixture onto a parchment-lined tray and separate the clusters with two forks while the coating is still soft. You have about 10 minutes before the clumps become permanent.
Set and Store
- Finally, leave the tray at cool room temperature for about 4 hours, until a piece rolled between finger and thumb feels matte, dry and slightly firm and leaves nothing on your skin.
- Transfer them to a sealed container with parchment between the layers and keep them refrigerated. A dairy coating is not shelf stable the way the boxed kind is.
Notes
Dry raisins: this is the step that decides everything. Steamed raisins carry a film of surface water, and water thins the coating so it never sets. Dry them on a towel until the surface is matte, or skip the steaming and use soft raisins straight from the bag.
Yogurt cheese: buy labneh, or strain 1 1/2 cups of plain Greek yogurt through a lined sieve overnight. Cream cheese works and loses the tang.
Sugar: the older version of this recipe called for 6 cups, which gives a dry crumble rather than a coating. Two cups is right for 4 ounces of yogurt cheese.
Set-hard version: melt 12 ounces of white confectionery wafers with 2 tablespoons of powdered yogurt for a shelf-stable shell that behaves like the boxed kind.
Storage: 2 weeks refrigerated with parchment between the layers, or 3 months frozen after freezing them spread on a tray.
Nutrition values are an estimate.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cup | Calories: 209kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 10mg | Sodium: 70mg | Potassium: 200mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 40g | Vitamin A: 744IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 54mg | Iron: 1mg