Whiskey-Soaked Raisins Are The Boozy Treat You'll Love For Baking Or Snacking

Raisins pack a lot of flavor into such a small fruit, which makes them a delicious addition to all sorts of pastries. There's a catch to using them, however: Because of their low water content, they're more likely to pull moisture from the rest of your ingredients, making your cakes, breads, and cookies turn out drier than you'd like. The usual fix is to soak them beforehand in water so that they're plumper, but there's a tastier alternative you might want to consider: whiskey.

Soaking your raisins in whiskey still helps rehydrate the fruit, but also infuses them with the whiskey's flavor. Interestingly enough, it can also help make raisins taste even sweeter despite the fact that whiskey is virtually sugar-free; the liquor instead contains compounds that create the perception of sweetness. All together, this adds several layers of complexity to your baked goods — from texture to taste — elevating the overall quality of your treats.

It's also incredibly easy to do. Just drop your raisins into an airtight jar, and then pour in enough whiskey to cover them. Give the jar a shake every now and then, and in a few days, you'll have juicy, boozy raisins to use in your recipes (or for snacking). It's a really flavorful way to rehydrate dried fruit in general, so you can try it with craisins, apricots, and more.

What's especially great about soaking your raisins in liquor is the fact that you can customize their flavor profile based on the ingredients you use. The same flavor differences between rye and bourbon, for example, will reflect on your final product, too. If you think your recipe could use a touch of smokiness, try soaking your raisins in a peated whiskey. If you want to lean a little more into a fruitier flavor profile, try using an Irish whiskey. Whiskey is such a nuanced drink that you can get a wide spectrum of results based on which one you use, so it might be helpful to brush up on some of the terms on whiskey labels before buying a bottle for soaking.

You'll also want to consider which types of raisins you'll be using for your recipe. Golden raisins benefit from a drying process that makes them plumper and fruitier than dark raisins, making them a popular choice for baked goods. Dark raisins, on the other hand, tend to have a deeper flavor and grittier mouthfeel — the latter of which can be offset by soaking — which makes them a good match for more savory recipes.

From here, you can mix and match your whiskey and raisins based on how you want the end result to taste. If you're looking for something deep and indulgent, soaking dark raisins in bourbon will give the fruit notes of caramel and vanilla. If you want something light, sweet, and a little bit spicy, try soaking golden raisins in a West Highlands Scotch whisky. Feel free to play with the flavors until you find something that really tickles your taste buds.

Now that you've got your boozy raisins exactly how you like them, you may be looking for ideas on how to use them. They are, of course, perfectly good on their own — the legendary Jacques Pepin himself would eat a few gin-soaked raisins every night — but all that extra flavor can also bring a lot of nuance to some of your favorite desserts.

You could, for instance, add some bite to oatmeal raisin cookies with fruit that's been soaked in a spicier whiskey; something like Fireball will help enhance the cinnamon flavor. You can also give boxed brownies a depth of flavor with your whiskey-soaked raisins, which works particularly well since chocolate already pairs well with whiskey. The fruit is also a fantastic ice cream topping if you're feeling lazy and need a quick sugar fix.

But the raisins aren't the only thing you can use after you're done soaking them — all that leftover whiskey is infused with the flavors and sugars from the fruit, too. As long as you strain it and store it properly, the whiskey should keep for up to a year, giving you plenty of time to use it. You could pour it into this traditional Scottish whisky dessert and amp up the overall fruitiness of the dish. You can also make a sinfully sweet bourbon bread pudding that gains a lot of complexity from the raisin's flavors. At the very least, it's probably one of the easiest ways to upgrade your whiskey sours at home.