Anyone Know the Name of This Flat, Raisin Snack?

Many years ago I loved to eat a flat, raisin, baked snack that was about a foot long, about 3 inches wide, and maybe a 1/4 inch thick.

The snack wasn't actually a "cookie", more like a chewy raisin cracker that had been pressed very flat and baked. I think the raisin version was the main product, but I did see some one time that used cranberries.

The snack was chewy, not at all hard or crisp. The foot-long product that came from the package was scored so that you could break off about four 3-inch servings.

Anyone remember that baked raisin treat? Know where I might find any of them still being made? It was fairly available in stores about 10 years ago, but I have not seen any recently.

I grew up just north of Boston & do remember these. They were a little on the dry side but went very well with a cold glass of milk. For some reason, I think I remember that they were made by Sunshine.

Check out the Vermont Country Store. www.vermontcountrystore.com

Longing for Those Forgotten Raisin Biscuits? Then You'll Love These Garibaldi Biscuit Bars

* No longer available in supermarkets
* Each 7¼"x2¾" bar is perforated so you can divide it into five easy-to-eat sections
* Each 3.5 oz. packages contain two bars

Raisin Biscuits are a perfect complement to tea, coffee, or ice-cold milk.

My wife reminds me that they were called "Golden Fruit". The raisin biscuits from the Vermont store look awful similar. I will try them.

Thanks, you guys!

I remember them but haven't seen them since my family moved out of New England in the mid-1960s. Were they a New England specialty?

Sunshine bakers used to make these, 'raisin bars' we called 'em here in New York. Outstanding with milk! The version Vermont Country sells are pretty close.

HI,
 
This reply may be five years too late, but I think what you were thinking about was "Garibaldi Biscuits".  These were flat, pressed, raisin biscuits that are slightly chewy.  They are more widely available in the UK, but you can find lots of places online that will retail for Tesco, Waitrose or Saintsbury's.

I remember those too. Down here, they probably had to be Sunshine. Threre is a Latin brand sold down here that's the pretty much the same, but each is about 4" long and has even a thinner layer inside then I remember as a kid. There was at least one other flavor type that I remember. Either by mistake or maybe that's all there was available, but the other flavor spread was full of these tiny seeds and I hated it when it turned up. Maybe someone remembers what that other filling was. Weird, another coincidence of something during this past week that came up on the board. I hadn't thought of these in over 50 years. My beloved and I were at a local Sedano's market looking through the cookies and came across the package I mentioned. That's had me wondering about the other filling all week. I remember at one time you could buy this seeded filling stuff in a square jar with a round top in the baking section, but for the life of me I can't recall what it is. It's not fig, but sort of the same texture, maybe firmer seeds in a black or dark purple base. 

jeezlouise8888


HI,

This reply may be five years too late, but I think what you were thinking about was "Garibaldi Biscuits".  These were flat, pressed, raisin biscuits that are slightly chewy.  They are more widely available in the UK, but you can find lots of places online that will retail for Tesco, Waitrose or Saintsbury's.

Here's Garibaldi's
http://www.britishdelights.com/prod_e184.htm

From someone's blog
Sunshine Golden Fruit
During my travels, I have found there are two types of people in this world: those who like raisins, and those who despise raisins. A unique flavor combination of raisins and sweet and salty crackers from some snacks on an Air Berlin flight yesterday instantly took me back to a delicious fruit cookie from my youth. I discovered in a quick internet search that they were made by Sunshine, a little cookie company that rebelled against Nabisco's domination in 1902. Although they were able to survive many company changeovers, my cookies were finally made redundant in 1998, when Sunshine was absorbed by Kellogg/Keebler. If you see them anywhere let me know. They were delicious and they looked something like this:

Here's the recipe to make them at home from King Arthur Flower Company
      Dough

• 1 cup King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour or Unbleached All-Purpose Flour*
• 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons cold butter
• 3 to 4 tablespoons ice water*
• *If you use white whole wheat flour, substitute 1 tablespoon orange juice for 1 tablespoon of the ice water, for best flavor.

Filling

• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 cups currants, or chopped raisins

Topping

• 1/2 cup coarse white sparkling sugar

Dough

• ·4 ounces King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour* or 4 1/4 ounces Unbleached All-Purpose Flour or
• ·1/2 ounce confectioners' sugar
• ·1 teaspoon baking powder
• ·1/4 teaspoon salt
• ·3 ounces cold butter
• ·1 1/2 to 2 ounces ice water*
• ·*If you use white whole wheat flour, substitute 1 tablespoon orange juice for 1 tablespoon of the ice water, for best flavor.

Filling

• ·1 large egg, lightly beaten
• ·7 ounces currants, or chopped raisins

Topping

• ·4 ounces coarse white sparkling sugar

Dough

• ·113g King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour* or 4 1/113g Unbleached All-Purpose Flour or
• ·14g confectioners' sugar
• ·1 teaspoon baking powder
• ·1/4 teaspoon salt
• ·85g cold butter
• ·43 to 57g ice water*
• ·*If you use white whole wheat flour, substitute 1 tablespoon orange juice for 1 tablespoon of the ice water, for best flavor.

Filling

• ·1 large egg, lightly beaten
• ·198g currants, or chopped raisins

Topping

• ·113g coarse white sparkling sugar

Directions
1) Lightly grease a couple of baking sheets, or line them with parchment.
2) Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut the butter into small cubes, and work it into the dry ingredients using your fingers, a mixer, or a fork, mixing until the dough is unevenly crumbly.
3) Drizzle in the ice water (or orange juice and water, if you're using whole wheat flour), mixing until the dough is cohesive. Grab a handful; if it holds together willingly and doesn't seem at all dry or crumbly, you've added enough liquid.
4) Divide the dough in half, and shape each half into a rough rectangle. Press each of the four sides against your work surface to smooth any ragged edges.
5) Wrap the dough, and refrigerate it for 30 minutes. Towards the end of the refrigeration time, preheat the oven to 350°F.
6) Take one piece of the dough, and place it on a lightly floured work surface. Roll it into a rectangle that's about 10" x 14", about 1/8" thick. Don't worry about ragged edges; life is imperfect.
7) Brush the surface of the dough lightly with some of the beaten egg, then spread half the surface (one of the "long" halves — a swatch about 5" x 14") with 3/4 cup of the currants, pressing them in gently.
8) Fold the other half of the dough over the currants, and roll again, until you have a piece of dough about 6" x 15". Some of the currants may pop through; that's OK.
9) Brush the dough lightly with some of the beaten egg, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup of the coarse sugar. (If you don't have coarse sugar, use a couple of tablespoons of regular granulated sugar. The cookies won't look as nice, but will taste fine.)
10) Now, trim the ragged edges; these will be the "cook's cookies," the ones you spirit away and eat yourself because you don't care what they look like.
11) Use a baker's bench knife or a rolling pizza wheel, carefully cut the rectangle of dough into three strips, lengthwise. Then cut each lengthwise strip into five crosswise pieces; you'll have a total of 15 rectangular cookies. Note: Be very careful if you've rolled the dough on a silicone rolling mat; you don't want to cut the mat when you cut the cookies.
12) Transfer the cookies to one of the prepared baking sheets, spacing them close together; they won't expand much.
13) Repeat the entire process with the remaining piece of dough.
14) Bake the cookies for 14 to 18 minutes, until they're a light golden brown. Remove them from the oven, and transfer them to a rack to cool.
Yield: 30 cookies, plus additional scrap cookies for the cook.
 
Recipe summary
Hands-on time:
25 mins. to 35 mins.
Baking time:
14 mins. to 18 mins.
Total time:
39 mins. to 1 hrs 13 mins.
Yield:
about 3 dozen cookies
 
     

Heck, I will just buy them......

Sunshine made them, and I think we called them raisin bars or biscuits as they wern't really sweet like a cookie.  Sunshine brought them back briefly around the late 70's.  I remember being so excited, and a friend tasting one and saying  "... and you really liked these?  Not for everyone's taste, obviously.
 
Check out any Asian markets near you.  I found something called Sultana biscuits, which were very close.  The raisins were a little chewier and drier than I remember, but the cracker part was the same, and at about $1.39 a package, a lot less pricey than ordering from Vermont Country Store.