Fruitcake Cookies are a delightful twist on the traditional holiday fruitcake. They’re packed with candied fruits and crunchy pecans, making them a festive and flavorful treat for the holiday season. While fruitcakes have been a staple of holiday celebrations for centuries, these cookies offer a fun and easy way to enjoy the classic flavors of a fruitcake in a smaller, more manageable portion. The tradition of fruitcake can be traced back to ancient Rome, where a version of it was made with pomegranate seeds, pine nuts, and barley mash. Over the years, the recipe evolved and spread across Europe, with each region adding its own unique ingredients. In the American South, where this cookie recipe originated, it’s common to add pecans for a touch of local flavor. When making these cookies, the key is to find the right balance between the sweet candied fruits and the nutty pecans. You can adjust the amounts to suit your taste. Remember to keep an eye on them in the oven, as they can quickly go from perfectly golden to burnt. Happy baking!
Ingredients
- 1 c. light brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 3 c. self rising flour
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 c. milk
- 2 lbs candied fruit or 6 slices of candied pineapple and 2 cups of candied cherries
- 3 to 4 c. of pecans
Baking Instructions
- Cream butter and sugar.
- Add eggs.
- Add other ingredients and mix well.
- Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a cookie sheet.
- Bake at 300 for 20 to 30 minutes.
Calorie: 250
Total cooking time:30 minutes
Difficulty level: Easy
The Mischievous Mix-up with Light Brown Sugar
I was feeling a bit whimsical one Saturday afternoon and decided to tackle a new recipe. You see, I had somehow acquired a small mountain of candied fruit over the holidays. Six slices of candied pineapple and two cups of candied cherries stared at me from the pantry, taunting me with their syrupy sweetness. I thought to myself, “Today is the day, my fruity friends. You’re going to become a part of something bigger: Fruitcake Cookies.”
However, I had underestimated the first step: creaming butter and light brown sugar. Seriously, how hard could it be? Well, let’s just say this: If you’ve ever tried to mix hard butter with an equally stubborn cup of light brown sugar, then you know that this seemingly innocent step is actually the culinary equivalent of wrestling a greased pig.
The Eggstraordinary Incident
After a good 15 minutes of battling the butter and sugar, I cracked three eggs into the mix. I thought I was home free, until I realized that one of the eggs was a double-yolker. For a moment, I considered whether this extra yolk would throw off the balance of the universe, or at least the cookies. But, much like a cowboy in a rodeo, I decided to just hold on and ride it out.
Flour, Cinnamon, Milk and a Bit of a Mess
Next, I added three cups of self-rising flour, a teaspoon of cinnamon, and a half cup of milk to the mix. This is where things got a bit messy. If you’ve ever tried to mix a bowl full of dry ingredients without making a cloud of flour dust, then you understand my plight. I may have looked like a ghost, but at least I smelled like cinnamon.
The Candied Fruit Conundrum and the Pecan Puzzle
Then came the candied fruit and the pecans. I stared at the mountain of candied fruit and the mountain of pecans (3 to 4 cups to be exact), and I wondered how in the world all of that was going to fit into my mixing bowl. It was like trying to stuff a clown car at the circus. But somehow, miraculously, it all mixed together into a cookie dough that looked surprisingly like…cookie dough.
Teaspoonfuls of Triumph
When it was time to drop the dough by teaspoonfuls onto the cookie sheet, I felt a sense of victory. It was as if I had climbed a mountain, swam across a lake, and wrestled that greased pig all in one afternoon. The dough dropped onto the sheet with satisfying plops, promising sweet, sweet victory in the form of delicious cookies.
The Bake Off
I slid the cookie sheet into the oven set at 300 degrees and set the timer for 20 to 30 minutes. As I sat in my kitchen, covered in flour dust and speckled with bits of candied fruit, I realized something: baking is a messy, tricky, sometimes frustrating process. But it’s also wonderfully satisfying, especially when you pull a tray of golden brown, fruit-filled cookies out of the oven.
In the end, my afternoon of baking was a success. The cookies were sweet, fruity, and a little bit nutty – just like the baking process itself. So, if you find yourself with a mountain of candied fruit and a free afternoon, why not give these Fruitcake Cookies a whirl? Just remember: don’t be afraid of a little flour dust, and always, always soften your butter.
