Fruitcake Cookies

Hi fellow foodies! I really love holiday baking and I love to share recipes with you. It gives me great joy to be able to share something that I made.

Today is no exception.
 Recently, I bought a 16 ounce tub of fruit cake mix. It consisted of candied cherries, orange peel, lemon peel, and pineapple. It was $5 and I knew I had nuts at home to accompany the mix. I wanted to make my first home baked fruitcake but realized I would need another $40 in ingredients to make a legitimate fruit cake. Ugh! I did not want to go back to the store but I had my heart set on using my purchase.


I wondered if I could use the fruitcake mix like a mix in for a cookie. I thought it would be pretty good and not as heavy or dense as a fruitcake. That seems to be a common complaint about the dessert and hence, a reason it is often regifted or thrown in the trash. 


I set out to brainstorm on how to make my creation. I started out with my base cookie and added fruitcake flavors such as cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Walnuts were added for their nutty goodness and I also added a bit of rum extract to give an alcoholic note. Typical fruitcakes have a bit of bourbon in them which helps preserve the dessert. You could also use a bourbon whiskey extract instead of the rum extract.


The recipe came together easily and the batter looked like a winner. If you've baked enough cookies, you start to develop a cookie sense. It's like a "Spidey sense" (Spider-Man) and it tells you whether you are going to be needing your trash can or a serving platter.


These cookies were definitely headed for a serving platter. They smelled heavenly while baking and they looked decent when they came out of the oven. They just needed a little decoration to dress them up. I decided to add a bit of white cookie icing and half a candied cherry to each cookie. That was just what they needed to look festive.


Now, I just had to try them. I passed them out to my family and waited for their honest reactions. It didn't take long before I heard the mmmmm sound. They were a hit! I loved them too! They were light and flavorful with spices, fruit, and nuts. They were a holiday success.
These were so yummy that I might freeze them to save for Christmas. Woo hoo!


I hope you will give this recipe a try.

Have fun baking!

Jennifer

Step 1: Gather Ingredients

Ingredients:
2 cups light brown sugar

1 cup salted butter room temperature

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon rum extract or bourbon whiskey extract

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 cups fruit cake mix

1 cup walnut pieces

Cookie icing (white)

Candied cherry halves

Step 2: Preheat

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Step 3: Mix

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream brown sugar and butter together on low speed.

Step 4: Mix

Add eggs and continue mixing on low.

Step 5: Mix

Add vanilla and rum extract and mix (low speed) until incorporated.

Step 6: Combine

In a medium bowl, add flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Whisk or stir together until combined.

Step 7: Combine and Mix

Gradually add dry ingredients to stand mixer ingredients, mixing (low) as you go.

Step 8: Stir

Stir in fruitcake mix and walnuts.

Step 9: Get Ready to Bake

Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Use a cookie scoop or spoon to place tablespoon sized balls of cookie dough to the sheet 2 inches between each one.

Step 10: Bake

Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 10-12 minutes. Cool and decorate with cookie icing and candied cherry halves. Enjoy!

Step 11: Enjoy

Thank you for taking the time to read through my Instructable. If you like this recipe, you can find more like it at my website bakingintheburbs.net