Fruitcake Cookie Recipe

This story and recipe first appeared on my blogspot blog December 2012.

I’m not one of those people easily offended by fruitcake. Not a hater. The dense, spicy cake may be an acquired taste, and moderation is certainly a key, but generally I have positive memories of fruitcakes at Christmas. Every December, we would receive a Collins Street Bakery Deluxe fruitcake in its signature red tin, ordered by my grandfather. My mom kept the cake in the refrigerator for company. When we had Christmas visitors, Mom cut the cake into thin slices and served alongside homemade holiday cookies and eggnog.

Nobody sends me fruitcake anymore, and I guess it’s just as well. I do get my candied fruit fix each year when my Mom bakes fruitcake cookies. They are chewy and tender and so, so good. I’ve printed the fruitcake cookie recipe just as it appears in Mom’s much-loved copy of a local church cookbook, the 1993 Arbor Heights Cookbook, Vol. II.

Eveleen Lanier’s Christmas Cookies Recipe

Fruitcake Cookie Recipe

by Brenda Sanders
from 1993 Arbor Heights Cookbook Vol II
by Arbor Heights WMU (Women’s Missionary Union)

Ingredients

1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups chopped candied fruit – I used glaceed cherries and pineapple (dried cherries and pineapple will work if you don’t like candied fruit)
1 (8 ounce) package flaked coconut
8 ounces pecans

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. In a large plastic bag, place flour, then chopped candied fruit. Shake to coat. Add coconut and pecans and shake again.
3. In a bowl with an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugars until light-colored and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat again.
4. In a bowl, stir together dry ingredients – baking soda, salt and flour.
5. Gradually mix dry ingredients into batter, until fully incorporated. Add floured fruit and nut mixture, stirring by hand.
6. Drop by teaspoonfuls on ungreased cookie sheet and bake 25 to 30 minutes at 300 degrees Fahrenheit – low and slow to get that light brown color and chewy texture. Makes 100 cookies. (no kidding).

More A Cook and Her Books Recipes

No shortage of sweets on my blog. Give my Fig Skillet Cake a try when you have fresh figs on hand. My Meyer Lemon Cheesecake with Biscoff Crust is a winner of a recipe, too.

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