Everything you love about traditional fruit cake is made in cookie form with my easy recipe! These festive fruitcake cookies are light and chewy, chock full of red and green candied fruit and chopped nuts. Taste the holidays in each blissful bite with a flavorful blend of sweet, nutty, and salty goodness. This fruitcake cookies recipe is easy to put together during the busy holiday season.
These cookies are incredible when enjoyed fresh, and they are just as divine with age. Like classic fruit cake, the texture and flavors of the cookies intensify over time. Bake them ahead of your holiday gatherings so they’re at peak flavor when you’re ready to serve them! For another holiday cookie recipe, try my Grinch cookies, biscochitos recipe, or red velvet cookies.
What You Need to Make This Recipe
Dried Fruit – what are chewy fruitcake cookies without a mixture of dried fruits?! I use a combination of chopped dates, candied red and green cherries, and candied pineapple. You can mix and match the type of fruit in this recipe to your liking, just use the same total amount in weight.
Nuts – my favorite nut combination for this recipe is chopped pecans and walnuts. I recommend using raw, unsalted nuts. Feel free to choose a mixture of your favorites!
Flour – all-purpose flour is the best flour to use in this recipe for fruitcake cookies because the protein content is low compared to other flour. This keeps the cookies light and fluffy and not too dense.
Sugar – using both light brown sugar and granulated sugar creates a fluffy, moist texture that makes these treats perfectly chewy. Make sure the brown sugar is soft before adding it to the mixer.
Butter – choose unsalted butter so the batter is not oversalted. Be sure to bring it to room temperature before starting this recipe.
Eggs – use large eggs at room temperature for best results. The eggs serve as a binder for the batter which makes these cookies chewy and moist.
Vanilla Extract – high-quality vanilla extract is better than using artificial vanilla for the best flavor
How to Make Fruitcake Cookies
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, and salt.
2. In a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars on medium speed until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl.
3. Beat in the egg and vanilla until well combined.
4. Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until combined, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl once during mixing.
5. Add dates, red and green cherries, candied pineapple, and chopped nuts, and mix until fully combined.
6. Scoop the cookie dough by the heaping tablespoon, and place on the prepared cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake, one sheet at a time, until golden brown and centers are still slightly shiny, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool slightly on the pan before moving to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Pro Tips For Making This Recipe
- Shape the cookies. When the cookies first come out of the oven, gently shimmy a large round cookie cutter in a circular motion around the outer edges of the cookies to help form a consistent circle shape. Then allow them to cool slightly on the pan before moving to a cooling rack.
- Add other mix-ins! Try warming spices like ground cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Switch up the dried fruit by adding golden raisins, apricots, figs, or crystallized ginger. You can also buy a container of pre-diced and pre-mixed candied fruitcake mix at the grocery store.
- Optional: make it ahead of time. Just like traditional fruitcake, the texture and flavor of fruitcake cookies improve over time. This is a great recipe to prepare a few days ahead of a holiday gathering. These cookies are also the perfect gift to ship to loved ones!
Frequently Asked Questions
Fruitcake cookies will keep covered in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. The cookies can also be frozen in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. I suggest flash-freezing the cookies in a single layer on a parchment-lined plate and then transferring them to a freezer-safe container or zip-top bag. Allow to thaw at room temperature before serving or heat up in the oven. You can also freeze cookie dough balls to bake later. Scoop out cookie dough balls, then freeze them as mentioned above. Bake from frozen, but keep in mind that the bake time will increase by a couple of minutes.
These treats will add a fun addition to your assortment of Christmas cookies this year! Stack them on your holiday dessert tray alongside gingersnap cookies, andes mint cookies, or white chocolate cranberry cookies in a cookie box or on a platter. They are delicious on their own or paired with a glass of cold milk or eggnog, a mug of my homemade hot chocolate, hot coffee, or tea.
Yes! If you want a more traditional fruit cake flavor in these cookies, add 1-2 tablespoons of rum, brandy, or whiskey to the batter. You can also add a teaspoon of rum extract in addition to the vanilla extract to get a similar flavor without the alcohol.
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If you’ve tried this fruitcake cookie recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Fruitcake Cookies
Ingredients
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour (281g)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened (227g)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar (110g)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup chopped dates (pitted)
- 1 cup chopped red candied cherries (1 8oz pkg)
- 1 cup chopped green candied cherries (1 8oz pkg)
- 1 cup chopped candied pineapple (1 8oz pkg)
- ¾ cup chopped pecans
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
- In a medium mixing bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars on medium speed until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl. Beat in the egg and vanilla until well combined.
- Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until combined, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl once during mixing. Add dates, red and green cherries, candied pineapple, and chopped nuts, mix until fully combined. Scoop the dough by the heaping tablespoon, and place on the prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart.
- Bake, one sheet at a time, until golden brown and centers are still slightly shiny, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool slightly on the pan before moving to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Shape the cookies. When the cookies first come out of the oven, gently shimmy a large round cookie cutter in a circular motion around the outer edges of the cookies to help form a consistent circle shape. Then allow them to cool slightly on the pan before moving to a cooling rack.
- Add other mix-ins! Try warming spices like ground cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Switch up the dried fruit by adding golden raisins, apricots, figs, or crystallized ginger. You can also buy a container of pre-diced and pre-mixed candied fruitcake mix at the grocery store.
- Optional: make it ahead of time. Just like traditional fruitcake, the texture and flavor of fruitcake cookies improve over time. This is a great recipe to prepare a few days ahead of a holiday gathering. These cookies are also the perfect gift to ship to loved ones!
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