Fruitcake Cookies

Fruitcake Cookies are a bite-sized twist on the classic holiday dessert. Stuffed with delicious dried fruit and nuts, they’ll make the perfect addition to your dessert table this holiday season!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 8

Total Time 23

Servings cookies

Calories 144kcal

Author John Kanell

Equipment

Electric hand mixer or stand mixer
Mixing Bowls
Baking Sheets
Wire cooling rack

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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