Fruitcake Cookies

This submit might comprise affiliate hyperlinks. Please see my full disclosure for particulars.

Hello Daring Bakers!

WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE: My festive Fruitcake Cookies deliver the flavour and the colours of the season! These tender shortbread treats have a stunning mild fruity taste that’s festive, not overpowering. I grew up with fruitcake in the course of the holidays, so it makes excellent sense to create a cookie model. I do know that candied fruit might be expensive, so that you may discover it extra economical to make your personal utilizing my candied citrus and cherry recipe. The extra you make directly, the much less it’ll price, and also you’ll have additional to make use of in my Christmas cake, puddings, and mince pies.

• 15-minute prep: The dough comes collectively rapidly, and the fruit soaks in a single day in a easy combination of citrus and sherry.
• Good fruitcake different: My buttery, tender shortbread is far lighter than the basic wealthy cake.
• Vacation-special: These fruity, nutty, boozy treats have all the long-lasting Christmas flavors in a two-bite cookie.
• Straightforward to make forward: Make the dough upfront, and bake a batch when it’s handy.
• Good for gifting! These gorgeous cookies have a stained-glass, work-of-art magnificence!

Desk of Contents

What are Fruitcake Cookies?

Fruitcake Cookies are crisp, buttery shortbread cookies studded with candied fruit and almonds. The fruit and nuts are soaked in a single day in a lemon and sherry combination to offer them a boozy citrus taste. The primary shortbread recipe appeared within the cookbook, Mrs. McLintock’s Receipts for Cookery and Pastry Work, in 1736, and so they turned a basic Christmas deal with.  They’re excellent for presents, cookie swaps, and vacation events.

Key Elements and Substitutes

For the fruit combination

Candied fruit

• • Candied fruit provides the cookies vivid sweetness.
  • Moreover, the candied fruit provides pleasant chewiness.
  • Importantly, the fruit provides the cookies their jewel-like look.
  • I used a combination of  candied citrus peel and candied cherries. You should utilize the identical quantity of any candied fruit.
    • Discover candied fruit within the baking aisle of your grocery retailer (typically labeled as “fruitcake combine”), in specialty meals shops, or on-line retailers like nuts.com.
  • Substitute: You may also use an equal quantity of dried fruit, like dates, figs, or cherries, however your cookies received’t have the identical colourful, mosaic look.

Almonds

• Almonds give the cookies crunch.
• Moreover, the almonds add a wealthy, nutty taste.
• Substitute: You should utilize the identical quantity of finely chopped walnuts, pecans, or pistachios (their inexperienced hue provides additional enchantment).

Dry sherry

• Dry sherry provides deep, heat taste.
• Importantly, the sherry plumps up the fruit and softens it.
• Substitute: For those who want, use an equal quantity of Irish whiskey, cognac, rum, brandy, or bourbon.
  • For alcohol-free cookies, use an equal quantity of orange juice or apple juice.

Freshly-squeezed lemon juice

• Freshly-squeezed lemon juice provides contemporary taste to the fruit combination.
• Substitute: You should utilize the identical quantity of orange juice, which is able to give the cookies a sweeter style.

Lemon zest

• Lemon zest provides brightness, protecting the flavour from being too heavy.
• Substitute: Use orange zest if you happen to want.

Salt

• Salt brings out the fruit and citrus flavors, balancing out the sweetness.

For the cookie dough

All-purpose flour

• Flour supplies the construction in these cookies.
• All-purpose flour, with a protein content material of 8-11%, is ideal as a result of it’ll make the cookies tender, however not too chewy.
• Substitute: Make these cookies gluten-free through the use of an equal quantity of gluten-free 1:1 baking combine, like my Straightforward Almond Flour Baking Combine, or one other gluten-free flour.

Combined spice

• Combined spice (which accommodates cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, coriander, and mace) provides these cookies the flavour and aroma of the vacations.
• Whereas blended spice is commonly described because the Irish equal of Pumpkin Pie Spice, it’s a bit completely different and has a citrusy be aware that’s the splendid accent to those fruity Christmas cookies.
• Substitute: You should utilize the identical quantity of Pumpkin Pie Spice or apple pie spice.

Salt

• Salt balances the sweetness and enhances the blended spice and fruit flavors on this cookie recipe.

Butter

• Butter provides shortbread its tender, melt-in-your-mouth texture. The butterfat coats the flour, which inhibits gluten improvement.
• Moreover, butter supplies a wealthy dairy taste.
• It’s essential to ensure your butter is delicate earlier than utilizing it, so it lotions nicely with the sugar and creates a clean base.
• I don’t suggest utilizing a substitute right here, as butter provides these Christmas cookies the perfect texture and taste.

Granulated sugar

• Granulated sugar sweetens the cookies.
• Importantly, creaming sugar and butter varieties air pockets, which create shortbread’s tender, delightfully crumbly cookies.
• Moreover, granulated sugar provides a pleasant little bit of crispiness.
• Substitute: You should utilize an equal quantity of caster sugar (superfine sugar) or powdered sugar.
  • Notice that utilizing powdered sugar will yield a softer cookie.

Darkish brown sugar

• Darkish brown sugar provides the cookies moisture and a slight chew.
• Moreover, darkish brown sugar provides the shortbread cookies a toffee-like be aware.

Egg yolk

• The egg yolk binds the components collectively.
• Moreover, egg yolk provides richness and taste to this fruitcake cookie recipe.
• Substitute: You should utilize 1 tablespoon (.5 oz/15 g) of full-fat Greek yogurt rather than the egg yolk.
  • Notice that it might make the cookies extra cake-like and fewer crumbly than conventional shortbread.

Make Fruitcake Cookies

Put together the Fruit (the evening earlier than)

1. Make fruit combination: In a medium bowl, mix candied fruit, almonds, sherry, lemon juice, lemon zest, and salt. Cowl with plastic wrap and permit to take a seat in a single day at room temperature.

To Make the Cookie Dough (the subsequent day)

2. Combine dry components: In a small bowl mix the flour, blended spice and salt. Put aside.
3. Cream butter and sugars: Within the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or with a handheld electrical mixer and a medium bowl), cream the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium-high velocity for 3 minutes till mild and fluffy.

4. Combine in yolk and dry components: Whisk within the egg yolk, then decrease the velocity and blend within the flour combination (scrape down sides of bowl as essential).

5. Add fruit combination: Fold within the candied fruit combine together with any accrued liquid.

6. Make dough logs: Divide the dough in half and roll every portion right into a 9-inch (23 cm) lengthy roll. Cowl in plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 90 minutes, till totally chilled.

To Bake the Cookies

7. Put together to bake: Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C), fan help, and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
8. Slice cookies: Lower the dough into ¼-inch (6 mm) thick slices and organize the items 1-inch (3 cm) aside on the baking sheets.

9. Bake and funky: Bake for 15-20 minutes, till pale golden. Let cool on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes earlier than transferring them to a wire rack to let cool fully.

FULL (PRINTABLE) RECIPE BELOW! 

Gemma’s Professional Chef Suggestions

• Begin fruit the day earlier than baking: It wants time to soak within the sherry combination.
• Assume in regards to the colour and taste you need:. Candied cherries give pops of crimson and inexperienced, pineapple provides a tropical style and potent sweetness, and candied citron or orange peel provides a slight be aware of bitterness that performs nicely off the opposite candy flavors.
• Fruit chopping tip: For those who’re having bother slicing up the sticky fruit, you may attempt rubbing oil on a knife, or you may evenly mud the candied fruit with powdered sugar.
  • It could even be simpler to chop the fruit up with kitchen shears fairly than utilizing a knife.
• Use room temperature egg and butter: It’s important for making shortbread with the tenderest texture. Right here’s the way to soften butter appropriately and deliver a chilly egg to room temperature.
• Decide a distinct liquor: Rather than sherry, attempt cognac, whiskey, rum, or bourbon.
• Alcohol-free possibility: Exchange the sherry with orange juice.
• Changing temperature: For those who don’t have a convection oven, preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and bake cookies one sheet at a time.

Make-Forward and Storage Directions

Make-ahead ideas

• After rolling the dough right into a log, you may wrap and retailer within the fridge for as much as two days.
• For longer storage, you may freeze the dough logs for as much as two months. You should definitely wrap nicely and place in a freezer bag.
  • Defrost within the fridge in a single day earlier than slicing and baking.

retailer leftovers

• Retailer leftover cookies in an hermetic container for as much as 5 days.

FAQs

Can I make this fruitcake cookie recipe gluten-free?

How can I make these fruitcake cookies with out egg?

• To make these fruitcake cookies with out egg yolk, use 1 tablespoon (.5 oz/15 g) of full-fat Greek yogurt as a substitute.
  • Utilizing yogurt as a substitute of the egg yolk will change the feel a bit—your cookies will likely be cakier, and never as tender as conventional shortbread.

How do I ensure that my fruitcake shortbread cookies are mouthwateringly tender?

• Begin with room temperature butter and egg, and cream the butter and sugars till they’re mild and fluffy.
• Combine the dough simply till it comes collectively. Over-mixing creates a harder texture.
• You should definitely chill the dough for a minimum of 4 hours. Chilling will agency up the butter, and that contributes to that signature crumbly shortbread texture.
• Bake till the cookies are pale golden—take care to not overbake.

Extra Fruitcake Recipes