Christmas Fruitcake Drops

I know that Christmas fruitcake has a bad 'rap' . . . people make fun of it on a regular basis. In my family it is not Christmas without it. That being said, there was no time this year to make it (we'd normally make it in October and let is sit in a dark spot, tightly swaddled in rum/brandy soaked clothes until the 25th).

Whatever the reason for not making some, if you now find yourself in the position of wishing you'd made fruitcake, here's an easy out: fruitcake cookies, moist little nuggets of fruit bound with the merest bit of spice-scented batter and baked to chewy perfection.

These were from the King Arthur Flour site.The recipe is easy and yields many wonderful nuggets of deliciousness.

Christmas Fruitcake Drops

1/2 cup butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 large eggs
1/4 cup bourbon, rum, brandy, or apple juice
1/4 cup boiled cider, apple juice concentrate, or cherry concentrate
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon espresso powder, optional (I did not use this)
1 3/4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
9 cups chopped dried fruit
*Use your favorite combination of dried and/or candied fruits. We like to use 1/2 to 3/4 pound candied cherries, snipped into pieces; and for the remainder, our Favorite Fruit Blend.

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly grease (or better yet, line with parchment) a couple of baking sheets.

In a large bowl, mix together the butter, sugar, salt, and baking powder till smooth.

Add the eggs, and beat till smooth and creamy.

Add the liquor and boiled cider/juice/concentrate and mix, scraping the sides of the bowl. The batter will appear curdled; that's OK.

Add the spices; the espresso powder and the flour. Mix until smooth.

Stir in the fruit. The batter will be heavy and sticky; this is best done in a stand mixer, or using a heavy spoon and lots of muscle power.

Using a tablespoon cookie scoop, or a spoon, scoop out balls of dough about the size of a ping pong ball. Space them on the baking sheets, leaving about 1" to 1 1/2" between them; they won't spread much.

Bake the cookies for 20 to 22 minutes. They'll appear fairly set, but may still be very slightly shiny/wet looking when you remove them from the oven. The bottoms will be lightly browned.

Let the cookies cool, then loosen them from the parchment or pan using a spatula.

Store at room temperature up to several weeks, in an airtight canister in layers, with parchment or waxed paper between the layers to keep the cookies from sticking to one another. For longer storage, freeze.

Yield: about 5 1/2 dozen cookies.

Comments

[Kayte]

I'm going to try these fruitcake drops this year...I've seen them different times but this year I think I will finally make them as yours look so good. I like the idea of them just being a small bite or two and having them cooked all the way around instead of like a cake where just the top and bottom are baked (except for the ends of course).

[JDeQ]

I've made two or three different versions of these cookies over the years. This recipe was the only one that actually resulted in a cookie that was almost identical to fruit cake without all of the fuss and bother. :-)

[Kayte]

I tried these and they were a hit around here...thanks again for the recipe! :-)