Fruitcake makes me think of Christmas, but hardly anyone actually likes the fruity cake. I have always wanted to try my hand at baking a holiday fruitcake but was afraid that the dessert would sit uneaten in my kitchen. I also love baking cookies for the holidays, so this year I decided to bake up a batch of fruitcake-inspired cookies. Instead of traditional ingredients like dates and figs, I added treats that my family loves to my take on the fruitcake including pistachios, coconut, and cranberries.
Ingredients
- 3 cups of flour
- 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
- 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 1 cup of butter
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup of brown sugar
- 1/2 cup of whole milk
- 1 tablespoon of vanilla
- 4 ounces of chopped red candied cherries
- 4 ounces of chopped green candied cherries
- 1 cup of pistachios
- 1 cup of shredded coconut
- 1 cup of dried cranberries
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 300°.
- Line baking sheets with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray.
- Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl.
- Cream together the butter, eggs, brown sugar, milk, and vanilla.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.
- Add the cherries, pistachios, coconut, and cranberries to the mixture.
- Drop balls of cookie dough onto the parchment-lined baking sheets. The cookies do not spread so place the balls fairly close together.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until lightly golden brown.
- Allow the cookies to cool thoroughly.
- Store the cooled fruitcake cookies in an airtight container.
Image Credits
Fruitcake Cookies Recipe © 2017 Heather Johnson
Butter and Eggs for Fruitcake Cookies © 2017 Heather Johnson
Brown Sugar for Fruitcake Cookies © 2017 Heather Johnson
Milk for Fruitcake Cookies © 2017 Heather Johnson
Wet Ingredients for Fruitcake Cookies © 2017 Heather Johnson
Adding Dry Ingredients for Fruitcake Cookies © 2017 Heather Johnson
Plain Dough for Fruitcake Cookies © 2017 Heather Johnson
Chopping the Candied Cherries for Fruitcake Cookies © 2017 Heather Johnson
Cranberries and Coconut for Fruitcake Cookies © 2017 Heather Johnson
Dough for Fruitcake Cookies © 2017 Heather Johnson
Unbaked Fruitcake Cookies © 2017 Heather Johnson
Baking the Fruitcake Cookies © 2017 Heather Johnson
Baked Fruitcake Cookies © 2017 Heather Johnson
Finished Fruitcake Cookies © 2017 Heather Johnson
Plate of Fruitcake Cookies © 2017 Heather Johnson
