Fruit Cake Cookies

All the flavors of a traditional fruit cake packed into a cookie you can eat with one hand. Candied cherries, candied pineapple, white raisins, and a full pound of chopped pecans get folded into a spiced brown sugar batter with cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.

The fruit and nuts far outweigh the batter in this recipe, which is exactly the point. These are dense, chewy, jewel-studded cookies where every bite hits a different combination of candied fruit and crunchy pecan.

Toss the mixed fruit with the sifted flour and spices before combining with the creamed butter mixture. This coats each piece of fruit in flour so it suspends in the batter instead of sinking to the bottom. Apple juice adds moisture without making the dough too thin.

Bake at a low temperature so the cookies dry slowly and the fruit doesn’t burn. They’ll look barely done when you pull them, but they firm up as they cool.

Kitchen Tips

• Chop the candied fruit into small, uniform pieces for even distribution
• Drop by teaspoonfuls and shape slightly since this dough doesn’t spread much on its own
• Low and slow baking keeps the fruit from browning too fast
• Store in an airtight tin where they’ll keep for weeks, improving as the flavors meld

Variations

• Add a splash of bourbon or brandy in place of some of the apple juice for a boozy holiday version
• Use walnuts or a mix of nuts instead of all pecans
• Mix in dried cranberries or chopped dates alongside the candied fruit