Fruitcake Cookies are an easy, festive treat you need to try! Buttery brown sugar Christmas cookie filled with candied cherries, golden raisins, and pecans.
If you’ve tried my Fruit Cake and Fruit Cake Bark recipes, I know you’ve been converted to how delicious this vintage Christmas dessert can be! Giving classic Christmas Recipes a twist makes holiday baking so much fun!
FRUITCAKE COOKIES
What do you get when you take all the best parts of a traditional vintage Christmas cake and combine it with a buttery sugar cookie? These amazing, sweet Fruit Cake Cookies that will convert even the most skeptical of Fruit Cake.
My Fruit Cake Cookies are chewy, melt in your mouth shortbreads packed with fruit and nuts. These cookies have just the right amount of sugary candied cherries and pineapples, plus lots of delicious golden raisins and crunchy pecans. They are packed with classic holiday flavor that everyone will love.
This recipe is family friendly and doesn’t use rum or brandy, however you can adjust it slightly using my variation for adding spirits to you cookie dough. I also included a tip on how to simmer your raisins in brandy or rum to get them nice and plump (and boozy). You can also swap orange juice for added flavor without the kick.
Fruit Cake Cookies are actually best if you make them ahead of time! They are an ultimate holiday gifting cookie because they don’t need to be eaten right away. Whoever you gift them to gets to enjoy them at their peak flavor with slightly softer fruit pieces.
These cookies are so easy to make and are perfect for cookie exchanges, holiday parties, or just enjoying with a cup of coffee (or cocoa). To make them even easier, I’ve included a cake mix hack in this post, because who doesn’t like to save a little time and work during the busy holiday season?
How to Make Cake Mix Fruitcake Cookies
To make Fruit Cake Cookies with cake mix, you will need one box of yellow cake mix to replace dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking soda). Adjust your butter and brown sugar to ½ cup each and add 2 tablespoons water to your wet ingredients. All the other remaining ingredients in the recipe will stay the same. Bake Cake Mix Fruitcake Cookies at 350 degrees for 11-13 minutes.
MORE HOLIDAY COOKIE CLASSICS:
Award Winning Gingerbread Cookies
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ginger Cookies
Brown Sugar Cookies
Create a free account to Save Recipes
VARIATIONS ON FRUITCAKE COOKIES
- Chocolate: Dip halfway in melted white chocolate chips and sprinkle with a cinnamon-nutmeg-sugar mix.
- Nuts: Add in your favorite nuts like walnuts, slivered almonds, or toasted hazelnuts, either by replacing ½ or all of the pecans.
- Fruit: Use a mixture of different dried fruits like dates, apricots, cranberries, cherries (not candied). You can also cut back on the candied fruit if you don’t like your cookies as sweet.
- Spices: Fill your cookies with holiday spices like cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon, or use a tablespoon of Pumpkin Pie Spice.
- Spirits: Make boozy Fruitcake Cookies by adding 2 tablespoons Brandy or Dark Rum to your cookie dough when you add in the vanilla and eggs. Or top with a Rum glaze made from powdered sugar, rum, and milk.
Tips for Fruit Cake Cookies
- Simmer raisins (or other fried fruit) in brandy or orange juice. Bring to a simmer and let sit for 15 minutes before draining. Soaking the dried fruit will plump and soften them up as well as add extra flavor to your Fruit Cake Cookies.
- Toast nuts before chopping and adding them to your cookie dough. To toast, spread nuts in a shallow pan and bake for 7-10 minutes at 350 degrees, or until fragrant and browned.
- Bake cookies on the middle rack to get even heat surrounding them and only bake one sheet of cookies at a time.
- Use a cookie scoop for even cookies every time. Plus not handling them with your hands will keep the dough cool and your hands free from sticky dough.
Can you make Fruit Cake Cookie Dough ahead of time?
Making Fruit Cake Cookie dough ahead of time allows the candied fruit and spices absorb for maximum flavor. To freeze dough, scoop on to a cookie sheet and place in freezer for 1 hour. Transfer to a freezer safe bag or container and freeze for up to 3 months. Bake directly from the freezer, no need to thaw!
MORE DELICIOUS COOKIE CLASSICS:
Black and White Cookies
Coconut Macaroons
Peanut Butter Blossoms
Hershey’s Kiss Cookies
HOW TO STORE FRUITCAKE COOKIES
- Serve: These cookies can be stored at room temperature in a sealed container for up to a week.
- Store: Keep Fruitcake Cookies in the refrigerator in an airtight container for about 2 weeks.
- Freeze: Freeze cookies on baking sheet for one hour before transferring to a freezer safe bag. Freeze up to 3 months.
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter , softened
- 3/4 cup brown sugar , packed
- 1 large egg , room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 2/3 cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 ounces candied red cherries , chopped
- 4 ounces candied green cherries , chopped
- 4 ounces candied pineapple , chopped
- 3/4 cup golden raisins
- 1 cup pecans , chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- To your stand mixer add the butter and brown sugar on medium high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Add in the egg and vanilla extract.
- Sift together flour, baking soda and salt.
- On the lowest speed setting add in the flour mixture until just combined.
- Add in the candied fruits, raisins and pecans.
- Scoop 1 tablespoon sized scoops of dough 2 inches apart on your baking sheets.
- Bake for 13 - 15 minutes, until just barely browning on the bottom.
Nutrition
Want to save this recipe? Create a free account to easily save your favorite recipes
