Didn’t feel like making fruitcake this year, did you? Or maybe you forgot to start it on time, and it’s just not the same if you don’t let it rest for weeks and weeks, brushing it with brandy every few days or so… Or maybe your best friend has just now revealed, for the very first time, her obsession with fruitcake? Whatever, 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.

1/2 cup (1 stick, 4 ounces) unsalted butter
1 cup (7 1/2 ounces) packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3 pounds mixed dried fruit*
1/4 cup (2 ounces) bourbon, rum, or brandy
1/4 cup (2 5/8 ounces) boiled cider or apple juice concentrate; or apple or cranberry juice (2 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon espresso powder (optional)
1/4 teaspoon butter-rum flavor, vanilla-butternut flavor, tart & sour flavor, or your favorite (optional)
1 3/4 cups (7 1/2 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

*Use your favorite combination of dried and/or candied fruits. I used dried cranberries, apricots, dates, dried apples, candied cherries (snipped in thirds), and golden raisins. Since dried fruit measures about 3 cups per pound, you’ll want to use about 9 cups of dried fruit.

In a large bowl, mix together the butter, sugar, and salt till smooth. Add the eggs, and beat till smooth and creamy. Add the liquor and juice and mix, scraping the sides of the bowl. The batter will appear curdled; that’s OK.

Add the spices; the espresso powder and flavor (if you’re using them); and the flour. Mix till smooth, then add the fruit.

Using a tablespoon cookie scoop, or a spoon, scoop out balls of dough about the size of a ping pong ball. Place them on lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheets. Dip a flat-bottomed glass in confectioners’ sugar or water, and flatten each ball of dough to about 1/2" thick.

Bake the cookies in a preheated 325°F oven for 15 minutes; the cookies will be set, but still moist. Remove them from the oven, and cool them on a rack. Yield: 5 1/2 dozen 2-inch cookies.

www.BakingCircle.com
December 10, 2002