You’ve heard of the holiday fruitcake – you know the one that’s been passed around for generations and no one ever eats? Or so the story goes. Well, the same cannot be said for these delicious cookies that are full to the brim of delightful candied and dry fruit. You will love these. They make a great gift, wrapped in a nice holiday-themed tin.
Holiday Fig Fruitcake Cookies
Ingredients
- 227 g Dried Figs
- 113 g Raisins
- 56 g Glace Cherries Coarsely chopped
- 56 g Dried Apricots Coarsely chopped
- 1 tbsp Honey
- 2 tbsp Dry Sherry
- 1 tbsp Lemon Juice Freshly squeezed
- 170 g Pecans Chopped
- 2 pinch Table Salt
- 227 g Unsalted Butter At room teperature
- 0.5 tsp Cloves Ground
- 60 g Superfine Sugar
- 65 g Light Brown Sugar Firmly packed
- 1 Egg Extra Large
- 295 g All-purpose Flour
Instructions
- Begin by preparing the fruit and nuts. Cut off the hard stems of the figs and discard. Then, using your favorite tool, coarsely chop the figs as well as the cherries, apricots, and pecans. Set each aside after chopping.
- In a large bowl with a lid, add the figs, raisins, cherries, apricots, honey, sherry, lemon juice, pecans, and a pinch of salt. Mix gently but well.
- Place the lid on the bowl and let the fruit mixture sit overnight, at room temperature. This allows the fruit to marinate.
- In a large bowl, add the butter, cloves, superfine sugar, and brown sugar. Cream the ingredients together using a mixer set on medium speed.
- Change the speed to low and add the egg. Mix well. Slowly add the flour and 1/8 teaspoon salt until well combined. Add the fruit and nut mixture that marinated overnight as well as the liquid. Mix thoroughly, until the liquid has been absorbed and firm dough has formed. Set aside.
- Tear off or cut two pieces of wax paper that are 305x508mm in size. Place these on a large surface like a kitchen table, where you will have room to roll the dough.
- Divide the dough in half, placing each half on the long edge of the waxed paper. Roll each half into a log that is 38mm to 44mm thick. This should make the log approximately 406 – 457mm long. Wrap the paper around the finished log, twisting the excess paper on the ends of the log to close.
- Refrigerate or freeze the dough for several hours. The log should be very firm but not frozen through, making it easier to cut and bake. You may opt to freeze the first dough log that you will bake, leaving the remaining log in the refrigerator while you slice and bake the first log. This works well if you plan to bake both logs in one day.
- Preheat the oven to 175°C.
- With a small, sharp knife, cut the log into 12.5mm thick slices. Place the slices 12.5mm apart on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes, or until they are a light golden brown.
Notes
It is important to keep the dough log you are working with firm while baking the first batch of cookies. Pop the partial log in the freezer for a few minutes any time it starts to soften or becomes too difficult to slice.
Adapted from: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/fruitcake-cookies-recipe.html
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