I forgot how much trouble these are to make. Cutting up all that sticky
fruit (cutting up the dates was the worst.) Making a real fruitcake
would have been a lot easier. But then after I was done, DD grabbed a
couple of cookies and told me how much better they are than fruitcake.
(They are really good, but I think I like fruit *cake* better.) I got
this recipe from my MIL last year:
Jo's Fruitcake Cookies
1 stick margarine [1/2 cup]
1 3/4 Cup sugar
3 cups flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp soda
3 eggs
1 tsp. sherry flavoring
1 tsp. almond flavoring
1 tsp. vanilla flavoring
1/4 to 1/2 cup water
1 lb. dates, chopped
1 lb candies cherries, chopped
1 lb. candied pineapple, chopped
1 lb. shelled pecans, chopped
Cream sugar and margarine. Sift and measure flour. Sift again with dry
ingredients. Add eggs and flavoring to creamed mixture. Add dry
ingredients alternately with water. Mix in fruits and nuts. Drop by
teaspoonful on a slightly greased cookie sheet. Bake 15-20 minutes at
325 degrees.
Substitutions: I used 3 pounds of fruit and almost a pound of mixed
walnuts and pecans. For fruit, I used about 6 ounces each: dried
apricots, dates, raisins, waxy citrus peel "fruitcake mix"; a half a
pound of mixed red and green glacé cherries; and a pound of yellow glacé
pineapple. I didn't have sherry flavoring, so I left it out (also left
out the almond extract) and I used vermouth instead the water to make up
for it.
Best regards,
Bob