Fruitcake Cookies with Brandy Cream Cheese Frosting Whipped for Cakes

Fruitcake Cookies with Brandy Cream Cheese Frosting Whipped for Cakes keeps the shopping list focused on all-purpose flour, salt, and cinnamon. It serves 36 Cookies.

Count on 30 minutes of prep, 30 minutes of cooking, 15 minutes of resting, about 56 minutes from the first measurement to the plate.

Ingredients Method

What goes in the bowl

For the Cookies

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¾ cup sugar
• ¼ cup unsalted butter room temperature
• 2 eggs
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon lemon juice
• ½ cup candied red cherries
• ½ cup candied green cherries
• 1 cup dried pineapple pieces chopped
• ¼ cup golden raisins
• 2 cups pecans toasted, roughly chopped

For the Brandy Cream Cheese Frosting

• ¼ cup brandy
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 8 ounces cream cheese not low fat, not whipped
• 1¼ cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• ¼ half and half or more as needed

How the cooking goes

For the Cookies

1. Pre-heat oven to 300° and line sheet pans with baking paper or silpat.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon and salt; keep it to one side.
3. In a electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. (You can do this with a hand mixer but it will take longer. You did this and the hand fell asleep before the butter was creamed properly. Just sayin.).
4. Add the eggs one at a time, beating between each addition. The batter should look nice and fluffy. Add the vanilla and lemon juice and beat to combine.
5. Put the flour mixture and mix on low speed just to combine.
6. Add the nuts and dried fruit then mix just to combine. If you are using the hand mixer, do this last step with a sturdy wooden spoon.
7. Using a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop or a spoon, scoop cookies and drop on prepared sheet pans about an inch apart. They don’t spread at all.
8. Oven-bake for 30 minutes or until the bottom edges are a deep gold and you don’t see any raw, shiny cookie dough through the cracks in the tops. Cool 5 minutes on the sheet pan and then remove to a wire rack to cool until it is no longer warm.

For the Brandy Cream Cheese Frosting

1. Dissolve the brown sugar in the brandy.
2. In a mixing bowl or in the bowl of a electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese, brandy/sugar mixture, powdered sugar, and lemon juice until light and fluffy. Add the half and half until it reaches your desired consistency. The half and half also mellows out the brandy flavor.
3. Using a small offset spatula or butter knife, spread a dollop of the frosting on each cookie. Top with candied cherries, pecans or both!
4. After frosting, store cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Bring to ambient temperature before serving (ideally).

After it comes off the heat

Cool the sheet on a rack before the pieces are stacked. A covered tin keeps them for a few days.

If you want another plate from Cookies, open Pizzelle after Supper and Speculoos Rum Balls after Supper.