Fruitcake Bar Cookies

Stay tuned for my Favorite Holiday Gifts Guide and lots of giveaways coming up in a few days! 

We’ve never been fruitcake fans, but we do love our fruitcake cookies! Dried fruit layered with cinnamon, brown sugar, and just enough flour and butter to hold it all together until it reaches your mouth! Mama has made fruitcake cookies each year for as long as I can remember. She goes shopping for the candied fruit each year *after* Christmas, when it is on sale, and stores it in her freezer until the holidays roll around again and we all get to craving the brown sugar/fruity goodness of these yummy cookies.

Mama’s recipe is traditional and wonderful, but this year I worked up a simpler version with less fuss. I sent a platter of them to my mother’s house for her approval and she called this morning to get the recipe. She said she’s gonna make my version instead of hers this year to give herself a little break because “They taste every bit as good and sure are a lot easier!”.

So here is my easier version. No dropping dough or cookie sheets. Just pat it all into one pan, cook and let it cool and rest overnight, then cut into little bites and enjoy. Because we all have Christmases when we really want the fruitcake cookies, but a little break would be nice, too!

You’ll need: Baking Mix, Margarine, Chopped walnuts, sliced almonds, raisins, dark brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, one egg, and Candied Fruit Mix or chopped candied dried fruits of your choice.

Notes about ingredients and substitutions: 

Baking Mix – Some folks aren’t familiar with “Baking Mix”. Bisquick is a brand of baking mix and that usually strikes that note of recognition with them Bisquick is not my favorite baking mix. I prefer House Autry (which can’t be found where I live) or Pioneer Brand. I do get Bisquick if I have to make a really large quantity because it comes in larger boxes, or if I can’t find the other two that I prefer. You can also make your own homemade baking mix by using one of the gazillion recipes found on the internet

Nuts - I’m using chopped walnuts because they are so much cheaper than pecans. Feel free to use whatever nuts you have on hand.

Dried and Candied Fruit – My mother doesn’t like the fruit cake blend of candied fruit as much as I do so she uses only candied cherries in her fruit cake cookies. I love the added citrus fruits in the candied fruit mix Please tailor this to your own preferences and taste.

Brown Sugar - I’m also using dark brown sugar because I just really like dark brown sugar. You can use light if you prefer.

Margarine - You can substitute butter for margarine in this recipe but I prefer margarine in this one. These cookies have a longer shelf life and ship very well thanks to the margarine. Note: If shipping, be sure and let them sit for at least a day before cutting and package in a single layer so they have less chance of being smooshed.

Vanilla - I’m using real vanilla because someone gave it to me. For those of you purists, enjoy this picture but don’t get too comfy. You’ll see me using bargain imitation vanilla again soon enough I’ll cheerlead your personal choice all the way but we’re running on a two way street here

Melt your butter in a large mixing bowl.

Add in baking mix, brown sugar, cinnamon, egg, and vanilla.

Stir that up until well combined.

Now add in all of your nuts and dried fruit. 

And stir that up really well.

This will take some elbow grease (just a little bit) to get it all incorporated because your batter will be absolutely

filled with chunky goodness but that’s what is going to make it taste so stinking good!

Now spray an 8×8 pan really well with cooking spray.

Yes, this only makes one 8×8 pan, lol. We’re going to cut them in little squares though so it will end up with a lot.

Dump in all of your dough. 

Pat it out a bit with your hands to fill the pan.

Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.

Allow to cool completely.

Let rest overnight before cutting.

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Posted by Christy Jordan on Dec 8 2011. Filed under Cookies, Holiday Favorites!. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry