Classic Bourbon Fruitcake Cookies
Officially kicking off the holiday season with these Classic Bourbon Fruitcake Cookies. Made with double the glacé fruit, dates, and pecans, these cookies are soft, bourbon-y, and perfectly sweet with hints of caramel throughout. They are seriously generous with delicious pecans, chopped dates, and sweet candied fruit… It truly makes these cookies melt in your mouth! The real secret in these cookies is that mixture of bourbon, brown sugar, and finding some glacé fruit with lemon and orange peel! Each ingredient makes these cookies incredibly flavorful, soft, and oh so delicious. Finish them off with some candied orange peel or a large scoop of vanilla ice cream to keep the decorating simple and super easy. You can just leave them plain, too! These cookies are so much fun to bake, delicious to eat, and just a great homemade gift to share! Even if you know people who don’t like fruitcake, they will absolutely adore these cookies. SO. GOOD.
→ This post is also available as a Web Story: Fruitcake Cookies
About The Recipe
Fruitcake is a necessity for the holiday’s, but now it’s not just for regifting! These fruitcake cookies are gonna be something you want to keep for yourself to enjoy throughout the Christmas season. I mean, even if you bake them to give them away, it’s gonna be really hard! They’re just that good.
And that’s coming from me. I am not a fruitcake fan Like, at all. It’s just never been my favorite thing, but these cookies on the other hand… it’s like Christmas in every bite!
The warming notes of bourbon, mixed with the sweet citrus-y candied fruit, some pecans for crunch, baked in a super easy to make cookie. There is nothing better!
The inspiration behind the cookies was actually because of my uncle. He kept asking for fruitcake and we were just not having it. So, my mom remembered (after the millionth time he asked) that my grandmother had a fruitcake cookie recipe!
From there, we adjusted the ratios to give you the best ever cookies for this holiday season!
Because what could be more comforting than a splash of bourbon and the smell of freshly baked cookies in your kitchen?
Oh, and these cookies have so many goodies inside that they barely have enough batter to hold them together. Does it get any better?
Equipment Needed
- A Mixer
- Cookie Scoop
- Baking Sheets
- Parchment Paper
Ingredients
- Glacéed Fruit
- All-Purpose Flour
- Baking Soda
- Baking Powder
- Salted Butter
- Sugar
- Brown Sugar
- Egg
- Pecans
- Dates
- Bourbon
Instructions
In a small bowl, mix together 1/2 cup flour with glacéed fruit. Set aside.
In the mixer with the beater attachment, beat the brown sugar, white sugar, and butter until creamy. About 2-3 minutes. While this is beating, whisk together the remaining flour, baking soda, and baking powder.
Add half of the flour mixture and mix in.
Beat in the egg.
Add the remaining flour mixture and mix until combined.
Stir in the pecans, dates, and glacéed fruit.
Mix in the bourbon.
Scoop out the cookie dough with a cookie scoop (or a spoon) onto a lined baking sheet. 12 to a pan. You’re going to need about 2 sheet pans and one smaller pan. Bake the cookies at 350 for 20 minutes.
How To Store
If there are any cookies leftover, you can easily store them in a sealable bag and keep out on the counter for about a week or so. Just make sure to save one (or six!) for good ole Saint Nick!
Substitutions
- You can use your favorite individual fruits for this recipe rather than a pre-mixed! I highly recommend using some citrus peel to give this cookie a bright twist.
- You could use whiskey, rum, or brandy instead of bourbon!
Expert Tips
- The cookie dough is very wet so, keep this in mind when you’re working with it!
- These cookies keep really well.
- Make sure to set out the butter a few hours before you start to bake! This will allow the butter to come to room temperature and be easier to mix.
- If you don’t have a cookie scoop, you can use a normal spoon. It’ll just be harder to get all the cookies the same size!
When you make these Classic Bourbon Fruitcake Cookies, leave a comment down below! We love hearing from you and answering any questions you might have! Also, be sure to tag us on social media and hashtag it #BakersTable.
Classic Bourbon Fruitcake Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup glacéed fruit,, chopped
- 1 cup all purpose flour,, divided
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- 6 Tablespoons salted butter,, room temperature
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1 cup chopped dates
- 3 Tablespoons bourbon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Line 3 sheet pans with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine the glacéed fruit with 1/2 of the flour. Set aside.
- Whisk together remaining 1/2 cup flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
- Beat butter and sugars together until creamy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in half of flour mixture.
- Beat in egg.
- Add last half of flour mixture.
- Stir in glacéed fruit, dates, and pecans.
- Add bourbon.
- Drop by scoopfuls, or rounded teaspoonfuls, onto prepared pans.
- Bake for 20 minutes, until light golden brown.
Notes + Tips!
- You can use your favorite individual fruits for this recipe rather than a pre-mixed! I highly recommend using some citrus peel to give this cookie a bright twist.
- You could use whiskey, rum, or brandy instead of bourbon!
- The cookie dough is very wet so, keep this in mind when you’re working with it!
- These cookies keep really well.
- Make sure to set out the butter a few hours before you start to bake! This will allow the butter to come to room temperature and be easier to mix.
- If you don’t have a cookie scoop, you can use a normal spoon. It’ll just be harder to get all the cookies the same size!
Tools You May Need (affiliate links)
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.