How to Make Fruitcake Cookies (Christmas Lizzies)

Fruitcake Cookies, also known as Christmas Lizzies, are little fruitcake-like cookies that blend candied fruit and Louisiana Pecans with a touch of Brandy held together with a little spiced batter.  I’m lucky to have these delicious, holiday cookies as part of my family traditions, as the entire family (as well as friends and neighbors) all look forward to Grammy’s Fruitcake Cookies, an adaptation of her sister's recipe for Christmas Lizzies. These fruitcake cookies are so flavorful, you won’t believe how simple they are to make. If you only make one kind of cookie for the holidays, Grammy’s Fruitcake Cookies are the one!

Grammy's Fruitcake Cookies

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Here’s What You Need

These cookies are mostly fruit and nuts held together with a little batter, almost mini-fruitcakes. 

The batter

• Butter (Salted butter is fine and margarine is a good substitute)
• Light brown sugar
• Whole eggs
• All-purpose flour 
• Baking soda

The spices

• Cinnamon
• Ground nutmeg
• Ground allspice (ground cloves is a good substitute)
  

  Here's what you need for the batter

The fruit and nuts

• Dark raisins
• Glazed fruit mix
• Candied red cherries
• Candied green cherries
• Candied pineapples
• Pecan halves
• Cherry brandy (see Hints and Tips for substitutes)
  

  Candies cherries, pinannple and glazed fruit mix

Equipment-wise, a stand mixer with a mixing bowl works well for this, but a handheld mixer could be used. Various prep and mixing bowls, cutting boards, cookie sheets and parchment paper are needed. 

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Here’s What You Do

First...you have a beer. The fun part of these traditional recipes is making them with friends and family. Grab a beer or a glass of wine, and put on some Holiday music. Read the recipe from start to finish and make sure you have everything you need and know what you’re going to do with them. Next, divide the tasks and start the preparation.  

Preparation

Place the butter in a bowl to soften and set aside.

Soften the butter

Chop the candied cherries in half and dice the candied pineapple. Place these, along with the Glazed Fruit Mix (which should already be diced) in a bowl and mix them all together. In a separate bowl, soak the raisins in the cherry brandy until plump. This should be done for at least an hour but can go as long as overnight.

Marinate the raisins in cherry brandy

Place the all-purpose flour in a prep bowl and mix in the spices and baking soda. Run all of this through a sifter.

Shift the flour, spices and baking soda

Set out the eggs and measure the pecans and set them aside. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and prepare cooking sheets by lining with parchment paper.

Mix the batter

Using a stand mixer on medium speed, perform the following steps in order. 

Place the softened butter into the mixing bowl and cream until it is fluffy.

Cream the butter

Once the butter is fluffy, gradually add the brown sugar until it is completely blended.

Add the brown sugar gradually

Next add the eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition.

Add the eggs one at a time

When the eggs are blended in completely, add the spiced flour a little at a time until it is completely mixed in.

Now we have the batter

Next, turn off the stand mixer and clean the batter from the paddle. The rest will be mixed by hand.

Add the fruit and nuts

Add the marinated raisins (along with any residual cherry brandy) and the pecans into the bowl with the cut candied fruit and mix together completely.

Combine the marinated raisins, candied fruits and pecans in a bowl

In batches, add some of the raisin, nut and fruit mixture to the batter and mix with a spatula by hand until all the ingredients are completely blended before adding more. This will get pretty thick so take your time.

Blend the mixed fruit and pecans into the batter

Depending on the size of your mixer bowl, you may want to do this in a separate, larger bowl. Don’t add batter to the bowl with the fruit and nuts as this will be very hard to mix-add the fruit to the batter, a little at a time.

All mixed up and ready for the cookie sheets

Bake at 325 degrees

Using a kitchen teaspoon, drop the cookie batter onto parchment paper-lined cookie sheets, keeping each cookie about 1 inch apart.

Ready for the oven!

Once all the cookies are laid out, place the baking sheets in a moderate oven (325 degrees) for 10 to 15 minutes until they are browned on top.

Out of the oven when browned

Remove the baking sheets from the oven and let cool for five minutes, then transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and allow to completely cool for at least 3 hours. Transferring to the cooling rack after a few minutes out of the oven will help to crisp the bottoms, which would be too soft if left on the baking sheets.

Transfer to a cooling rack

That’s it, all there is to it. 

Hints and Tips

• Due to the high sugar content in the candied fruit, as well as the brandy, these cookies are very shelf-stable and can be stored in air-tight containers for about 6 months. These cookies can be frozen, if desired, by wrapping tightly in plastic wrap and aluminum foil and placed in a freezer bag. Likewise, a vacuum sealer can be used. The fruit cookies will last in the freezer beyond 12 months. 
• When these fruitcake cookies come out of the oven they are soft and somewhat sticky. Leave them on the cookie sheet for no more than five minutes, then move them to a cooling rack. Leave them on the cooling rack for at least three hours, maybe as much as five.  The fruitcake cookies will still be a little tacky, but should not stick together when you put them on a serving plate or cookie jar.
• Cherry Brandy emphasizes the natural sweetness of the candied fruit. Bourbon, Dark Rum, Brandy or Cognac could be substituted for the Cherry Brandy if desired. For a non-alcoholic substitute, try orange juice, pineapple juice or peach (or other fruit) syrup.
• The history of fruitcakes goes back to the Middle Ages when they were developed as a preserved food for traveling soldiers and have been present in all cultures in one form or another since that time.  Learn more than you need to know about this quirky and much-maligned food. reading my article What You Need to Know about Fruitcake. 

Fruitcake Cookies...mini-fruitcakes? Why would you want that? Its because they are delicious. The bricks-in-a-can sold at Walmarts and grocery stores are not fair representatives of the delicious, moist traditional fruitcakes have been embraced by diverse cultures for centuries. If you haven't tried one, check this out, I'm sure it will be your new Holiday tradition:

Aunt Ellen’s Fruit Cakes

Full of sweet candied and dried fruit marinated in cherry brandy, then mixed with nuts and a spiced batter that's baked to perfection. This is why fruit cake is a holiday tradition that has lasted for centuries. If you haven't tried fruit cake, this is the one to try. If you are a fruit cake lover, then you'll know this is the best!

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Grammy's Fruitcake Cookies-also known as Christmas Lizzies

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Fruitcake Cookies (Christmas Lizzies)

Fruitcake Cookies, also known as Christmas Lizzies, are little fruitcake-like cookies that blend candied fruit and Louisiana Pecans with a touch of Brandy and held together with a little spiced batter. These fruitcake cookies are so flavorful, you won’t believe how simple they are to make. If you only make one kind of cookie for the holidays, Grammy’s Fruitcake Cookies are the one!

5 from 1 vote

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Creole

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Cooling Time: 4 hours

Total Time: 5 hours 15 minutes

Servings: 120 cookies

Calories: 70kcal

Author: Sweet Daddy D

Here's What You Need

• ¼ cup softened butter or margarine
• ½ cup light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 ½ cup flour
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon allspice
• ½ pound raisins
• ¼ cup cherry brandy See Recipe Notes
• 1 pound pecan halves
• ½ pound glazed fruit mix diced
• 1 pound candied cherries sliced in half
• ½ pound candied pineapples diced

Here's What You Do

Preparation

• Set the butter or margarine out to soften.
• Slice the candied cherries in half and dice the candied pineapple. Place these along with the glazed fruit mix, which should already be diced, in a bowl.
• Soak the raisins in the cherry brandy until plump, at least an hour or up to overnight.
• Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and baking soda to the flour and sift.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and prepare cookie sheets by lining with parchment paper.

Mix the batter

• Set a stand mixer to medium speed.
• Place the softened butter in the mixing bowl and cream until fluffy.
• Once the butter is fluffy, gradually add the brown sugar until completely blended.
• Add the eggs one at a time, completely blending each egg before adding the next.
• When the eggs are completely blended, add the sifted flour and spices slowly to the butter, eggs and sugar mix. Completely blend each addition before adding the next.
• Turn off the mixer, clean off the blade. The next steps will be mixed by hand.

Add the fruit and nuts

• Combine the soaked raisins, pecans and cut candied fruit in a bowl and mix together completely.
• In batches, add some of the raisin, nut and fruit mixture to the batter and mix with a spatula by hand until all the ingredients are completely blended before adding more.
• Continue until all the fruit and nut mixture is thoroughly combined with the batter.

Bake at 325 degrees

• Using a kitchen teaspoon, drop the cookie batter onto the cookie sheets, keeping each cookie about 1 inch apart. The cookies should be approximately 1 inch in diameter.
• Bake in a moderate oven (325 degrees) for 10 to 15 minutes, until browned on top.
• Remove the baking sheets from the oven and cool the cookies for five minutes on the cookie sheets, then transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and allow to completely cool for at least 3 hours. Don't rush the cooling rack time of the cookie bottoms will be soggy and the cookies will be sticky.
• Enjoy immediately or store in an airtight container.
• Makes about 10 dozen cookies.

Recipe Notes

Due to the high sugar content in the candied fruit, as well as the brandy, these cookies are very shelf-stable and can be stored in air-tight containers for about 6 months. These cookies can be frozen, if desired, by wrapping tightly in plastic wrap and aluminum foil and placed in a freezer bag. Likewise, a vacuum sealer can be used. The fruit cookies will last in the freezer beyond 12 months. 

When these fruitcake cookies come out of the oven they are soft and somewhat sticky. Leave them on the cookie sheet for no more than five minutes, then move them to a cooling rack. Leave them on the cooling rack for at least three hours, maybe as much as five.  The fruitcake cookies will still be a little tacky, but should not stick together when you put them on a serving plate or cookie jar. 

Cherry Brandy emphasizes the natural sweetness of the candied fruit. Bourbon, Dark Rum, Brandy or Cognac could be substituted for the Cherry Brandy if desired. For a non-alcoholic substitute, try orange juice, pineapple juice or peach (or other fruit) syrup.

Nutrition

Calories: 70kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 4mg | Sodium: 20mg | Potassium: 35mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 19IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 1mg