For all the people who don’t like Christmas cake this is the answer. My children don’t like the cake but they do like the cookies ( go figure).
Fruitcake cookies
1/4 c. butter
1/2 c. Br. Sugar
1/4 c. Jelly
2 eggs
2 tsp. Baking soda
1 1/2 tbsp. Milk
1 1/2 c. Flour
1/2 tsp. Allspice
1/2 tsp. Cloves
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp. Nutmeg
1 lb. Broken pecans
1 lb. Seedless raisins
1/2 lb. Chopped glazed cherries
1/2 lb. Chopped glazed pineapple
1/2 lb. mixed glazed fruit
Cream butter, sugar, jelly, and eggs. Dissolve soda in milk. Add 1/2 flour and spices. Dredge fruit and nuts with remaining flour and stir into batter. Drop from spoon onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 300 F. For 20 mins. Makes approx. 10 dozen cookies.
This is not a light cake or a dark. It is a medium.
Wonderful Fruit Cake
1 c. Shortening
6 c. Sugar
6 c. Water
2 lbs. Raisins
2 lbs. Currants
2 c. Citron
2 c. Mixed glazed fruit
3 tsp. Nutmeg
1 c. maraschino cherries
1/2 c. Maraschino cherry juice
8 c. Flour
4 tsp. salt
3 tsp. Soda
3 tsp. Baking powder
2 tsp. Cloves, 3 tsp.
2 c. Chopped nuts
Boil water, shortening, sugar, raisins, currants, and citron together for 5 mins. Remove from heat and allow to cool. When cool add nuts, cherries, and juice. Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Add and mix thoroughly with other ingredients. Line greased pans with paper, brushed with melted shortening. Fill pans 3/4 full of batter. Bake from 4 to 5 hrs. At 275 F., until toothpick comes out dry. Cool cake and wrap in heavy foil and freeze. Makes 14 lbs. or two angel food pans full.
Dora Miner is a local cook and baker and writes a regular column for The Wetaskiwin Pipestone Flyer.