Fruitcake Cookie Bars

Our taste panel loved how moist, spiced, and fruit-packed these bar cookies were.

Fruitcake Cookie Bars
Photo: Carson Downing
Hands On Time:
30 mins
Total Time:
1 hrs 25 mins
Servings:
36

Ingredients

  • 5 cup dried fruit, such as tart cherries, cranberries, golden raisins, candied orange peel, red or green candied cherries, chopped figs, apricots, and/or candied citron

  • ½ cup coarsely chopped pecans

  • ½ cup coarsely chopped walnuts

  • ½ cup brandy

  • 2 cup all-purpose flour

  • 1 teaspoon baking powder

  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • ½ teaspoon ground allspice

  • ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

  • 1 ½ cup packed dark brown sugar

  • 3 eggs

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled

  • 2 teaspoon vanilla

  • 4 ounce bittersweet chocolate (72% to 75% cacao), chopped

  • Powdered sugar (optional)

Directions

  1. Position a rack in center of oven. Preheat oven to 325°F. Coat a 13×9-inch light-color baking pan with nonstick cooking spray and line with parchment.

  2. In a medium microwave-safe bowl combine dried fruits and nuts. Add brandy and stir well. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Microwave on high 2 minutes. Let stand, covered, 15 minutes.

  3. In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and 3/4 tsp. salt.

  4. In a large bowl vigorously whisk together brown sugar and eggs 1 minute or until lightened in color and texture. Whisk in melted butter and vanilla. Fold in flour mixture until no dry pockets remain. Add soaked dried fruit mixture and chocolate; stir until well blended. Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly.

  5. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until golden and bars are just beginning to pull away from sides of pan. Cool on a wire rack.

  6. To serve, remove slab from pan and place on a cutting board. Using a serrated knife, cut into bars. If you like, dust bars generously with powdered sugar. Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 4 days or freeze up to 3 months. Makes 36 bars.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

215 Calories
9g Fat
32g Carbs
2g Protein
Nutrition Facts
Servings Per Recipe 36
Calories 215
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 9g 12%
Saturated Fat 4g 20%
Cholesterol 29mg 10%
Sodium 73mg 3%
Total Carbohydrate 32g 12%
Total Sugars 22g
Protein 2g
Vitamin C 1.4mg 7%
Calcium 37mg 3%
Iron 1.4mg 8%
Potassium 202mg 4%
Folate, total 18mcg
Vitamin B-6 0.1mg

*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

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