Let’s be honest for a moment: fruitcake has a bit of a reputation. For years, it’s been the holiday dessert many of us politely smile at but secretly push to the back of the dessert table. But what if I told you there’s a way to capture all the festive, jewel-toned beauty and warm, spiced flavor of fruitcake in a package that everyone will genuinely love? Meet my Glazed Fruitcake Shortbread Cookies. These are not your grandmother’s dense, heavy fruitcake. Instead, they are tender, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth shortbread cookies, studded with finely chopped candied fruit and kissed with the perfect amount of holiday spice. A simple, sweet glaze on top makes them as beautiful as they are delicious. Trust me, these cookies are the festive treat that will make even the staunchest fruitcake skeptic a believer.
Why These Cookies Will Change Your Mind About Fruitcake
If the word “fruitcake” makes you think of something heavy, overly sweet, and frankly, a little weird, I completely understand. I was right there with you! But these cookies are different. The magic lies in the base: a classic, crumbly, incredibly buttery shortbread. It’s a familiar and beloved texture that provides the perfect canvas for the festive additions.
Instead of large, chewy chunks of fruit, we use a finely chopped medley of colorful candied fruit. When you chop it small, it distributes evenly throughout the dough, ensuring you get a little burst of sweet, fruity flavor in every single bite without it being overwhelming. The warm spices—just a touch of cinnamon and nutmeg—fill your kitchen with the most incredible holiday aroma as they bake. It’s a scent that instantly feels like home. The final touch, a simple sweet glaze, adds just a bit of extra sweetness and a beautiful, elegant finish. These cookies are light, tender, and truly a modern take on a classic holiday flavor profile.
Gathering Your Festive Shortbread Components
The beauty of this recipe is its simplicity. We’re using classic pantry staples to create something that looks and tastes incredibly special. No need for a complicated shopping list here!
For the Tender, Spiced Cookie Dough
This is where the buttery magic begins. The quality of your ingredients, especially the butter, will really shine through in the final cookie.
- Unsalted Butter: 1 cup (226g), softened to room temperature. This is the star of the show! Using good-quality, softened butter is key to that classic shortbread texture.
- Powdered Sugar: ¾ cup (90g). Also known as confectioners’ sugar, this dissolves beautifully into the butter, creating a super-tender, melt-in-your-mouth cookie.
- Vanilla Extract: 1 teaspoon. A splash of good vanilla enhances the buttery flavor.
- All-Purpose Flour: 2 cups (240g). The simple structure for our cookies. Be sure to measure it correctly!
- Ground Cinnamon: ½ teaspoon. For that classic holiday warmth.
- Ground Nutmeg: ¼ teaspoon. A little goes a long way and adds a lovely festive depth.
- Salt: ¼ teaspoon. Essential for balancing all the sweetness and bringing out the other flavors.
- Mixed Candied Fruit: 1 cup (170g), finely chopped. You can find this in most grocery stores during the holidays. I like a mix that includes red and green cherries, pineapple, and citrus peel for a beautiful, colorful result.
For the Simple Sweet Glaze
This easy glaze is the perfect finishing touch, adding a little extra sweetness and a professional look.
- Powdered Sugar: 1 cup (120g). This creates a smooth, opaque glaze.
- Milk or Orange Juice: 2-3 tablespoons. I personally love using orange juice because it complements the citrus notes in the candied fruit, but milk works perfectly for a classic vanilla flavor.
- Vanilla or Almond Extract: ¼ teaspoon (optional). A tiny drop of extract adds another layer of flavor to the glaze. Almond extract is particularly lovely here!
The Art of Crafting Glazed Fruitcake Shortbread
Now for the fun part! Making these cookies is a straightforward and truly enjoyable process. Just follow these steps, and you’ll have a batch of beautiful holiday treats in no time.
From Mixing the Dough to Chilling
The first half of the process is all about creating a perfect, workable dough. Don’t rush these steps, especially the creaming and chilling—they are crucial for the best texture.
- Cream the Butter and Sugar: In a large bowl with an electric mixer (a hand mixer works great, or you can use a stand mixer), beat your softened butter and powdered sugar together. Start on low speed, then increase to medium. You’ll want to beat it for a good 2-3 minutes, until the mixture is noticeably paler in color and looks light and fluffy.
- Add the Vanilla: Pour in the vanilla extract and give it another quick mix until it’s just combined.
- Whisk the Dry Ingredients: In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. This little step ensures the spices and salt are evenly distributed, so you don’t get a random pocket of cinnamon in one cookie.
- Combine Wet and Dry: With your mixer on its lowest speed, gradually add the flour mixture to the creamed butter. Mix only until the last streaks of flour have disappeared. It’s so important not to overmix here! Overmixing develops gluten and can make your shortbread tough instead of tender.
- Fold in the Fruit: Switch to a spatula and gently fold in your finely chopped candied fruit. Keep folding until the colorful little pieces are evenly scattered throughout the dough.
- Chill the Dough: Gather the dough into a ball, gently flatten it into a thick disc, and wrap it tightly in plastic wrap. Pop it in the refrigerator for at least one hour. This step is non-negotiable! Chilling the dough solidifies the butter, which prevents the cookies from spreading too much in the oven and makes the dough so much easier to roll out.
The Final Steps: Baking and Glazing
Once your dough is firm and chilled, you’re on the home stretch. Your kitchen is about to smell absolutely amazing!
- Get Ready to Bake: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper for easy cleanup and to prevent sticking.
- Roll and Cut: Lightly flour your work surface and rolling pin. Unwrap your chilled dough and roll it out until it’s about ¼-inch thick. Use a 2-inch round cookie cutter to cut out your cookies. Place them about an inch apart on your prepared baking sheets. You can re-roll the scraps, but try to handle them as little as possible to keep the dough tender.
- Bake to Perfection: Bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes. You’re looking for the edges to be just lightly golden brown. The centers will still look pale, and that’s exactly what you want for a tender shortbread.
- Cool Completely: Let the cookies rest on the hot baking sheets for about 5 minutes. This helps them set up. Then, carefully transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. I can’t stress “completely” enough—if they are even slightly warm, the glaze will just melt and run right off.
- Whip up the Glaze: While the cookies cool, make your glaze. In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons of milk or orange juice. If you’re using it, add the extract. Keep whisking until it’s smooth. If it’s too thick, add more liquid just one teaspoon at a time until it reaches a nice, drizzly consistency.
- Glaze and Set: Once the cookies are totally cool, it’s time to decorate! You can either dip the tops of the cookies into the glaze or use a spoon to drizzle it artfully over the top. Let the cookies sit out on the wire rack until the glaze is completely set and hardened before you think about storing them.
Pro Tips for Picture-Perfect Shortbread Every Time
- Finely Chop the Fruit: For the best texture and distribution, chop your candied fruit into very small, ¼-inch or smaller pieces. A great trick to keep it from getting sticky and clumping is to toss the fruit with a tablespoon of the flour from your recipe before chopping.
- Softened, Not Melted, Butter: Make sure your butter is at room temperature—you should be able to press a finger into it and leave an indent—but it shouldn’t be greasy or melted. This is the foundation of a good shortbread.
- Don’t Overwork the Dough: When you add the flour and when you re-roll the scraps, handle the dough as little as possible. The less you work it, the more tender and crumbly your cookies will be.
- Uniform Thickness: Try to roll your dough to an even ¼-inch thickness. This ensures all the cookies bake evenly and finish at the same time.
- Get Creative with Shapes: While a round cutter is classic, feel free to use festive holiday shapes like stars or snowflakes! Just be mindful that cookies with delicate points may bake a little faster.
Storing Your Holiday Treats for Maximum Freshness
Once your beautiful cookies are baked and the glaze has fully set, you’ll want to store them properly to keep them fresh and delicious.
For short-term storage, place the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. I like to separate the layers with a sheet of parchment or wax paper to protect the glaze and prevent them from sticking together. They will stay wonderfully fresh for up to a week.
These cookies also freeze beautifully! You can freeze the unbaked dough disc, tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and then placed in a freezer bag, for up to 3 months. Just thaw it in the fridge before rolling and baking. Alternatively, you can freeze the fully baked and cooled (but un-glazed) cookies in an airtight container for up to a month. Thaw at room temperature, then glaze before serving.
Your Fruitcake Cookie Questions, Answered
Can I use dried fruit instead of candied fruit?
Absolutely! If candied fruit isn’t your thing, you can substitute it with finely chopped dried fruit. Dried cranberries, apricots, or cherries would be fantastic. Just be sure to chop them small, just as you would with the candied fruit, for the best result.
My dough seems really crumbly and isn’t coming together. What went wrong?
A crumbly dough is a common shortbread characteristic! First, make sure you measured your flour correctly (scooping directly from the bag can pack in too much). If it still feels too dry to form a disc, you can add a tiny bit of milk—start with just half a teaspoon—and mix briefly until it comes together. Often, just using your hands to gently knead it a couple of times in the bowl is enough to bring it together.
Can I make the cookie dough ahead of time?
Yes, this dough is perfect for making ahead! You can prepare the dough, wrap it tightly, and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days before you plan to bake. This is a great time-saver during the busy holiday season. Just let it sit at room temperature for about 10-15 minutes to make it slightly easier to roll out.
Glazed Fruitcake Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
Method
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat the softened butter and powdered sugar on medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add Vanilla: Beat in the vanilla extract until combined.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
- Mix the Dough: Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, mixing on low speed until just combined. Be careful not to overmix.
- Incorporate Fruit: Using a spatula, gently fold the finely chopped candied fruit into the dough until evenly distributed.
- Chill the Dough: Form the dough into a flat disc, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or until firm.
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Roll and Cut: On a lightly floured surface, roll the chilled dough out to ¼-inch thickness. Use a 2-inch round cookie cutter to cut out the cookies. Arrange them 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake: Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden.
- Cool: Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies must be completely cool before glazing.
- Prepare the Glaze: In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons of milk (or juice), and the optional extract. Add more liquid, one teaspoon at a time, until you reach a smooth, drizzling consistency.
- Glaze the Cookies: Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cookies or dip the tops of the cookies into the glaze. Allow the glaze to set completely before storing.
