These festive Fruitcake Shortbread Cookies are loaded with a delicious fruitcake blend in tender, buttery shortbread cookies! They are absolutely delicious slice and bake cookies with bright, fun fruitcake pieces throughout each addictive bite of shortbread!
Fruitcake Shortbread Cookies Recipe
I'm sitting here enjoying these fabulously tasty cookies and thinking that my timing is pretty darn good! Not only is there plenty of time for you to make these oh-so-good holiday cookies, but it's also National Cookie Day!
I don't need an excuse to bake cookies, but with a day for appreciating cookies around the corner and a bunch of fruitcake mix on hand these fruitcake cookies were just meant to be. And yum! They're so buttery and melt-in-your-mouth good it's ridiculous!!
My festive shortbread cookies are just part of the first wave of holiday baking 2020. So I do hope that you check back in to see more great Christmas cookie recipes!
How To Make Fruitcake Shortbread Cookies {Easy Slice & Bake Cookies}
Shortbread cookies are an extremely easy cookie to make. They're very forgiving and only require 3 ingredients: butter, sugar, and flour.
I prefer to use salted butter for my shortbread baking, so no additional salt is needed in a basic shortbread recipe! The addition of extract is optional, but there are so many flavors that would work in my fruitcake shortbread cookies exceptionally well.
To get started, gather your basic shortbread ingredients and some fruitcake mix ( or dried peel, mixed peel ). Other dried fruits can be used, as can crushed nuts like pecans, walnuts, pistachios, or almonds.
Make the Shortbread Cookie Dough
- Cream together the softened butter, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the all-purpose flour and mix until you have a crumbly shortbread cookie dough.
- Mix in the fruitcake blend ( I'm using the Old English Fruit Cake Mix from Paradise Fruit ) until it is evenly distributed in the dough.
- Transfer the dough to a sheet of parchment paper and pull the dough together to form a rough log shape ( or rectangle, or triangle, whichever shape you'd like your slice and bake cookies to be ).
- Wrap the dough with your parchment paper tightly and roll the dough out to a round log. Re-wrap the dough tightly to chill.
- Refrigerate the dough for about 30 minutes, or until the fruitcake shortbread dough holds it's shape pretty well when squeezed.
Slice and Bake The Fruitcake Cookies
- Preheat your oven to 350ºF ( 175ºC ) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Slice your cookies approximately ¼ inch in thickness and place them on your baking sheet about an inch apart.
- Bake for 10 - 12 minutes until the cookies are slightly puffy and no longer raw in the center.
- Allow baked fruitcake shortbread cookies to cool completely on the baking sheet on a wire cooling rack.
📖 Recipe Card
Fruitcake Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter (I use salted butter in my shortbread recipes - softened, at room temperature)
- ¾ cup confectioners sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup mixed peel (I'm using the Old English Fruit Cake Mix from Paradise Fruit)
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the softened butter, confectioners sugar, and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Add flour and mix until the flour is incorporated and the shortbread dough has a crumbly appearance.
- Mix in the mixed peel or fruitcake blend until evenly distributed in your shortbread dough.
- Transfer the fruitcake shortbread dough to a sheet of parchment paper or plastic cling film wrap and gather the loose dough into a rough log shape.
- Wrap the paper around the log shape tightly and use it to help roll the log out into your desired length and width. Unwrap and re-wrap tightly. Transfer to your refrigerator to chill for about 30 minutes.
- Once the dough is firm to the touch, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F ( 175 degrees C ). Remove the dough from the refrigerator and slice using a sharp knife ( to cut through the fruit easily ). Slices should be approximately ¼ inch in thickness.
- Transfer slices to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees F ( 175 degrees C ) for 10-12 minutes. The cookies are done when the center is slightly puffy. You should also be able to note the difference when the center no longer looks raw.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool completely on the baking sheet placed on a wire cooling rack. *Shortbread cookies are tender and prone to falling apart while still warm!
Lori McBride says
I have the dough in refrigerator but what is the best way to freeze the cookies after they have cooked and cooled? I want to send a care pkg of cookies ( if are as buttery and tasty ) Ty
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
I freeze them in a single layer on a baking sheet and then package them for gifting or shipping. It takes 3-4 hours for them to be frozen, but you can freeze cookies (before wrapping or storing them) up to overnight. Thanks for asking!
Carol Ann says
My mother used to make these and keep several logs in the freezer to slice and bake a few cookies from time to time throughout the year. They were so good with coffee or hot tea. We liked them because they were not overly sweet. She also added chopped pecans to the dough. Thank you for sharing this comfort food cookie recipe from my childhood!
Ann Marienhoff says
Hi can I freeze the fruitcake shot bread recipe cookie dough
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Yes, definitely! Shortbread freezes exceptionally well and the fruitcake blend holds up nicely too. Enjoy!