Rich and buttery Fruitcake Shortbread Squares are a festive combination of holiday fruitcake mixed peel and super soft shortbread! These addictively delicious dessert squares are incredibly easy to make and topped off with a tasty icing that everyone will love!
Fruitcake Shortbread Squares Recipe {with Icing}
I've always been a big fan of holiday fruit mixes, and these soft and buttery fruitcake squares are a delicious way to enjoy fruitcake mixes! They're fun and festive and incredibly easy to make!
Plus, depending on who you may be sharing with, the icing can be subtly flavored with rum. Or be a little heavy-handed on the rum and make these truly boozy delicious!
I like coconut flavoring in my icing, so have used both coconut extract and Malibu coconut rum. Yummy!!
How To Make Fruitcake Shortbread Squares with Icing
Shortbread in itself is super easy to make! It comes together in a crumbly dough that is easily pressed into a baking pan like this 8 x 8 I'm using.
To get started gather your ingredients and a pan. You will need salted butter that has been softened at room temperature. I always use salted butter in my shortbread baking with fantastic results!
Plus confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract, and fruitcake blend for the baked shortbread squares. I'm using the Old English Fruit Cake Blend ( mixed fruit peel ) from Paradise Fruit for these dessert bars.
Make the Shortbread Dough
- Cream the softened butter, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla extract together in a large mixing bowl until smooth.
- Add the all-purpose flour and mix until you have a crumbly shortbread dough.
- Stir in the fruitcake blend until it is evenly distributed throughout the dough.
- Transfer the dough to your 8 x 8 baking pan and spread evenly. Use your fingers to press it down evenly, but not packed too densely.
- Cover and chill for an hour.
Bake the Fruitcake Shortbread Squares
- Preheat your oven to 325ºF ( 163ºC ) and bake the chilled shortbread dough in the center of the middle oven rack for 40 minutes. The dough should be a light golden color and slightly puffy when done.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire cooling rack for 5 - 10 minutes before applying the icing.
Make the Icing
- In a small bowl combine the confectioners' sugar, heavy cream, and coconut extract until smooth. Adjust the consistency as needed with more heavy cream to thin it, or more confectioners' sugar to thicken the icing.
- Spread the icing over the slightly warm shortbread, then allow the iced fruitcake shortbread to cool completely before serving.
If using rum to flavor the icing, use 1 tablespoon for a mild flavor or 2 tablespoons for a stronger rum flavor. Enjoy!
Check out my other fruitcake shortbread cookies for more holiday fun!
📖 Recipe Card
Fruitcake Shortbread Squares
Ingredients
Fruitcake Shortbread Squares
- 1 cup butter (I use salted butter in my shortbread recipes - softened, at room temperature)
- ¾ cup confectioners sugar
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract (or almond extract)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup mixed peel (I'm using the Old English Fruit Cake Mix from Paradise Fruit)
Easy Icing
- 1 cup confectioners sugar
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream (or milk or water)
- 1 teaspoon coconut extract (or your favorite flavor)
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
Fruitcake Shortbread Squares
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, confectioners sugar, and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Add the all-purpose flour and mix into the creamed butter until you have a crumbly shortbread dough.
- Add the mixed peel or fruitcake blend to your shortbread dough and mix until it is evenly distributed throughout the dough.
- Transfer the fruitcake shortbread dough to an ungreased 8 x 8 baking pan. Press the dough into corners and until filling the pan in an even layer. Cover and allow the dough to chill in the refrigerator for an hour.
- Bake the chilled dough at 325 degrees F ( 163 degrees C ) for 40 minutes. The dough should be a light golden color and puffed up slightly across the entire pan including the center when done.
- Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire cooling rack. Allow the cookie bars to cool for 5-10 minutes before icing.
Easy Icing
- In a small bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, heavy cream, and coconut extract until smooth. Spread over the top of the baked fruitcake shortbread squares in a thin layer. Allow to cool completely before cutting and serving.
Gwen Turner says
These may be the best cookies I ever made! Can't wait to serve them to somebody.
Stephen R B Harris says
After about 10 minutes I turned the warm pan over. The shortbread square broke in 2 pieces. Wish I had left it in the pan to ice. Also I made the icing too early. It was no longer soft for spreading. Did the best I could with it.
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Oh no! I'll clarify the instructions as I did indeed ice these in the pan. For easy removal of the slab, use a sheet of parchment paper under the shortbread squares that way you can lift them out once cooled. Also, to make any icing in advance, place a sheet of cling film directly on the icing surface to prevent it from drying out until you're ready to use it. Hope that helps for the next time!