Virtual Vegan Potluck 2014 – Miche’s Winter-spiced Fruities

If these cookies look familiar it is because they are from my very first post to this blog a few years ago. I decided to use the recipe again for the potluck because I don’t think they got the love that I feel they deserve. The recipe has been adapted from Ina Garten’s “Fruitcake Cookies” because I absolutely loved them before making the switch over to vegan-eating. I also decided to go with a different name this time around because I have changed them a bit from Ina’s recipe, and I feel that the word “fruitcake” automatically sours a lot of people towards the recipe. This cookie actually doesn’t contain any candied fruit that you traditionally see in Fruitcake — it’s all dried fruits! I apologize for having to use the same photo as well, but John and I are away at a wedding all weekend in Rhode Island, and dummy (me) forgot to get the pictures off of the SD card in the camera back home.

Fruitcake Cookies:

Adapted from Ina Garten’s Fruitcake Cookies

 

Ingredients:

8 dried figs

4 ounces raisins

1 ounce dried cherries

1 ounces dried apricots, coarsely chopped

1 tablespoon pure maple syrup

2 tablespoons dry sherry

1 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

3 ounces chopped pecans

1/4 tsp salt

1 stick non-dairy butter (I used an Earth Balance buttery stick)

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 cup sugar (I used an organic coconut palm sugar)

1/3 cup light brown sugar or turbinado sugar

1 chia egg (1 tbsp chia seed + 3 tbsp water – You can use a flax egg here, too!)

1 1/3 cups whole-wheat pastry flour

Directions:

Remove the tough stems of the figs with scissors or a small knife and coarsely chop the figs. In a medium bowl, combine the figs, raisins, cherries, apricots, maple syrup, sherry, lemon juice, pecans, and a pinch of salt. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit overnight at room temperature.

The next day…

Get your chia-egg (or flax-egg) ready so it can get gooey while you prep the rest of the ingredients!

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or old-fashioned elbow grease), cream the non-dairy butter, cloves, sugar, and brown/turbinado sugar on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the chia-egg and mix until incorporated. With the mixer still on low, slowly add the flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt just until combined. Don’t over mix! Add the fruits and nuts, including any liquid in the bowl.

Remove the dough from the bowl and place onto a 12 by 18-inch piece of parchment or waxed paper. Roll the dough into a log, 1 1/2 to 1 3/4-inch thick, making an 18-inch-long roll. Refrigerate the dough for several hours, or until firm (when I’m impatient I put it into the freezer for a little over an hour, hehe)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

With a small, sharp knife, cut the logs into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Place the slices 1/2-inch apart on ungreased sheet pans and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until lightly golden. I was able to get 28 cookies from this!

I hope that you all will give this recipe a try! These cookies make an appearance in my holiday cookie gift baskets every year, and they are always a hit 🙂

-Miche