The holidays remind me of fruit cake. I know that fruit cake is not loved by many - it is an acquired taste, I suppose. I've never tried to bake one and the recipes that I have looked up are a bit daunting. Instead, I decided to try a cookie version. I'm a bit of a cheater when it comes to cookie recipes and use a cake mix pretty much 100% of the time. I was unable to find a cake mix fruit cake recipe...so I made up the easiest one I can imagine!
The ingredients:
1 box Spice cake mix
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1/4 cup Rum (not pictured)
1 cup walnut pieces
2 cups candied fruit pieces (container not pictured)
Place the 2 cups candied fruit mixture in a medium size bowl. Pour 1/4 cup of Rum over the fruit. Toss it well and cover. Let stand 2 hours.
In a large mixing bowl empty the contents of the cake mix. Add 2 eggs and 1/2 cup vegetable oil. Mix well. Will be the consistency of cookie dough. Add in the fruit/rum mixture and the walnut pieces. Incorporate the fruit and nuts thoroughly. It got a bit difficult to stir so I did add a bit of water at this point!
Refrigerate the dough for several hours in a covered container.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray cookie sheet with Pam or other nonstick cooking spray. Drop cookie dough by rounded teaspoonfuls. I used the 2 spoon method! Worked really well. Bake for 8-9 minutes. Cookies came out nice and moist!
After tasting this first attempt I have decided to add more fruit and maybe a little less walnuts. We'll see how the next batch comes out!
