A fruitcake drop cookie with nuts, candied cherries and dates. This is a vintage recipe from the 1940s.
Ingredients
1 cup solid vegetable shortening, or 1 cup + 2 tablespoons butter (see note*)
2 cups brown sugar, firmly packed
2 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups pecans, chopped
2 cups red and green candied cherries, halved
2 cups dates, chopped
pecan halves, for garnish (not pictured)
Directions
- Beat together shortening, sugar and eggs until creamy. Stir in buttermilk. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt, then stir into the butter mixture. Stir in the pecans, cherries and dates. Chill at least 1 hour. Pre-heat oven to 400 F and lightly grease a baking sheet or line with parchment paper. Drop heaping tablespoons of dough about 2″ apart on prepared baking sheet. Place a pecan half on each cookie if desired (not pictured). 10 minutes or until not quite firm when lightly touched.
Notes
- Adapted from a recipe in the 1963 book Betty Crocker’s Cooky Book, where it is listed as “The Best Cooky of 1945-1950”.
- * This is a very old recipe and like many old recipes, especially those from war-time eras, it calls for shortening rather than butter. If you wish to use butter, The Spruce Eats has an excellent article on substituting shortening for butter and vice-versa. It’s important to note that their conversions are BY WEIGHT and not by volume, so you will need a kitchen scale for the best accuracy. In this case, their recommendation is that for 1 cup of shortening (7.2 ounces or 205 grams), instead use 9 ounces (255g) of butter; about 1-1/8 cups or 1 cup + 2 tablespoons.
Do note that with butter, you’ll get a flatter cookie with crispier edges. With shortening, you’ll get a rounder cookie with a more soft texture. You decide!