RECIPES: MY MOM'S TOTALLY ADDICTIVE HOLIDAY FRUITCAKE COOKIES

One of my favorite holiday traditions with my mom was starting our holiday baking the day after Thanksgiving. We always made spiced fruit cake cookies but we'd have to buy the ingredients over a few weeks so we could afford them. I remember the anticipation of watching the shelf fill up with the candied fruit: pineapple, cherries (yes, even the green ones) and how excited I was when we finally got the last ingredient. I still love those cookies... and they hold so many memories for me. 

I know. You hate fruitcake. I'm pretty sure I don't like most of them but I promise you these gorgeous little fruitcake gems are so addictive and delicious, you will not want to wait a whole year to make them again. These are the same mugs we used for Christmas Eve cocoa way back then.

MOM'S HOLIDAY FRUITCAKE COOKIES

Makes about 6 dozen depending on how large you make them.

INGREDIENTS

1 pound candied red cherries

1 pound candied pineapple

1 pound candied green cherries

6 cups pecans, roughly chopped

1 pound dates, chopped

2 tablespoons dark run (optional- but you need to up the orange juice if you omit)

3 cups plus 1 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup Crisco shortening

1 cup granulated sugar

slight pinch kosher salt

3 teaspoons baking soda

3 tablespoons milk

4 eggs (room temperature)

1 tablespoon orange juice

1 teaspoon nutmeg

INSTRUCTIONS

The day before: chop the dates into small pieces and put them in a glass bowl. Add rum. Cover with plastic wrap. Let sit overnight to absorb the rum. You can leave this step out if you want but I find it makes the dates more delicious and the cookies have more flavor.  

Preheat oven to 375. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper. Get out 2-3 cooling racks.

Dice the candied fruit into small pieces and place in a very large bowl; I use the top of my cake carrier. Roughly chop the pecans and add to the fruit. Add the dates. Add one cup of the flour. Toss well to coat all of the pieces and break them up so they are not sticking together.

Next, whisk the baking soda into the milk and let it dissolve.

Mix the Crisco into the fruit. Add the remaining ingredients: sugar, remaining flour, salt, nutmeg, eggs, orange juice and milk with baking soda into the mixture.  Mix together with your hands but just until you no longer see the flour. Try not to over mix. The batter will be very dense. Use a small ice cream scoop or two teaspoons to drop the cookies onto the prepared pans, about 1 inch apart. 

Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on the wire cooling racks.

RECIPE: CHOCOLATE BOURBON PECAN PIE

My mom made a pecan pie for every occasion- and I mean she made the crust, too. This is the one time I always opt for a store bought pie crust, however. For a spin on a traditional pecan pie recipe, I added two ingredients I can’t live without: Kentucky bourbon and chocolate. Exchange this for your Thanksgiving Pecan Pie and you will make it every year. Melt some extra chocolate for plating!

My Food Network Star friend Emily Ellyn's sister Molly sent me this photo of my Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie after she made the recipe. Molly raved about it... and this family knows food and knows how to cook! Yay!

Try my Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie for a twist on the traditional Southern Pecan Pie recipe. Leave out the bourbon if you must but the chocolate is a sweet surprise and always a big hit for Thanksgiving dessert!

CHOCOLATE BOURBON PECAN PIE

Prep Time: 20 minutes  Cook Time: 55 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 store bought refrigerated pie crust

1 ½ cups pecans, chopped

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup dark corn syrup

½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed

¼ cup Kentucky bourbon

4 large eggs

¼ cup unsalted butter, melted

2 teaspoons all purpose flour; divided

2 teaspoons vanilla

½ teaspoon kosher salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325° F.

Lightly dust the top and bottom of the crust and your rolling pin. Lightly roll to remove any creases. Drape over your rolling pin and transfer to your pie pan.

Fit the crust into a 9-inch pie pan and fold the edges under. Using a fork, crimp the edge of the crust. Spread the pecans and chocolate chips evenly onto the bottom of the crust; set aside.

For the filling: In a large saucepan over medium heat, add the corn syrup and both sugars. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat. Add the bourbon.

In a bowl, whisk together the eggs and add the butter, flour, vanilla, and salt. Temper the egg mixture by whisking 1 cup of the hot mixture into the egg mixture, ½ cup at a time. Once tempered, add the remaining hot mixture into the eggs, whisking constantly. Pour the filling over the chocolate and pecans.  

Sit the pie pan on a baking sheet to catch any spills. Bake at 325°F for 55 minutes or until set; cool on a wire rack. 

Over a double boiler, melt additional chocolate chips with a little heavy cream to make chocolate drizzle for serving.

RECIPE: RUSTIC APPLE PIE WITH EASY TO MAKE PIE CRUST

Note: I have made this recipe without referencing it for so long, I needed to change the online version so it matches with my current method. I added a bit more flour and reduced the oven by 5 degrees. The rest is the same.

This may be my favorite recipe! You can’t believe how fast and easy you can make a pie! My mom made a pie every single day- most were fruit pies and I always marveled at how fast she could make one. I have used just about everything inside of this pie crust but just make sure the dough is well chilled and the filling is not too juicy or it won’t hold together. The egg wash will act as a glue to keep it sealed. The glaze, if you decide to use one, will make it look like it came from a bakery but it is flakier without it.

To the left is an apple pie I made in minutes. On the right is the same crust, with local Chilton County peaches and blackberries and blueberries from my yard. Note: If you use frozen fruit for the filling, be sure to up the flour a bit so the filling is not too juicy to hold.

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You can use this homemade pie crust to make almost any kind of pie, tart, pot pie, or crostata. Leave out the sugar for a savory pie The dough can hold up to a week in the refrigerator before you roll it out. You can make ahead and freeze it, also.

RUSTIC APPLE PIE

Prep Time: 20 minutes plus 1 hour chill time for the dough

Cook Time: 20-25 minutes

INGREDIENTS

Pastry

1 cup all-purpose flour, plus 3 tablespoons and more for dusting to roll out the dough

2 tablespoons granulated or superfine sugar plus 1/2 tablespoon to sprinkle on crust

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 pound (1 stick) very cold unsalted butter, diced into cubes

3 tablespoons ice water plus 1 to 1½ more depending on how dough comes together

Filling

11/2 pounds apples (3 large semi-tart apples work best)

1/4 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1-2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice (juice of a whole lemon, essentially)

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter, diced into small pieces

Egg Wash (optional)

1 egg, well beaten

Glaze (optional)

½ cup Orange Marmalade, Apricot Preserves, or Apple Jelly

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 420 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Stretch a large piece of plastic wrap out on the counter and dust with flour, about 1 tablespoon.

For the pastry, place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse a few times to combine the dry ingredients. Add the cold cubed butter, a little at a time, pulsing between additions until the butter is the size of peas. Repeat until all the butter is in the bowl but pulse as little as possible. You want to see flecks of butter in the dough.

Next, with the motor running, add the ice water a tablespoon at a time through the feed tube-stop the machine just before the dough becomes a solid mass. Turn the dough onto the well-floured plastic wrap. Handle as little as possible. Form into a round (or whatever shape you want to roll out for the pie.) Don’t over handle or knead or the butter will melt. Fold the plastic around the disc. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. When you are ready to make the crostata, remove the disc from the refrigerator and allow it to sit on the counter for at least 5 minutes before you begin.

To roll out: Unfold the plastic Flour a rolling pin and put a little flour around the plastic and on both sides of the dough; roll the pastry into an 11-13” circle on the plastic wrap. Add flour as you need to so the dough does not stick. Wrap it over the rolling pin and transfer it to a baking sheet. Remove the plastic wrap.

For the filling, peel, core, and cut the apples. I like the look of slices- I usually slice my apples like this: cut 4 pieces, cutting around the core. Then slice those into half moon shapes. You can leave the peel on if you like but I usually don’t because you need the apples to look perfect if the peel is on. Put the apple into a bowl and toss with the lemon juice and the lemon zest. Next, add the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and allspice. Add the cold butter. Mix all of the ingredients together until the apples are well coated. Turn the apples out onto the crust, leaving a 1 1/2 to 2 inch border all the way around.  Gently fold the border over the apples to enclose the dough, pleating it to make a circle. Finish with the egg wash to seal the folds and sprinkle with granulated sugar over the top and crust before baking.

Bake the crostata for 20-23 minutes, until the crust is nicely browned and the apples are tender. (Note: If you are not using the glaze, bake for another 5-7 minutes or until golden brown)

For the glaze: Microwave the preserves in a heatproof container for 10 seconds. Careful! It will bubble and be HOT! Remove the crostata from the oven. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the filling and the crust with the melted preserves. Return to the oven for 5-7 minutes or until the pie is golden brown.

Allow to cool slightly- at least 10 minutes before cutting. Add caramel sauce or a scoop of ice cream and it is even better! Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I have. xox