Little Fruitcake Bites Food

BITE-SIZE FRUITCAKES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs. Combine flour and baking soda; add to the creamed mixture alternately with sour cream, beating well after each addition. Stir in the dates, nuts, pineapple, cherries and raisins. , Fill paper-lined miniature muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake at 300° for 40-50 minutes or until lightly browned and set. , For glaze, combine the egg, milk and water. Brush over fruitcakes. Bake 10 minutes longer. Decorate with candied cherries if desired. Cool on wire racks.

LITTLE FRUITCAKE BITES

Steps:

• Pour the rum over the raisins, cover with plastic wrap and marinate them for several hours or overnight Heat oven to 300 degrees F.
• Cream butter and sugar, add eggs one at a time beat after each addition.
• In another bowl mix your dry ingredients (Flour, Baking soda, and spices).
• Stir the dry mixture into the butter& sugar.
• Stir in raisins/rum and milk.
• Stir in the fruit& nuts.
• Line miniature muffin tins with fancy Christmas paper liners or plain ones.
• Fill 3/4 full with the batter.
• Bake 10-15 minutes or until the tops spring back when lightly touched.

FRUITCAKE BITES

Steps:

• Grease twenty-four 1 3/4" by 1" mini muffin-pan cups. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• In large bowl, with wooden spoon, beat shortening, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon until well combined. Add flour, milk, vanilla extract, and eggs; mix well. Stir in pecans, prunes, red candied cherries, green candied cherries, and candied orange peel.
• Spoon 1 rounded tablespoon batter into each muffin-pan cup (reserve remaining batter for making more fruitcake bites). If you like, garnish with additional red and green candied cherries.
• Bake fruitcake bites 15 to 20 minutes until golden and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool fruitcake bites in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; remove from pans. Cool completely on wire racks. Wash and dry muffin-pan cups.
• Repeat steps 3 and 4 with remaining batter until all batter has been used, garnishing with candied cherries.
• Store fruitcake bites in tightly covered container in refrigerator.
• Each fruitcake bite without garnish: About 120 calories, 2 g protein, 17 g carbohydrate, 5 g total fat (1 g saturated), 18 mg cholesterol, 40 mg sodium Photograph by Steven Mark Needham

MINIATURE CHRISTMAS FRUITCAKES

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, combine molasses and water; add raisins. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in candied fruit and vanilla. Cool., Meanwhile, in a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add 1 eggs at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine the flour, baking soda and spices; add to the creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. Add fruit mixture, mixing well. Fold in nuts., Fill paper-lined miniature muffin cups almost full. Bake at 325° for 22-24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. Store in airtight containers.

MINI CHRISTMAS PUDDING TREATS

Steps:

• Crumble the fruitcake with your hands into a mixing bowl.
• Stir in the brandy and mix thoroughly. Add enough of the brandy (or substitute) so that the mixture will easily roll into walnut sized balls. Roll into balls using your hands.
• Place the rolled balls onto a lined baking tray.
• Melt the chocolate and drizzle over the balls to represent the custard. Use a teaspoon and let the chocolate run down the sides of the little puddings.
• Chop the snake lollies using scissors into small slices. Add two green and one red piece to the top of the puddings. Position the lolly pieces lose together, these become the holly atop of the puddings.
• Refrigerate until the chocolate has set. Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated.

FRUITCAKE COOKIES (CHRISTMAS LIZZIES)

Steps:

• Set the butter or margarine out to soften.
• Slice the candied cherries in half and dice the candied pineapple. Place these along with the glazed fruit mix, which should already be diced, in a bowl.
• Soak the raisins in the cherry brandy until plump, at least an hour or up to overnight.
• Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and baking soda to the flour and sift.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and prepare cookie sheets by lining with parchment paper.
• Set a stand mixer to medium speed.
• Place the softened butter in the mixing bowl and cream until fluffy.
• Once the butter is fluffy, gradually add the brown sugar until completely blended.
• Add the eggs one at a time, completely blending each egg before adding the next.
• When the eggs are completely blended, add the sifted flour and spices slowly to the butter, eggs and sugar mix. Completely blend each addition before adding the next.
• Turn off the mixer, clean off the blade. The next steps will be mixed by hand.
• Combine the soaked raisins, pecans and cut candied fruit in a bowl and mix together completely.
• In batches, add some of the raisin, nut and fruit mixture to the batter and mix with a spatula by hand until all the ingredients are completely blended before adding more.
• Continue until all the fruit and nut mixture is thoroughly combined with the batter.
• Using a kitchen teaspoon, drop the cookie batter onto the cookie sheets, keeping each cookie about 1 inch apart. The cookies should be approximately 1 inch in diameter.
• Bake in a moderate oven (325 degrees) for 10 to 15 minutes, until browned on top.
• Remove the baking sheets from the oven and cool the cookies for five minutes on the cookie sheets, then transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and allow to completely cool for at least 3 hours. Don't rush the cooling rack time of the cookie bottoms will be soggy and the cookies will be sticky.
• Enjoy immediately or store in an airtight container.
• Makes about 10 dozen cookies.