Welcome back to The Cookie Elf File … and to easy cookie recipes, cookie trivia, offers, and simple baking tips to give you easy ways to bake 12 days of homemade Christmas cookies.

Give Santa a Hint

The Cookie Elf is on Pinterest!

Join us on Pinterest! Browse our 80+ boards (and growing) for cookie inspiration and simple baking tips, like chocolate chip cookies, no bake cookies, cookie gift baskets -- even special treats like gluten-free cookies! Happy pinning!

Feature: Day 4 - Fruitcake Shortbread: Easy Fruited Christmas Shortcake Cookie Recipe

Image: The Cookie Elf

This is an easy bar cookie recipe to use if your friends and relatives wrinkle their nose at traditional fruitcake or if you have leftover fruitcake mix. It’s hard to beat shortbread’s flavor, no matter what you add to it! Plus, these babies are colorful and fun!

Contrary to the popular belief that fruitcake had its origins in Dickensian England, the earliest fruitcakes were made in ancient Rome. Traditional Christmas fruitcake grew more popular in Europe with sugar imports from the American colonies. Cooks discovered that high concentrations of sugar could preserve fruits, creating an excess of candied fruit which they used in cake, hence “fruit cake.”

Prep time: 10 minutes
Bake time: 35-40 minutes
Makes about 3-5 dozen slices

Get the full Fruitcake Shortbread recipe … and check out our Shortbread Pinterest board for more easy shortbread recipes.

Cookie Baking Tip: Why Soak Dried Fruit When Adding to Cookie Dough?

Image: The Cookie Elf

See more helpful cookie baking tips on The Elf’s Baking Tips Pinterest Board .

To Help You Make the Cookies In This Issue

Paradise Fruit Cake Mix, 16 Ounce	Wilton Easy Flex 3-Piece Silicone Spatula Set, Blue

More Easy Shortbread Recipes for Christmas

That’s it for now. See you next time!

Happy baking,

The Cookie Elf
www.cookie-elf.com