Recipe: Christmas Fruitcake Bars (Maida Heatter recipe)

CHRISTMAS FRUITCAKE BARS

Butter or margarine (for greasing pan)
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
1 cup raisins
1 cup (packed) pitted dates, cut in large pieces
8 to 10 ounces (generous 1 cup) candied fruit*
1 cup sifted all-purpose flour, divided use
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Finely grated peel (zest) of one large orange, colored part only
powdered sugar (for garnish)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a 10 1/2-by-15 1/2-by-3/4-inch jelly-roll pan with butter or margarine.

Place walnuts, raisins, dates and candied fruit in a large mixing bowl. Add 1/4 cup of the flour and toss to coat fruit and nuts with flour. Set aside.

In an electric mixer, beat eggs just to mix. Add salt, sugar and vanilla; beat to combine. On low speed, add remainder of flour, scraping bowl with a rubber spatula and beating only until mixed.

Stir in orange peel. The batter will be thin. Pour batter over flour-coated fruit and nuts. Stir to combine and pour into prepared pan. Smooth into an even layer.

Bake 30-35 minutes, until top is golden brown. Reverse pan front to back halfway through baking to ensure even browning. Cool completely in pan.

Cut into bars and dust with powdered sugar. To dust with powdered sugar, place the sugar in a small sieve and shake over top of cookies.

These may be wrapped individually in cellophane (clear, red or green) or wax paper, or they may be stored with wax papper between the layers in an airtight box.

STORAGE:
Will keep up to two weeks at room temperature in an airtight container. Great for mailing.

*The candied fruit may be a mixture of either red and/or green cherries and candied pineapple or cherries alone, or it may be the prepared mixed fruit. The cherries and pineapple should be cut into medium-size pieces (no small); the mixed diced candied fruit should be used as is.

Makes 32 bars
Source: Maida Heatter's Cookies by Maida Heatter