Filled with delicious flavors like dried fruit, nuts, brown sugar, and cinnamon, these fruitcake bar cookies are scrumptiously moist. Fruitcake bars are the perfect holiday treats to bake with the family this Christmas.

We’ve never been fruit cake fans, but we do love our fruitcake bars! Dried fruit and chopped nuts layered with cinnamon, brown sugar, and just enough flour and butter to hold it all together until it reaches your mouth! Mama has made fruitcake bar cookies each year for as long as I can remember. She goes shopping for the candied fruit each year *after* Christmas, when it is on sale, and stores it in her freezer until the holidays roll around again and we all crave the brown sugar/fruity goodness of these yummy cookies.

Mama’s traditional fruitcake recipe is wonderful, but a few years back I worked up a simpler version with less fuss. I sent a platter of them to my mother’s house for her approval and she called this morning to get the recipe. She said she’s gonna make my version instead of hers this year to give herself a little break because “they taste every bit as good and sure are a lot easier!”.

So here is my easier version of fruitcake bars. No dropping dough on cookie sheets. Just pat it all into one pan, cook, and let it cool and rest overnight, then cut into little bites and enjoy. Because we all have Christmases when we really want the fruitcake bar cookies, but a little break would be nice, too!

Recipe Ingredients

Baking mix
Butter (or margarine)
Chopped pecans or walnuts
Sliced almonds
Raisins
Dark brown sugar (if you only have light brown sugar on hand that’ll work just fine)
Vanilla
Cinnamon
Egg
Dried candied fruit mix or chopped candied dried fruits of your choice

Place melted butter in a large bowl.

Add in baking mix, brown sugar, cinnamon, egg, and vanilla. Stir that up with a large spoon until well combined.

Now add in all of your nuts and dried fruit. Stir again until incorporated.

This will take some elbow grease (just a little bit) to get it all incorporated because your batter will be absolutely filled with chunky goodness but that’s what is going to make it taste so stinking good!

Now spray an 8×8 pan really well with cooking spray.

Yes, this recipe for fruitcake bar cookies only makes one 8×8 pan, lol. We’re going to cut them in little squares though so it will end up with a lot.

Dump all of your cookie dough into the prepared pan and pat it out a bit with your hands to fill the pan.

Bake at 350 for 35 to 40 minutes.

Allow to cool completely and let it rest overnight before cutting.

Enjoy these fruitcake bar cookies!

Storage

Store your fruit cake bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week. Yep, if you’re looking for a Christmas treat you can make in advance, this is it!
You can also freeze the fruitcake bars for up to 3 months.

Recipe Notes

Some folks aren’t familiar with baking mix. However, Bisquick is a brand of baking mix and that usually strikes that note of recognition with them. I prefer Pioneer to Bisquick, but you can also make your own homemade baking mix by using one of the gazillion recipes found on the internet.
Speaking of, don’t pack your baking mix. Measure it out light and fluffy by spooning it into your measuring cup and leveling it off with a knife so you don’t end up with too much.
I’m using chopped walnuts in these fruitcake bars because they are so much cheaper than pecan halves. But feel free to use whatever nuts you have on hand.
My mother doesn’t like the fruit cake blend of candied fruit as much as I do so she uses only candied cherries in her fruitcake bar cookies. I love the added citrus fruits in the candied fruit mix, so please tailor this to your own preferences and taste. I also recommend dates, apricots, and candied pineapple.
You can substitute margarine for butter in this recipe. I recommend this if shipping them, as these cookies have a longer shelf life and ship very well thanks to the margarine. Note: if shipping, be sure and let them sit for at least a day before cutting and package in a single layer so they have less chance of being smooshed.
For something different, you can drizzle your fruitcake bar cookies with an orange glaze. Simply heat 1/3 cup of granulated sugar and 2 tablespoons of orange juice over medium heat until slightly thickened and pour over the cooled bars. You could also simply dust your bars with powdered sugar.
For an adults-only version, add 3/4 cup of rum or brandy to your cookie dough.
If you can’t resist the addition of chocolate, add 1/2 cup of chocolate chips to your batter.

You might enjoy these other Christmas treats:

Southern Plate’s Must Make Christmas Cookies

Homemade Christmas Candies

Christmas Tie-Dyed Cheesecake Brownies

Holiday Popcorn Crunch

Festive Holiday Fruit Salad

Recipe For Spritz Cookies