Mini Fruitcakes
by Katie Webster
December 4, 2017 (updated 10/31/22) Jump To Recipe
Today I have the most precious little nuggets of goodness to share with you… Mini Fruitcakes! Wait! Don’t roll your eyes! Hear me out. They are the perfect bite-sized sweet treat to take to a cookie exchange or add to your holiday cookie platter!
I originally shared this recipe on December 6, 2011. I have updated the images and some of the text today.
Table of contents
Why Make These Mini Fruitcakes
When it comes to fruitcakes, you’re either with them or you’re against them. Personally, I love a good fruitcake. Especially one that has real fruit in it, lot of nuts and a little booze. Add in chocolate and candied ginger and I am in love!
This month I am invited to two cookie exchange parties. I wasn’t going to make cookies this year. Instead I was going to try to limit my holiday baking to developing a healthy fruitcake recipe, without day-glow cherries. Then I had a little brainstorm. What if I made little-tiny-mini-fruitcakes and brought them to the exchange?
Recipe Highlights
- Made with whole-grain flour
- Filled with natural dried fruit without artificial colors
- Seasoned with rum, spices and orange zest
- Bite-sized shape is perfect for cookie platter and cookie exchange parties
Ingredients For Mini Fruitcakes
- ½ cup hot coffee
- Dried Fruit, Nuts and Chocolate: ¾ cup chopped, pitted dates (about 8 Medjool), 1 cup dried cherries, ½ cup raisins or golden raisins,1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger, 1/2 cup chopped pecans, ½ cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
- ½ cup chopped toasted pecans, plus 48 pieces decorating
- 2 tablespoons dark rum or brandy
- 1 cup white whole-wheat flour and 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- Spices/ Seasoning: 1 ½ teaspoons ground/powdered ginger, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 2/3 cup avocado oil or organic canola oil
- ½ cup unsulphered molasses
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons turbinado sugar (sugar in the raw)
How To Make These Bite-Sized Mini Fruitcakes
Step 1: Preheat Oven and Prepare Pan
Arrange oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 mini-muffin pans with muffin cup liners or coat with cooking spray.
Step 2: Soak Dates in Hot Coffee
Pour hot coffee over chopped dates in a small bowl. Toss cherries and raisins with the Bourbon, rum or brandy in another small bowl. Set both aside to soften, 10 to 20 minutes.
Step 3: Whisk Dry Ingredients
Whisk whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, ground ginger, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl.
Step 4: Puree Dates and Make Batter
Puree dates and coffee in a food processor or blender until they form a smooth paste. Scrape out into a large bowl. Add egg, oil, molasses, vanilla and orange zest and stir until combined. Add flour mixture to the date mixture and stir until thoroughly combined.
Step 5: Combine the Dried Fruit and Nuts with Batter
Stir in chocolate chips, ½ cup chopped pecans, crystallized ginger and the cherry mixture. Stir until the goodies are thoroughly incorporated into the batter.
Step 6: Bake
Drop batter by rounded tablespoons into the muffin cups. Sprinkle each with turbinado sugar and place a pecan half on top. Bake, rotating pans half way, until the cakes are puffed and set-up 14 to17 minutes. Let cool 3 to 5 minutes in pans before removing to a cooling rack. Repeat with the remaining batter.
FAQs and Expert Tips
Seeds like sunflower seeds and pepitas are a great alternative to the nuts.
These freeze beautifully. Once they are cool put them in a resealable plastic bag and freeze up to three weeks. Thaw on the countertops.
More Holiday Baking Favorites
- If you are looking for a couple other sweets to try this season don’t miss our Clementine Rum Balls, these Hermit cookies and this Dairy Free Fudge.
- Our Maple Thumbprint cookies and these Raspberry Chocolate Chunk Cookies are two unusual options for your cookie board.
Thanks so much for reading! If you are new here, you may want to sign up for my email newsletter to get a free weekly menu plan and the latest recipes right to your inbox. If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought!
Happy Cooking! ~Katie
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Mini Fruitcakes
- Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
- Yield: 48 1x
Description
This Christmas dessert tradition gets a healthier update! These sweet and fruity Mini Fruitcakes are the perfect tiny whole wheat and dairy-free sweet treat to take to a cookie exchange or add to your Holiday cookie platter!
Ingredients
- ½ cup hot coffee
- ¾ cup chopped, pitted dates (about 8 Medjool)
- 1 cup dried cherries
- ½ cup raisins or golden raisins
- 2 tablespoons dark rum or brandy
- 1 cup white whole-wheat flour (see *ingredient note)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground/powdered ginger
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 2/3 cup avocado oil or organic canola oil
- ½ cup unsulphered molasses
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- ½ cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
- ½ cup chopped toasted pecans, plus 48 pieces decorating
- 1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger
- 3 tablespoons turbinado sugar (sugar in the raw)
Instructions
- Arrange oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 mini-muffin pans with muffin cup liners or coat with cooking spray.
- Pour hot coffee over chopped dates in a small bowl. Toss cherries and raisins with the Bourbon, rum or brandy in another small bowl. Set both aside to soften, 10 to 20 minutes.
- Whisk whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, ground ginger, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl.
- Puree dates and coffee in a food processor or blender until they form a smooth paste. Scrape out into a large bowl. Add egg, oil, molasses, vanilla and orange zest and stir until combined. Add flour mixture to the date mixture and stir until thoroughly combined.
- Stir in chocolate chips, ½ cup chopped pecans, crystallized ginger and the cherry mixture. Stir until the goodies are thoroughly incorporated into the batter.
- Drop batter by rounded tablespoons into the muffin cups. Sprinkle each with turbinado sugar and place a pecan half on top. Bake, rotating pans half way, until the cakes are puffed and set-up 14 to17 minutes. Let cool 3 to 5 minutes in pans before removing to a cooling rack. Repeat with the remaining batter.
Notes
9 mg Cholesterol, 7 g Added Sugar
*ingredient note: white whole wheat and whole wheat flour can be used interchangeably. White whole wheat is milled from hard white spring wheat, and has a more mild flavor. So if your family is whole-wheat shy it is a great place to start. Find it in the baking isle of a good supermarket, or in a health food store. Or order it online from King Arthur Flour
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 minutes
- Category: dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 cakes
- Calories: 180
- Sugar: 14 g
- Sodium: 97 mg
- Fat: 7.5
- Saturated Fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 27
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 2 g
Keywords: mini fruitcakes,muffin tin fruitcakes
Katie Webster
Katie Webster studied art and photography at Skidmore College and is a graduate of the New England Culinary Institute. She has been a professional recipe developer since 2001 when she first started working in the test kitchen at EatingWell magazine. Her recipes have been featured in numerous magazines including Shape, Fitness, Parents and several Edible Communities publications among others. Her cookbook, Maple {Quirk Books} was published in 2015. She launched Healthy Seasonal Recipes in 2009. She lives in Vermont with her husband, two teenage daughters and two yellow labs. In her free time, you can find her at the gym, cooking, stacking firewood, making maple syrup, and tending to her overgrown perennial garden.
I’m so inspired by your recipe Katie and plan to try it. I don’t have the liquid molasses. Can it be omitted or replaced with molasses sugar? Thanks
★★★★★
I think the molasses sugar should work. Enjoy!
im not so much into caffeine in my fruit cake.. wondering.. might use a fruit juice instead.. ? and I am allergic to Wheat flour, thinking Coconut flour instead?
Thank you
Hi Blue, you can use decaf coffee, apple juice or apple cider instead. I recommend King Arthur Flour Gluten Free Measure For Measure instead of the wheat flour. https://www.kingarthurflour.com/products/gluten-free-measure-for-measure-flour/ It’s a great sub and wheat free.
I have nothing against fruitcakes so I would love to take a bite of these! And love that they are dairy free!
Glad to know you’re not a fruitcake hater Vicky, lol. Thanks for dropping by today.
Fruitcake has never been my favorite, but the combination you have here makes me rethink that. I love that it has crystallized ginger.
yay, I hope they change your mind! Thanks so much Leslie. Have a great weekend.
I love fruitcake and these mini versions look fab. Great how you’ve made them healthier.
I’m so glad you like the Kathryn. Have a great day.
How cute are these. Anything mini is better in my opinion. These would be perfect for Christmas Eve.
I’m sure Santa wouldn’t mind a couple of these on his cookie plate. Ha ha.
I’m definitely on Team Fruitcake. And these mini ones look so lovely and special!
Thanks so much Kate. Go team fruitcake!
Bet your house smelled heavenly while baking these mini fruitcakes…
Definitely! The smell of ginger and molasses always reminds me of December.
I actually don’t think I’ve ever had fruitcake before! My husband claims he loves it but I’ve never made it for him. Maybe I need to make these adorable little mini fruitcakes! They sound like I would really enjoy them 🙂
Really? Well, don’t even try the kind with the bizarre green cherries. Go straight to these! Thanks so much for coming by Izzy. Cheers!
I think I may need to revisit fruitcakes as an adult. Now I love all of these ingredients you have in these!!
Totally Becky. These are grown up approved.
I’d take these mini fruit cakes (minus the day-glow cherries!) over cookies any day. I love that they’re so wholesome and would work for breakfast, snacks or a holiday treat. That coffee-date combo is genius!
My kids did eat them for breakfast actually! I’m glad you said that about the coffee and dates because they really help boost the flavor. So thanks. Have a great weekend Marcie.
I LOVE the new photos, Katie! And admittedly, I’ve never had fruit cake. I know it gets such a bad rap. But I really want to try it. These little bites look like the perfect way to do that!
I can understand why most fruitcakes get a bad rap. They’re bad. Lol. These are totally different. And thank you for the compliment about the photos. I appreciate it.