Fruit and Nut Cookies

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup mixed dried fruits and walnuts

1 large egg

1/3 cup sugar

1 stick butter, at room temperature

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp red wine

1/2 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp orange zest

1/2 tsp nutmeg powder

1/2 tsp clove powder

1/4 tsp cinnamon powder

1/4 tsp salt

Method:

1. Take mixed dry fruits and walnuts into a bowl, add lemon juice, red wine and honey and mix them properly and close the bowl.

2. Leave them for couple of nights.

3. Preheat oven to 350F.

4. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar for 3-4 minutes. Add orange zest, vanilla extract, nutmeg, clove and cinnamon powder till smooth.

5. Add the egg and mix for another 1 minute.

6. Sift the flour to remove lumps and slowly add the flour to the above and mix slowly (I used a spatula from this point).

7. Also, add the soaked dry fruits and nuts along with any leftover juices.

8. Divide the cookie dough into three parts and shape them into logs and put them in a foil and close the foil tightly around the dough. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

9. Take the dough from the fridge, cut them into 1/2 inch ovals and arrange them on a cookie sheet covered with aluminum foil.

10. Bake them for 15-20 minutes and cool them off on a cooling rack.

I did these cookies for my husband before Valentines Day and he loved them. The cookies turned more chewy than crispy, so next time I will reduce the oven temperature to 325F and bake them for 25-30 minutes. I came across the recipe for these cookies at http://akshayapaatram.blogspot.com/2009/02/fruit-cake-cookies-eggless.html and tried them last weekend. I substituted ground flax seeds with 1 large egg, pecans with walnuts and increased couple of other ingredients and the cookies tasted awesome. Thanks Akshayapaatram for this recipe.