Lizzies

1/2 pound raisins

1/2 cup bourbon whiskey (rum and brandy work well, too)

1/4 pound butter

1/2 C brown sugar (packed)

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 1/2 C sifted all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 pound red candied cherries, cut in quarters

1/2 pound candied pineapple, coarsely cut

1/2 pound pecans, broken

red and green candied cherries, cut in quarters, for garnish

Preheat oven to 325°.

Soak the raisins in the whiskey for at least 1 hour.

Cream the butter and the brown sugar until light. Gradually blend in the eggs.

Sift the flour with the baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Add the candied cherries and pineapple, mixing well to separate and coat; then add the pecans. Stir into the butter mixture. Add the raisins and whiskey; mix well.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet at least 1 1/2 inches apart. Garnish at least half of the cookies with a small piece of red or green cherry each

Bake for about 10 minutes, or until golden and slightly firm to the touch. Remove the cookies immediately from the baking sheets and cool on racks. Store in tightly covered containers with sheets of waxed paper between the layers.

Makes 8 ½ to 9 dozen.

Notes: There is only enough batter here to hold the ingredients together. If you get the dough too wet, the first batch will spread out on the cookie sheet. Bake one sheet to test for this. If the cookies spread, add flour and test again.

An Oregon distillery makes a cherry whiskey that Nick and I bought just to make Lizzies. That is a demonstration of how much we love these cookies. Last year we were told there was a red cherry shortage, but like Rick below, we have had no problem with other candied fruit especially since green cherries seem to always be abundant.

(Rick) I’ve had luck with a variety of dried fruit, soaked in appropriate liquor (dried pineapple in white rum, dried cherries in brandy or Amaretto) and then well drained, rather than the candied fruit. For the half pound of candied pineapples, I do toss in leftover lemon peel and citron from the Lebkuchen together with the rum soaked dried pineapple. I sometime use both cranberries and raisins instead of just raisins and soak them in dark rum.

Pat