Fruitcake Cookies

Ingredients

• 3 cups flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 c. butter
• 1 c. sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 tsp rum flavoring
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 lb candied cherries
• 1 lb chopped candied pineapple
• 1 lb chopped dates
• 3 cups whole walnuts
• 3 cups whole pecans

Instructions
• Sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
• In a very large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together. Add eggs and rum flavoring -- blend with hand mixer until creamy and thoroughly blended.
• Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture alternately with the buttermilk.
• Add the fruit and nuts and mix well. Using your hands works best at this point.
• Drop by teaspoonful (not a measuring tsp - but a piece of flatware) onto cookie sheets sprayed with canola oil spray. You can fit 15 cookies onto a 17.25" x 11.5" baking sheet.
• Bake for 25 minutes at 300 degrees.
• Store in airtight containers (Makes about 120 cookies.).

I was surprised to see this recipe highlighted in our local newspaper at Christmastime.
It was a fourth place winner in a Cookie Contest!
I've had the (almost) exact same recipe in my collection for years.
(Mine includes the rum flavoring and buttermilk.)