Countdown to Christmas 13 - What's in a Name?

What's in a name? I am not sure I would have ever associated "Trudy Fruity" with fruit cake - it sounds far more trendy and frivolous! And are fruitcake cookies still 'fruitcake"?

Yesterday, I introduced you to Claxton in Georgia USA as the fruitcake capital of the world. Today, it's Trudy Fruity, a company also in Georgia, which is famous for "seasonally baked goods and gifts." Trudy was in fact "Gertrude" Gilliard, who was well known for her delicious Southern cooking, and especially "fruitcake" cookies. She baked these cookies every year and shared them with family and friends through the 1950's to the 1990's. In 1990, Trudy gave her son, Gary the recipe for her "fruitcake" cookies, and supervised him in the creation of this Christmas treat. Thus, the Trudy Fruity company was born and Gertrude Gilliard has become a household name in USA, especially at Christmas.
I can't say that fruitcake cookies are part of festive fare in Australia usually - I certainly have not heard of them, but I am keen to try them this Christmas. I found this recipe... probably not as good as "Trudy"s, but it sounds scrumptious.

phots from https://www.facebook.com/Trudy-Fruity

Fruitcake Cookie recipe from http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/fruitcake-cookies

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup butter, softened

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch of salt

1 pound mixed candied fruit and peel

4 cups chopped toasted pecans

1 cup raisins

1 cup maraschino cherries, chopped

Preparation

Preheat oven to 300°. Beat sugar and butter at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until creamy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla. Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt; gradually add to sugar mixture, beating until blended. Stir in candied fruit and peel, pecans, raisins, and cherries. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls 1 inch apart onto lightly greased baking sheets. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely on wire racks (about 20 minutes).

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