Recipe: Lizzies

1 cup butter

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

4 eggs, beaten

3 tablespoons milk

3 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup bourbon (whiskey)

1 pound pecans, roughly chopped

1 pound raisins

1 pound candied cherries

1/2 pound candied pineapple

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Line two miniature muffin tins with paper liners.

In the large bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until smooth and creamy. To ensure even mixing, pause the mixer a couple of times to scrape the bowl and the beaters.

Beat in the eggs and milk.

In a separate bowl, blend the flour, baking soda and spices with a wire whisk, or sift them together.

With the mixer on low speed, alternately add scoops of the flour mixture and splashes of bourbon until all are incorporated.

Fold in the pecans, raisins and candied fruits with a spoon or rubber spatula.

Spoon the thick batter into the muffin cups, filling them about three-fourths full. (The batter doesn’t expand much.) Try to get at least one cherry or pineapple chunk in each cup. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until firm. Repeat with remaining mixture.

Makes: 8 to 10 dozen, depending on the size of your mini-muffin tins.

Note: If candied cherries are not available, substitute candied fruitcake mix.

Test kitchen notes: In Sue’s original recipe, the batter was dropped onto cookie sheets. We found it looked a whole lot prettier in the mini muffin cups, where it couldn’t spread. You could easily halve this recipe or put three-fourths of the batter in the freezer. These cookies keep well at room temperature and develop more flavor over time. In ours, the bourbon punch was more pronounced after a few days.

— Adapted from Sue Smith’s recipe and tested in a home kitchen by World-Herald staff writer Jane Palmer

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