I have never in my life liked fruitcake. When I was little and saw it in the store it got the poop-face look – the oh, eww, so-gross-it-can’t-be-true, look. But as I have gotten older – no, I still don’t like it, and yes I have tried it. But you know – I like cookies. And I like the candies that go into the fruitcake, so why don’t I like the cake? Who knows, so I decided to make these vegan and gluten-free Fruitcake Cookies, and yes, I loved them.

So who likes those little gummy-candies, you know the multi-colored ones in the big movie-size boxes – the Dots? Well I do that’s for sure. I love that in one box you can get some little sugars of goodness in different flavors. Okay, it’s silly I know, and thankfully I don’t buy them, just happen to eat them in the snack-size boxes at Halloween. Yes, I raid my niece and nephews candy bags for them. But guess what? They are vegan and gluten-free. Seriously? Oh yes – I made sure to check Peta’s 25 Vegan Halloween Candies list (because we obliviously need this information) then I Googled if the Dots were gluten-free, and yes they are (and just so all you GF people know Tootsie claims all their candy is GF)! So on with the Fruitcake Cookies! Well, with all the sugar in the Dots I didn’t want to overload these cookies and wanted to make sure the cookies were all about those candies so I used Splenda and just flavored these simple cookies with some cinnamon and a little bit of other spices.

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Start by slicing all Dots in half then sprinkling them with about a teaspoon of flour. The slicing will take a bit of work since the candies are obviously very sticky; the flour helps the mixing process when adding Dots to dough. In a large bowl mix flours, spices, baking powder, and Splenda. Make your two Veggs with warmed almond milk and add to dry ingredients along with vanilla. Mix and add rest of milk, and more milk if needed. Add Dots and mix. Spray baking sheets with non-stick spray then scoop out small spoonfuls of Dot’ed dough onto pans ensuring each spoonful gets Dots. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. They are awesome right out of the oven – the Dots are all gooey and they melt in your mouth. Way better than any chocolate chip! Enjoy!

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Vegan and Gluten-Free Fruitcake Cookies

1 Pkg Dots Gumdrops
1 C + 1 Tsp Bobs Red Mill Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour
1 C Bobs Red Mill Oat Flour
1 C Splenda
2 Tsp Baking Powder
1 Tsp Cinnamon
1/2 Tsp Allspice
1/8 Tsp Cloves
1/8 Tsp Nutmeg
2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
1 C Silk Light Vanilla Almond Milk
2 Vegg

1. Set oven to 350 degrees and spray two baking pans with non-stick spray.
2. Slice all Dots in half then sprinkle with one teaspoon flour and mix with fingers. Make sure all sticky sides are covered.
3. Mix all dry ingredients together in a large bowl then make a well in the center.
4. In a microwave safe cup pour 1/2 cup milk and warm 30 seconds; add two servings Vegg and mix.
5. Add Vegg and vanilla to dry ingredients and mix, adding the rest of the milk.
6. Dump in Dots and mix.
7. Scoop out small spoonfuls of dough and place on baking sheets.
8. Bake 12 minutes.
9. Enjoy!