How to Make Old Fashioned Sugarplums

This time of year, our family really loves making old-fashioned cookies and treats — especially sugarplums.  These fruit-based treats are all natural, gluten free, easy and customizable, plus they’re really fun to make with kids.

I’m sure everyone has heard of sugarplums at Christmastime (“While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads” from Clement Moore’s “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” and the Sugar Plum Fairy from Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker” are two examples), but very few people nowadays have ever seen them or tasted them. After doing some research, we decided to make our own.

Originally they may have been actual sugared plums. An old method of preserving fruit is drying it and covering it with sugar (hence the term “candied” fruits). Over the years the term has changed to mean a variety of dried fruits chopped and shaped into a ball, and then covered with sugar. (The term “sugar plum” may refer to the shape as well.) A quick search on the internet will uncover a number of recipes, but they all come down to the same basic formula: chop up some dried fruit, add a liquid as a binder, and roll them in a coating.

Here’s the version we’ve been using for many years now. Each batch makes about 24 sugarplums (minus a few that are lost to “tasting”).

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of assorted dried fruits (raisins, apricots, cherries, dates, figs, prunes, craisins, pineapple… whatever you like.)
• 2 tbsp of orange juice (as a binder and for flavor). Juice with pulp adds flavor and color.
• Chopped nuts (optional)
• Toppings. You can use sugar, powdered sugar, cocoa, shredded coconut, or whatever you like.

Steps:

1. Put the dried fruit in the food processor. We like to use 1/2 cup amounts of the different types. Add the nuts if desired. Add the orange juice.
2. Pulse the mixture until it is cut into small pieces. It will be a sticky mass, which is what you want.
3. Put the toppings in small bowls. With wet hands, roll the fruit mixture into small balls, about 1″ in diameter. Roll them in the toppings until they’re completely covered.
4. Put the sugarplums on a plate and put them in the refrigerator or other cool place to chill for an hour so they set. Afterwards they can be stored in an airtight container.

And there you are! Once the children get a taste of these, they’ll understand the meaning of “visions of sugarplums danced in their heads.” For different flavors, you can roll them in powdered sugar, shredded coconut, or cocoa mix instead of granulated sugar. Any leftover sugar can just be saved for use on cereal or in your next bread recipe.

Nutritional info: Hard to say, since the ingredients can be almost anything. Dried fruits can be high in calories, but are also very high in nutrients.

Print Recipe

Old Fashioned Sugarplums

Ingredients

• 3 cups Assorted dried fruits (raisins, apricots, cherries, dates, figs, prunes, craisins, pineapple... whatever you like.)
• 2 TBS Orange juice (can substitute another juice if needed)
• Chopped nuts (optional)
• Toppings. You can use sugar, powdered sugar, cocoa, shredded coconut, ot whatever you like.

Instructions

• Put the dried fruit in the food processor. We like to use 1/2 cup amounts of the different types. Add the nuts if desired. Add the orange juice.
• Pulse the mixture until it is cut into small pieces. It will be a sticky mass, which is what you want.
• Put the toppings in small bowls. With wet hands, roll the fruit mixture into small balls, about 1" in diameter. Roll them in the toppings until they're completely covered.
• Put the sugarplums on a plate and put them in the refrigerator or other cool place to chill for an hour so they set. Afterwards they can be stored in an airtight container.

Notes

For different flavors, you can roll them in powdered sugar, shredded coconut, or cocoa mix instead of granulated sugar. Any leftover sugar can just be saved for use on cereal or in your next bread recipe.

This recipe originally appeared in Daryl’s “Cooking With Kids” column on examiner.

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