Holiday Fruitcakes

1 1/2 cups butter                                         1 to 1 1/2 cups rasins or crasions or a mix of the 2
1       cup granulated sugar                          3   cups chopped walnuts or pecans
1       cup packed brown sugar                    1/2 tsp baking soda
6       eggs                                                    1 tsp salt
1/4    cup milk                                             1 tsp ground cinnamon
1       cup sourdough                                    1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1       tsp lemon extract                                1/2 tsp ground all spice
3 1/2 flour                                                    1/2 tsp ground cloves
3       cups mixed dry fruit                            1/2 to 1 cup brandy
I use Apricots, Cherry, Plums, Blue Berries and Strawberries from Cosco chopped into 1/2 " pieces, use 1/2 cup flour as you chop so fruit don't stick togeather or to your knife.

Grease and flour 2- 9x5 or 6- 3 1/2x5" pans. Preheat oven to 300F.
In a large bowl cream butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, stir in milk, sourdough and lemon extract. Stir fruit, nuts and rasins togeather in a bowl. In a medium bowl stir togeather 3 cups flour,baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves. Stir in sourdough mixture and fold in fruit and nuts. Put in pans, bake small loves about 1 1/2 hrs and large loves about 2 1/2 hrs. Cool 5 min and turn out on cooling rack. When cool soak cheescloth in brandy and wrap the loves up, then wrap in cling wrap. Resoak in 3 weeks. Let season 4 to 8 weeks before cutting.

ENJOY

Well here goes again, We spent the winter at Sabinal TX. We were at the Hondo Cook-off in Feb. as onlookers. We headed home the end of March.
This summer has been very busy starting with the Pig-Nik on Memorial Day where we got snowed on. Then on to Fort Sisseton SD for their Cook-off where we got a full-house, 2 Deuces and 3 Treys.We met some great people and had a great time in a nice area.
We hurried home and cooked for a wedding the next weekend, then on to Stevensville for their Cook- off the tail end of June. We did alright there as we won the wagon and overall with a couple of 1st and 2nds with a 3rd and 4th thrown in. Again we had a great time with some wonderful people in a nice area. The next stop was Mule Mania in Dayton WA. for their 2nd year where we won the wagon, it is a fun cook=off with old friends. Then it was a mad dash to CFD in WY where we got skunked, but had a fun time with old and new friends. Then on to Helena Mt for there 1st cook-off  the middle of August where we won the wagon and overall again, great time with old friends. Next stop was Othello WA for there 1st cook-off the middle of Sept, there wasn't a comp. but we had a great time with old and new friends. Then to Bighorn WY the end of the month for their 130th BD, we were the only wagon there but what a time we had, they are going to try and get a cook-off going the Sat. of Labor Day Weekend.
Other than that it was a pretty slow summer.
We are going to spend the Holidays up North this year, probably head south around the 1st of the year.