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