In that vein, I had plans of making a real, old fashioned, booze soaked fruitcake this holiday season but totally chickened out. So...baby steps: enter a recipe for Martha Stewart's fruitcake bars. You can use whatever combination of fruits, nuts and liquor you like and so far, I have used golden raisins, cranberries, cherries, apricots, dried apple and grand marnier for my liquor. Step one: get a whole bunch of dried fruit, dice it up and then pour a bunch of honey and brandy (or liquor of your choice, in my case it's grand marnier) and let it sit for 2-14 days. I'll post the final product in a week or two. Wish me luck!
Here is the recipe from the Holiday Cookie 2010 magazine (I couldn't find it on line):
2 1/2 cups dark raisins
2 1/2 cups golden raisins
2 cups dried currants
2 cups dried sour cherries
2 1/2 cups dried cranberries
1 cup dried apricots, diced into 1/4 inch pieces
3/4 cup honey
1 cup Cognac
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups bread flour, plus more for dusting
1 Tb coarse salt
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1 1/2 cups walnuts, coarsely chopped
1 1/4 cups sugar
7 (!) large eggs
1. In a large nonreactive container (glass, ceramic or plastic) combine dried fruits, honey and Cognac, let macerate at room temperature for 2 days up to 2 weeks covered with plastic wrap.
2. Preheat oven to 275. Generously butter and flour 2 8 inch square pans, tap out excess flour. Whisk to combine flour, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves in a bowl. Stir in nuts.
3. In a separate bowl, beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down side of bowl as needed. Transfer to a large bowl. Using a flexible spatula, fold in flour-nut mixture and drained fruit mixture, stir to evenly distribute fruits and nuts.
4. Divide batter between prepared pans, use an offset spatula to smooth tops. Bake until a cake tester inserted into center comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached. 2-2 1/4 hours. Transfer pans to wire rack to cool completely. Invert cakes onto racks to unmold. Invert again, top sides up. Cakes can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 months.
5. Using a serrated knife, cut cake into thirds. Slice each third into 1 inch thick slices. Bars can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.
