I need recipes using dried fruits

[Loprraine]

Our local liquor board (LCBO) had this one in one of their magazines. Really tasty, and they freeze well.

Cherry Thyme Shortbread

1 Cup unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp grated lemon rind
2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp fresh thyme, finely chopped
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup dried cherries, coarsley chopped
flour for dusting

Preheat oven to 350F.
With a hand held mixer, cream the butter, sugar, rind, juice, salt and thyme. Cream until light and fluffy.

With a wooden spoon, stir in the flour and cherries. Stir until combined and then remove from bowl and place on lightly floured counter.

Gently pull the dough mixture together to form a ball. Roll into a 12 inch log. Roll up in plastic wrap and place in fridge, allow to chill for 30 minutes.

Slice log into 1/4 inch medallions and place on baking sheet.

Bake for 15 minutes or until edges become light brown.

Makes 45 shortbreads.

 

[lulu]

Goodness....I'm more of a throw them in kind of cook but cook (savoury) with dried fruits a lot. One of our favourie meals is many veg gardener's most dreaded: stuffed marrow. I use lamb mince, finly chopped carrots, onions, celery, sometimes garlic and waht ever dreid fruits we have, as mixed as possible, almost always have sultanas, prunes, apricots but I'd definitely try it with cranberries and cherries instead of the sultans and unes, and leave ut the garlic.


I bet there's a whole host of oppertunities with duck and dried cherries...yum.

 

[BikerLady]

Fruit cake is the only thing that I can think of off hand that calls for dried fruit although I don't have a recipe for anything like that but I wish I did..................... hey anybody out there have a recipe for a really true and delicious fruit cake?.

How about this recipe for a quick and easy Fruit Cake... It truly is delicious!

It can be satisfying to put in all the effort and involvement of making a serious cake for a special occasion, but there are times when its just easier to churn out a quick cake. This recipe makes quite a moist cake, which is not as heavy as a traditional fruitcake but just as delicious.

To bake this cake, you will need a 7" (18cm) square or 8" (20cm) round cake tin (the type with the push out bottom is easiest to use).
Ingredients
120g/4oz Margarine
170g/6oz Sugar
340g/14oz Dried fruit - this can be a mixture of raisins, sultanas, cherries, peel... whatever you fancy!
225ml/8floz Water
1tsp Bicarbonate of soda
1 half tsp Mixed spice
2 Beaten Eggs
120g/4oz Plain flour
120g/4oz Self-raising Flour
Pinch of Salt
Method
Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C/Gas Mark 4
Prepare the tin by applying a thin layer of margarine and lining with two layers of greaseproof paper.
Put the margarine, sugar, fruit, water, bicarbonate of soda and mixed spice in a saucepan over a moderate heat. Bring to boil and simmer for 1 minute.
Pour into a mixing bowl and allow to cool.
Add eggs, flour and salt to cooled mixture. Mix well and pour into prepared tin.
Bake for about one and a quarter hours. You may need to put brown paper over the top if cake starts to singe before it is cooked throughout.
Cake is ready when an inserted skewer comes out clean - leave to cool on a wire rack. Eat!
This is a very forgiving recipe; you don't even have to be very precise with the measuring out.
The cake should keep for a couple of months wrapped in tin foil in a tin, and can be 'spiked' with brandy or whatever you fancy before being covered in marzipan and icing for Christmas. Unlike more traditional fruit cake recipes, you can eat it straight away if you want to, without even waiting for it to cool completely.
To Spike a Cake
Take a skewer and insert it into the cake about a dozen times in an evenly spaced pattern. Then pour a tablespoon or two of brandy over the surface of the cake. Wrap it up in tin foil and leave for a few days, then pour more alcohol over it, and wrap it up and put it away again.
It can be given several doses, depending on preference, and on whether you have any brandy left.
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You need to allow the mixture to cool because if it is still very hot when you add the eggs, they may cook straight away, and the cake won't rise properly.