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Quick & EasyBy Beverly Barbour
Bake ahead so that you can mail aheadIf you have a hungry college kid, someone in the service, or friend or family in a nursing home, it's a good idea to be at the front of the mailing line. Fortunately there are many recipes that are as good or better after aging in a box (especially if its made of tin) than when fresh from your oven. Fruitcake is, of course, the one that comes first to mind. The old-fashioned kind with some unappetizing dried ingredients turned off an entire generation (or more) from appreciating just how good this amalgamation of fruits and nuts can be. As a little bit of this concentrated sweet goes a long way, you may want to bake your cakes in small, disposable loaf pans or in small muffin tins. CREATE YOUR OWN GOLDEN FRUITCAKEThis version is deliciously lacking in candied cherries and citron; instead it is filled with dried figs, pears, apricots, dates and any other dried fruit that appeal to your taste buds. The measures given here will indicate how much dried fruit you need in total, about 5 1/4 cups. Also, you can substitute rum for brandy, or use orange juice. 1 package (7 oz.) marzipan, cut into 1/2-inch pieces Place marzipan on a plate and cover with plastic wrap. Freeze overnight. Combine dried figs, dried fruit, raisins and brandy in large bowl. Cover and let stand at room temperature overnight, stirring occasionally. Preheat oven to 325°F; butter baking pans. Beat butter and sugars until light. Beat in eggs one at a time, then vanilla, cardamom, nutmeg and salt. Stir in flour in four additions. Stir in pine nuts, dried fruit mixture and any soaking liquid from bowl. Gently stir in marzipan. Divide batter among prepared pans. Place pans on baking sheet and place sheet on oven rack. Bake until tester comes out clean, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Cool cakes completely in the pans on racks. Wrap in plastic. Let stand at least 1 day and up to 3 days at room temperature or refrigerate up to 2 weeks. You may want to store in cheesecloth, which has been soaked in brandy, rum or fruit juice. Serve at room temperature. Makes 4 small loaves, which can be frozen. LINDA'S CRANBERRY-ORANGE BREADA good keeper and a good traveler from Linda of Rapid City, SD, this colorful bread freezes well, too. So well that you may want to double the recipe which makes 1 large or 2 small loaves. 2 cups all-purpose flour Preheat oven to 350°F and grease baking pans. Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Squeeze juice from orange and add hot water to make 3/4 cup. Grind the orange rind. Add shortening and egg to the orange rind; combine with flour mixture and then fold in cranberries and walnuts. Bake 45 minutes to 1 hour until the loaves test done when a toothpick is inserted in center. GOOD FOREVER SUGAR COOKIESIf you have an old-fashioned drinking glass with a fancy bottom*, you can make pretty patterns in the top of these cookies which are both good keepers and good travelers. Or you can decorate with chocolate, gold or multi-colored candy sprinkles before pressing down with a flat-bottomed glass. 1 cup confectioners sugar Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease cookie sheet. Cream together the sugars, butter and oil. When light and fluffy, beat in vanilla and eggs. Sift the remaining ingredients into the mixture and stir or beat slowly just until combined. Roll into small balls and press down with the bottom of a glass dipped in sugar. Bake 10 to 12 minutes. If the balls are small this makes a lot of cookies, if they are somewhat larger, it still makes a lot. BAKE AWAY AND THEN MAIL AWAY
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