"it's Good I Promise" Fruitcake

Total Time: 74 hrs Preparation Time: 72 hrs Cook Time: 2 hrs

Ingredients

• 2 cups packed brown sugar
• 2 cups hot water
• 2 tablespoons crisco shortening
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 cup dried mixed candied fruit (the stuff they sell during the holidays. leftovers can be kept in the freezer for next years fruitca)
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (or your favorite)
• 1 cup maraschino cherry, drained. the liquid can be saved and used for part of the water called for
• 3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda, dissolved in
• 1 tablespoon hot water

Recipe

• 1 in a large pan, stir together the first list of ingredients.
• 2 heat and boil lightly for 5 minutes.
• 3 stirring occasionaly.
• 4 this smells so good as it's cooking that i usually stand at the stove the whole time just stirring and smelling.
• 5 mmm allow to cool.
• 6 my family traditionally cooks this in the evening.
• 7 we leave the pan on the stove and just put a lid on it before bed.
• 8 some time the next day it's baked.
• 9 when cool, add the flour and soda dissolved in water into the mixture in the pan.
• 10 ok here's the tricky part.
• 11 the pans need to be prepared.
• 12 preheat oven to 350°f while preparing pans.
• 13 cut the grocery bags open and cut each bag in halve crosswise.
• 14 you'll need two loaf pans.
• 15 place a pan on the counter upside down.
• 16 now take a piece of paper and wrap the pan.
• 17 use masking tape to secure.
• 18 keep any printing on the outside.
• 19 now turn the pan over and place the shaped piece of paper inside the pan as a lining.
• 20 trim the paper so it meets or is just a little taller than the pan edges.
• 21 repeat this process three more times so that each loaf pan has a double liner.
• 22 i hope this makes sense.
• 23 some in my family have experimented succuesfully with lining the pans with wax paper instead of brown paper.
• 24 divide the batter into the two pans.
• 25 bake for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• 26 cover with another piece of paper if the top starts getting too done.
• 27 baking time will need experimentation.
• 28 oven temperature, weather, ingredient variables, etc can lead to bread that's a little too dry or too gooey.
• 29 but it will still taste great even if the cooking time needs to be adjusted just a little.
• 30 when done, remove from pan to cool.
• 31 warning: the bread will be stuck to the inside liner.
• 32 discard the outside liner and cool the bread still stuck to the inside liner.
• 33 unfortunatly, you'll be smelling the wonderful smells fill your kitchen but it can't be eaten yet.
• 34 the bread needs to be frozen for at least a day or two to meld the flavors and get the consistency just right.
• 35 stick the bread into a bag and into the freezer.
• 36 when thawed, we peel the paper off just a little at a time as we eat it.
• 37 (unless we are wanting to slice the whole loaf at once.) store on the counter inside the plastic bag.