Fruitcake Lovers Unite

It must be the Christmas spirit getting into me a bit early. I just registered for another swap. This time I will be sewing a fabulous holiday apron for Shawnee's latest Flirty Apron Swap. Click on the link in my sidebar to get a look at the wonderful aprons being created by 50 swappers! Here's a sneek peek of the planning stage.














And here's my Peppermint Christmas tags in progress. I don't even want to think about how many pieces I've cut and glittered. But it will all be worth it when they are done.














Then while blog-hopping everyone's Halloween posts I visited Diane at Sideroad Stitcher. On Halloween, she was baking fruitcakes, which got me thinking that I really should make fruitcake this year as my parents and I enjoy it. Well, Diane and I got to chatting about fruitcake recipes, stories and memories and I thought it deserved a post.
First off, how many of you are fruitcake lovers? And how did fruitcake get it's bad reputation? According to Wikipedia, "Some blame the beginning of this trend with Tonight Show host Johnny Carson. He would joke that there really is only one fruitcake in the world, passed from family to family."
Over the years, I've tried a number of fruitcake recipes. Most of them were quite good, one or two, not so good. But I've never been able to come close to the dark fruitcake my father remembers from his childhood. If his mother had family recipes when she passed, I never saw them. My dad only remembers that the cake was very dark, made early in the season and kept wrapped in brandy soaked cheesecloth in a tin for a couple of months. Other than that, it is a mystery. So before I give it another try, I thought I would ask my bloggy friends if they might have a beloved fruitcake recipe or tips that they would share. I would be ever so grateful.



And just in case I don't get a chance to post again before Thanksgiving, I hope you all enjoy a wonderful holiday.