November 18, 2009
Tomorrow I will make my sweet potato rolls (with dried cherries and cardamom), and perhaps even my mother-in-law’s Butterflake Herb rolls. Since I don’t use trans-fats, I have replaced the shortening in her recipe with real butter – but that is my only modification. Sometimes I include some sort of rosemary bread or rolls with my Thanksgiving meal, but I haven’t decided if I will do that this year. I also plan to measure out my dried fruits and nuts for my fruitcakes, which I would like to make next week so they have time to ‘cure'(a 3-4 week process). I soak them with the sugar syrup I use to plump the dried fruit and add Maker’s Mark bourbon and Grand Marnier to balance the sweetness and provide a kick…After several weeks they are ready for distributing to friends and family. Believe me, these are not your ordinary fruitcakes! They have a white cake base and I use dried rather than glaceed fruits. The mixture includes apricots, blueberries, sour cherries, currants, and cranberries – all dried of course. I have had wonderful luck with the dried fruits at Whole Foods. My mouth is already watering!!!