Here ya go, ajsmama. It's way too late to make anything but cookies, I think; there's no fermentation going on but the cake does need to age so the flavors meld. Right after baking it is kind of harsh tasting, but logically cookies would age more quickly. I never make it later than Thanksgiving and prefer to do it back around Veteran's Day to have it ready for Christmas/Yule. Mari's Fruitcake - Not For Children! makes 3 4x8 inch loaf pans or a 10 inch bundt pan The day before you wish to bake, combine in a big bowl: 2 1/2 cups chopped mixed dried fruit (the original recipe called for that weird candied fruit mix, and you can use that if you want, but I prefer actual fruit) see note 1 below 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, toasted 1 cup chopped pitted dates - note 2 2-3 tbsp finely chopped candied ginger 1/2 cup chopped candied cherries, optional (DH insists that there must be at least a few of those nasty neon-green things in this, for sentimentÂs sake) 1/2 cup dark rum or brandy  note 3 (you will need 1 pint bottle total) 1/2 cup orange juice (approximately juice of 1 orange) grated zest of the orange Cover and marinate overnight, stirring when you remember to! On baking day: Grease pans heavily (I use Pam for Baking on Teflon pans, but Crisco's fine; butter sticks maddeningly). Preheat oven to 300F. Sift together and set aside: 2 1/2 cups flour 1 tsp salt 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg 1 tsp allspice In large bowl, beat: 2 eggs (sometimes I need a third egg if the final mix won't come together) 1 can sweetened condensed milk (like Eagle; NOT evaporated milk) 1 big (around 28 oz.) jar mincemeat (this is the secret ingredient) - note 4 Mix all the ingredients together. You'll have to work at it. Really work! Scrape it into pan(s), spread it out evenly, and bake at 300F for 1 hour 45 minutes for bundt pan or large loaves, less time for smaller cakes. Use the old toothpick test for doneness. Cool on racks. When cakes are cold, wrap them in clean, porous cloth (I use old linen or worn cotton dishtowels; plain unbleached muslin fabric is about $1/yard, just wash it first) wetted with more rum or brandy - use the same thing as you did in the cake. Seal in ziploc bags and refrigerate, or if you have a basement/attic/mudroom/shed that stays under 50 degrees but above freezing, put it there in a well-sealed metal or plastic container. Reapply rum/brandy once a week during the first month, then remove the cloth. Store airtight for up to 3 months. (I find it gets a little overly-boozy and tired after that. If you like it less strong, just do one or two applications.) Note 1: I usually use cranberries, cherries, dried apples, dried blueberries, finely chopped prunes, raisins (dark and golden), currants, pears, peaches, whatever looks good. I try for at least 5 or 6 different fruits. Not so much with the tropical stuff like pineapples and mangoes though, that just seems wrong. Note 2: DoleÂs prechopped ready-for-baking dates save much sticky hassle :-) Note 3: Those who do not consume alcohol can use 1 cup orange juice and 1 tbsp rum or brandy flavoring and skip the dousing routine, and the cakes will still be tasty, but the cakes will only keep about a week in the fridge and a month frozen before becoming stale. Note 4: I prefer Borden's Nonesuch mincemeat if I'm baking for nonvegetarians (it contains beef suet) or Grandmother's for vegetarians. I do not like Crosse & Blackwell's at all, I think it's far too sweet. If you can only get the little blocks of Nonesuch concentrate, use 2 packages and follow the label instructions for reconstituting it. I have not made these, but a relative recently imparted to me that you can make this batter into cookies by dropping tablespoons of it 2" apart on well-greased (I'd use parchment paper - NOT wax paper!) baking sheets and baking about 15-18 minutes at "325ish". :-) Makes about 5 dozen. ------------------------------ Per the almond filling on your grandma's stollen - it SHOULD be marzipan (almond paste) instead of the soft, spreadable almond filling, but you made a procedural oops more than a product oops. Don't even try to spread it. Use a rolling pin to whack and roll the firm almond paste between two pieces of wax paper or parchment paper into a long half-oval which you them fold the dough around. Or you could cheat like a bakery I once knew that used to make kick-@$$ stollen, almost as good as my stepgrandmother's. They chop up the marzipan into bits about 1/2" square, spread them out on cookie sheets and freeze them rock-hard before kneading them right into the stollen dough along with the fruits and nuts, so you get these little "surprises" of marzipan here and there in the bread. I adore marzipan so it was wonderful getting those little bits all through. Getting the gigantic stollen in the mail from stepgrandmother was a high point of the holiday season when I was young. We've made it several times but this year just too much chaos. No more baking this year here - DH is having his tonsils out (among other things) on Monday, and it would just be cruel to have the stuff around when he can't eat it. So we're doing Yule this weekend; Solstice is Monday. He's already informed me ;-) that when he's done with the liquid parts and has graduated to "the mushy stuff" I'm making him pumpkin custard (just pumpkin pie without the crust, baked in custard cups) and the "squishy parts" of banana/zucchini/pumpkin bread (no nuts but the squirrels get the crusts!). LOL

I've made Ann T's cream cheese danish a couple of times, it's easy to substitute an artificial sweetener in the cream cheese filling for my diabetic father I always make her Cream Cheese Brandied Cherry Balls for Amanda and lots of fudge, but the thing that everyone likes the best is the maple butter twist, kind of like a cinnamon roll, but twisted into a wreath. Everyone loves it. Sometimes I drizzle it with maple glaze or a white glaze and decorate with cherries. Sometimes not, depending on my mood but everyone loves them. Maple Butter Twists INGREDIENTS 1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast 1/4 cup warm water (110° to 115°) 1/2 cup warm milk (110° to 115°) 1/4 cup butter, melted 2 eggs, beaten 3 tablespoons sugar 1-1/2 teaspoons salt 3-1/4 to 3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour FILLING: 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 1/2 cup chopped walnuts 1/3 cup sugar 1/4 cup maple syrup 1/4 cup butter, softened 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon maple flavoring DIRECTIONS In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add the milk, butter, eggs, sugar, salt and 2 cups flour; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Roll each portion into a 14-in. x 8-in. rectangle. Combine filling ingredients; spread over each rectangle to within 1/2 in. of edges. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch seam to seal. Place seam side down on greased baking sheets. With a sharp knife, cut each roll in half lengthwise; carefully turn cut sides up. Loosely twist strips around each other, keeping cut sides up. Shape into a ring and pinch ends together. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until browned. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool. Yield: 2 coffee cakes. I put the dough into my bread machine, my big one will handle a double batch. Shaping is done by hand, and I put each one on a pretty plate. I usually get those plates at the dollar store with a Christmas theme but sometimes I get something really special and the recipient can keep that plate. Annie

If you're baking now, yes, I'd freeze them. Keeping flavors separate, and in very air-tight containers (I'd actually put them in ziplock bags, and then into a plastic box with a tight lid). However, properly stored, cookies will keep very fresh for at least 3-4 weeks. I used to work at a very high end bakery--their cookies were extremely expensive. They didn't use mixes or preservatives. They did their Christmas cookies the Monday after Thanksgiving. The cookies were put in cardboard box bottoms, which were then slid into plastic bags and twist-tied shut, and stored on shelves at room temp. Those cookies were still perfect Christmas week (I can personally vouch for that--I ate plenty of them). So if you aren't baking for another couplel of weeks, your cookies will be fine. Alternatively, what I do, is to make my doughs near the beginning of December, and freeze them. Then I can bake up fresh cookies all through the month. You can even scoop cookie dough from it's frozen state if you have a professional quality scoop.

Thank you Ladies! This recipe calls for over a hundred per batch, and you don't want to make less if you think you'll need more. Just wanted to say that I never really properly introduced myself because I never thought I would participate in a cooking forum; I don't really enjoy cooking and baking, but I have my moments and I've been doing both as an early teen and now well into my 40's. I can really benefit from the diverse experience and feedback here, in areas where I am lacking (haha cupcakes for one, long story :) So many thanks, and I'm sure I'll have more questions to post if you don't mind, as we get closer to the holidays; I'll also try to help when I can. Many of you have been gracious :)