This is my variation of Linda Amendt's variation of the BBB Brandied Mincemeat. I just want you to know this is not an "approved" recipe. Changes I made from Amendt's original: 1) My version doubles the pears and apples and halves the sugar. (It's plenty sweet enough.) 2) Day 1 I mixed the dried fruits with 1 cup of brown sugar and chopped mixture in the FP in several batches. (Doing this kind of thing can cloud the FP container, so skip it if the scratching would bother you.) Macerated 30 hours with brandy until Day 2. I think the sugar with the liquor mellowed the fruit. Day 2 chopped and sliced the apples and pears by hand for a more discernable, fresher texture. That worked very well. 3) I noted this mixture scorches easily. Use a heavy pan, don't cook on high heat and watch carefully. This stuff is so good it ought to be a sin to eat it. Mixed-Fruit Mincemeat Categories : Canning & Preserving Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method -------- ------------ -------------------------------- 1/2 pound dried apricots -- chopped 1/2 pound dried cherries -- chopped 1/2 pound dates -- chopped 1/2 pound golden raisins 1/2 pound currants -- or dark raisins 2-3 cups apple cider -- or apple juice 3/4 cup brandy 3/4 cup sherry -- (I used Almad�n Golden) 2 pounds tart apples 2 pounds Bartlett pears -- firm ripe 1/2 cup fresh orange juice 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice 3 tablespoons finely chopped orange zest 2 tablespoons finely chopped lemon zest 1 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger In a large bowl combine the apricots, cherries, dates, raisins, currants, apple cider, brandy and sherry. Stir until well combined. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and set aside to macerate for 24 hours, stirring occasionally. (See above for my variation.) Peel, core and chop the apples and pears. In an 8- to 10-quart pan, combine the apples, pears, orange juice and lemon juice. Stir in the dried fruit mixture, orange zest and lemon zest. Combine the remaining brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and ginger until well-blended. Stir the sugar mixture into the fruit in the pan. Over medium heat, bring the mincemeat mixture to a boil, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. Reduce the heat and simmer until the apples are tender, about 40 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. If mixture becomes too dry, add a little more cider vinegar. Ladle the mincemeat into hot jars, removing as many air bubbles as possible and leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Using a plastic knife, remove any trapped air bubbles. Wipe the jar rims and threads with a clean, damp cloth. Cover with hot lids and apply screw rings. Process both pint and quart jars in a BWB for 30 minutes. Note: This mixture expands and even with a boiling water bath I think 1" headspace works better. Description: The original recipe came from "Blue-Ribbon Preserves." Yield: 8 pints Carol

Sharon, I just love pecans and am looking forward to trying your recipe. We have several native pecan trees on our property. Actually we have probably a couple dozen trees, but two are right by the house and easy to access...the one in the front yard drops pecans everywhere. The one on the edge of the woods drops them into tons of leaf litter and debris, so I have to search harder for those. Most of the other trees are way back in the woods and I usually leave their nuts for the wildlife. I grew up in a pecan-loving family. If the only thing I do is make batches of pecan pralines for family members for Christmas, they are just thrilled to death. They're even tickled pink if I just give them big zip-lock bags of pecans from our place. Our first year here there was a huge bumper crop of pecans in the front yard right at Thanksgiving. All my siblings, their spouses, my mom and dad, my nieces and nephews, my aunt, my cousin and her spouse and kids spent their Thanksgiving picking up Wal-Mart bags full of nuts. They even wanted to eat outside at the picnic table under the pecan tree. Apparently they allthought they were helping me out by picking up the pecans for me. When I told them to keep the pecans for themselves, LOL, they ran back outside and picked up more. I was rolling on the ground laughing at them! "Oh", they said delightedly, "You mean we can keep them? Let's go find more!" Clearly my family members know the value of a good sack of fresh pecans! I had the last laugh though. I was SO relieved thinking of them spending all THEIR time cracking and picking out the nutmeats, because I'd intended to do it myself and give the nuts to them for Christmas. Instead, they all got gifts from the store, and I didn't spend a month of evenings cracking pecans and picking out the nutmeats to give away. So, we all were happy! I still need to find and post my recipe for pecan cream pie like my aunts used to make. I haven't made one in ages and just thinking about it makes me want to make one right now. Dawn

Ah! I've been wanting to ask about that same passage that Dishesdone posts: From Cook's Thesaurus...golden syrup = cane juice = jus de canne = cane syrup = sugar cane juice = light treacle. Notes: This amber-colored liquid sweetener is popular among British, Caribbean, and Creole cooks. It's made by evaporating sugar cane juice until it's thick and syrupy. Lyle's Golden Syrup and Steen's Pure Cane Syrup are popular brands. I use Steen's Cane Syrup all the time instead of molasses, a trick I picked up from Laurie Colwin's gingerbread recipe. It's dark. Lyle's Golden Syrup is, as you might imagine, golden. I just bought some for the first time. Rose Levy Beranbaum's new book uses it in an English gingerbread (that will make it an awfully expensive gingerbread) and I've been wanting to try Anzac biscuits. Both Steen's and Lyle's are "refiner's syrup." Yet they are very different. Beranbaum was asked about Steen's vs. Lyle's on her blog and said she had not heard of Steen's. (Amazing, since she is so comprehensive.) I hope someone who uses both will talk about the differences. I haven't opened the Lyle's bottle yet, but I should go and do a taste test. David, if I were you I would just use light corn syrup for that frosting, figuring like Linda that the chocolate taste will dominate. But Readinglady's suggestion of a mild honey is good too. After I taste the Golden syrup maybe I'll be better qualified to give advice, LOL.

Finally able to google Brer Rabbit mfg (since our ice storm, have had erratic web service), and learned that their 'mild' molasses is the first or light molasses; second boiling is full and third is blackstrap. Will give this a trial.