Never Fail Fruit Cake Recipe

 "'Tis the season for fruitcake! This one is more candy than cake and oh so delicious. Keep it in the refrigerator indefinitely. Really."  Original recipe yield: 30 servings.

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound candied cherries
1 pound candied pineapple
1 pound pitted dates
1 pound chopped pecans
4 (8 ounce) packages flaked coconut
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 (14 ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Lightly grease a 10 inch tube pan. Line bottom of pan with greased parchment paper. Set aside.
Chop fruit and nuts in a large mixing bowl. Add coconut and mix well with hands. Stir in flour, then sweetened condensed milk. Blend well.
Pack firmly in prepared tube pan. Bake for 1 1/2 hours. Remove from oven. Run knife around edge of cake and remove rim of pan. When barely warm, remove tube bottom and paper from cake.

Pineapple Fudge

 "My family really loves this fudge. I have to make it every Christmas and send it to the family. To make this dessert even more festive, decorate it with pecan halves!"  Original recipe yield: 1.6667 pounds.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup evaporated milk
3 cups white sugar
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
2 teaspoons lemon juice

DIRECTIONS:

Butter a 9-inch square pan. Set aside.
Combine milk, sugar, and butter. Heat slowly to boiling point.
Stir in drained crushed pineapple and cook over medium heat to soft ball stage, 236 degrees (113 degrees C), stirring constantly to prevent burning, about 25 minutes. Cool. Stir in lemon juice. Beat until mixture is smooth and has lost its sheen.
Turn into buttered pan. Let cool, then cut into squares.