No-Bake Fruitcake

Yield: 10 pounds; 2 (8 inch diameter) tins

Ingredients

Fruits and Nuts

16 ounces candied pineapple
16 ounces candied cherries
8 ounces candied citron
8 ounces chopped dates
1 (5 ounce) box raisins
1 (15 ounce) box golden raisins
1 (10 ounce) box currants
1 (4 ounce) can flaked coconut (optional)
12 ounces chopped walnuts
8 ounces chopped pecans or blanched slivered almonds

Liquids

1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup strawberry or raspberry preserves
2 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate (straight from the can)
1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk

Dry Ingredients

1 pound Graham crackers
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Instructions

Put fruits (and their syrup) and nuts into a big bowl and, using your hands, break up any stuck-together clumps.
Put the Graham crackers in the food processor, one inner-seal package at a time, and process until they are ground as finely as flour. This is the secret of the recipe - Graham crackers must be as finely ground as flour! No lumps!
Dump into another bowl.
Add spices and mix.
Pour the dry ingredients on the fruit and "toss" so the fruit pieces are dusted on all sides. Again, use your hands.
Pour on liquids and mix (with hands) well until no dry Graham cracker powder remains. If needed, add more liquid (evaporated milk, orange juice concentrate, jam).
Pack into prepared tins, pressing firmly. Don't worry; it will all fit even though it seems the tins will be too small. The cake will be sticky, but all the moisture will be absorbed.
Refrigerate for 2 days and then start dousing with rum or brandy. Omit the liquor if you prefer.
Store in refrigerator.

Notes

If you like another combination of fruits or nuts, certainly, feel free to alter as you prefer. Make sure you have approximately the total weight of approximately 90 ounces of fruit and 20 ounces of nuts.

For a 2 pound batch, use 1/3 pound Graham crackers (one inner-seal pack) and cut the fruit down to 4 ounces of each flavor and adjust the other ingredients accordingly.