A RECIPE WITH A LITTLE HISTORY FROM SARAH MCDANIEL

Those of you who remember the smell of the Jackson Cookie Company baking Vanilla Wafers, there is a recipe for Vanilla Wafer Fruitcake. This recipe was published in 1992.

Vanilla Wafer Fruitcake Recipe

TOTAL TIME: Prep: 25 min. Bake: 45 min.

MAKES:40 servings

Ingredients

 1/2 pound candied cherries

 1/2 pound candied pineapple slices

 1 pound walnuts, pecans or combination of both

 1 pound vanilla wafers

 1/4 pound raisins

 2 eggs

 1/2 cup sugar

 1/4 teaspoon salt

 1 can (5 ounces) evaporated milk

Directions

1. Set aside four whole cherries, two pineapple slices and 16 pecan or walnut halves. Chop remaining fruit and nuts. Crush vanilla wafers; combine the chopped fruit, nuts and raisins and set aside.

2. In a bowl, beat eggs well. Stir in sugar, salt and milk. Combine wafer/nut mixture with egg mixture. Pack into a waxed paper-lined 10-in. tube pan. Decorate top with reserved whole fruit and nuts. Bake at 325° for 45 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes. Run a sharp knife around edge; turn cake out of pan, then back over again so decorations are on top. Cake can be made ahead and frozen; taste improves with age. Yield: about 40 servings.

Nutritional Facts

1 serving (1 piece) equals 183 calories, 10 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 13 mg cholesterol, 64 mg sodium, 24 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber