I know it’s July 4th 2026 but I was just asked for my Brandied Dried Fruit recipe and couldn’t resist posting something now. I usually make this in September to prepare for holiday baking, but I must admit to using the leftovers long after they are over. You see I freeze the leftovers and then use it to make my husband’s favorite muffins and oatmeal cookies.
I have been making this for 70 years or so, (yes, I’m old) and it is a tradition for making my fruit bread and Christmas Stollen.
Growing up on a farm we used the fruits from our orchard and those planted along the hedgerows. Mom would dry them just for this, our house smelled so good as the fruit dried, first strawberries, then cherries (sour and sweet), peaches, plums, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, apples and pears. In just about that order. All summer the house smelled so sweet. We kids were kept busy picking, sorting, and washing fruit. (We ate as much as we picked, too.) Mom would add raisins and currents and started adding dried oranges and lemons when I was a teenager. She never added the pineapple, as that was too expensive and apricots didn’t grow in Ohio.
Mom had a huge jar with a wide mouth that she saved just for this and started the mixture with the first of the dried strawberries putting a layer in the bottom and adding brandy. My dad liked brandy and often bought Christian Brothers Brandy so that is what she used. She would add the next layer of dried fruit when it was ready, adding a bit of brandy each time and mixing the fruit up, she just kept doing that all summer. By September she would finger tighten the jar lid and add a bit more brandy every week until she started baking in late October and November.
She made fruit breads and rolls then froze them until Christmas and New Year’s. They were so good. Whatever was left over she used for baking until it was all gone and then started over in June. Everyone knew when she opened that jar, the sweet smell of brandy and fruit filled the house. It is one of my favorite childhood memories.
I still make brandied fruit the way she did, but now I purchase dried fruit. I don’t usually start until September but maybe this year I will begin now and enjoy the scents of home this Christmas.
Here is my version of Mom’s recipe. I hope it inspires you to try it and make memories too.
Mom and Ruth’s Brandied Dried Fruit
I start in September for the holidays, but you can do this anytime.
I use only nuts and dried fruit, Do not Use Candied Fruit
Favorite mixture of cherries, cranberries, peaches, apricots, apples, blueberries, strawberries, pineapple, lemon peel and orange peel (I get these at Trader Joes), dates, and pears, figs, plums* (Not prunes), currents, and raisins.
I use very coarsely chopped pecans, walnuts, and hazelnuts. Chop just so they aren’t whole.
Chop large pieces of fruit into bite sized ones.
Use any combination of fruit you want.
Put them in a large bowl or big glass jar. Pour add about a cup of good brandy (I often use Grand Marnier) toss together well and every week add a bit more.
Cover bowl with plastic wrap or loosely top with jar lid.
Let it sit on the kitchen counter for as long as you like but let it sit at least a month. Scoop out what you need and recover.
After the holidays I will freeze the fruit in 1 cup bags and use it for baking until I start a new batch in September. It will continue to ripen in freezer.
Makes the best oatmeal cookies ever.
*You can buy “Traina Home Grown Jumbo California Sun Dried Angelino Plum Halves ” on Amazon if you don’t want to dry your own, which I have done.
Ruth Jewell, © July 4, 2026
A Quiet Walk 