Dried fruit recipes

Apricot bread made with a full pound of dried apricots cooked in warm spices. Cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg give these two loaves a fragrant, fruit-studded crumb.

Sugarplum cookies with dried or candied fruit hidden inside each ball of vanilla sugar cookie dough. Topped with creamy frosting and colored sugar for Christmas cookie trays.

Fig bread soaked in dry sherry with walnuts, cinnamon, and nutmeg baked into a dense, fragrant loaf. A sophisticated quick bread with warm spice and boozy fruit in every slice.

Oil-free granola with oats, wheat flakes, rye flakes, bran, dried fruits, cashews, and sunflower seeds bound with honey and vanilla. A low-fat, crunchy homemade breakfast cereal.

Cucumber pineapple salsa tosses crisp cucumber, sweet pineapple, and chewy dried cranberries with jalapeno, lime, and fresh ginger. A bright, no-cook fruit salsa for grilled chicken, fish, or tortilla chips.

Curried cheddar and cream cheese spread with dry sherry and chopped chutney. Serve with crackers as an appetizer or with fresh fruit as a light dessert. Ready in 10 minutes.

Authentic Victorian mincemeat with boiled calf's tongue, suet, dried fruit, candied citrus peel, brandy, and whiskey. Cures in a crock for 7 weeks before becoming Christmas pie filling. Yields 96 servings.

Sugar-free granola cookies sweetened entirely with apple juice concentrate and applesauce, loaded with oats, nuts, and dried fruit.

Traditional British Christmas plum pudding with cognac-soaked dried fruit, walnuts, suet, and warm spices, steamed in a mold and served with brandy butter sauce. A Victorian holiday classic.

Scandinavian cinnamon fruit soup with dried apricots, prunes, peaches, and pears thickened with tapioca. Served chilled as either a Nordic dessert or a sweet starter.

Cold fruited chicken salad with dried apricots, orange segments, grapes, and toasted almonds in a white wine-vinegar dressing. A light, low-calorie summer lunch.

Sweet poppy seed dressing with apple cider vinegar, dry mustard, lemon juice, and onion powder. Thick, tangy, and especially good on fruit salads and avocado.

Teisen Sir Fon: a traditional Welsh fruit cake from Anglesey, made with lard, molasses, mixed spice, ginger, and dried fruit. Humble, deeply flavored, and rooted in North Wales tea-time baking.

No-bake chocolate fruit balls with dried apricots, raisins, sultanas, and orange zest, dipped in dark chocolate. A rich, fruity homemade candy with no oven needed.

Pureed celery and dried apricot soup simmered in vegetable stock. An unexpected combination that blends herbal freshness with natural fruit sweetness.

Elegant chilled sour cherry soup with dry red wine, heavy cream, and cherry liqueur. Cinnamon-spiced fruit course served cold in summer with mint and sour cream.