Very Special Delicious & Healthy Holiday Cakes (With Gluten & Sugar Free Option)

Delicious little cakes full of dried fruits and nuts.
(This is not the old fashioned fruitcake made with chemically
treated candied fruits that most people avoid.)

Ingredients:
3/4 cup dried cherries*
1 teaspoon rum extract
8 ounces pitted dates, chopped
2 cups quartered dried apricots
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup raisins
1 1/2 cups whole blanched almonds**
1 1/2 cups walnut pieces
3/4 cup flour***
1/3 cup packed brown sugar***
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Method:
Place the cherries in a small saucepan. Add the rum extract and just enough water to cover. Heat just until the water begins to boil. Immediately remove from the heat. Allow to cool for 5 to 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Preheat oven to 300*.
Butter 1 full sized loaf pan or 3 mini loaf pans. Line the bottom of the pan(s) with parchment paper. (Butter the paper, too.)
In a large bowl, combine all of the fruits and nuts, reserving 1/4 cup of the cherries for the top(s). Stir together the flour, sugar and baking powder to blend. Mix evenly with the fruits and nuts to coat. Beat together the eggs and vanilla. Add to the fruit mixture and stir well to mix. 
Spread evenly in the pan(s), pressing into the corners. Garnish the top(s) with the reserved cherries. Bake until golden brown: 1 1/2 to 2 hours for 1 large loaf, or 50 to 60 minutes for 3 mini loaves. (To prevent the tops from burning, loosely place a piece of aluminum foil over the top of the loaves.) Cool in pan(s) on cooling rack for 10 to 15 minutes. Turn out of pan(s) onto the cooling rack and remove the parchment paper. Cool completely. Wrap in waxed paper, then wrap in aluminum foil. Chill at least 2 days to 2 months before serving. Slice in 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices to serve.

*If you like, cherry flavored dried cranberries can be substituted for the dried cherries.
**To blanch almonds, add them to a pot of boiling water for 2 minutes. Coll with cold water. Pinch each almond to remove the skin.
***To make this recipe gluten free, substitute almond flour for the all purpose flour. To reduce the sugar, substitute Lakanto Golden sweetener for the regular brown sugar.

Notes: 
Even people who hate traditional fruitcake, love this healthier and tastier version.
This recipe was inspired by a "Dried Fruits Cake" recipe in Sunset Magazine. The original recipe called for maraschino cherries, but I prefer  dried cherries. 
I prefer the 3 mini loaves to 1 large loaf. This is a family favorite and the mini loaves are treasured like bars of gold.
I always double the recipe and since my mini loaf pans are smaller than average, 1 batch makes 9 delicious loaves.