I started making these a few years ago and mailing them to far-off relatives. I use recognizable dried fruit and not the containers of garishly colored cubes of whatever-it-is that show up in grocery stores in winter. (Can't bear those; childhood history of dreadful fruitcakes made by my English grandmother.)

I make the kind that's all fruit, held together by a little batter. The difficult part is chopping that mountain of dried fruit. It's sticky, some fruits like dried apples are so chewy they don't chop easily, etc. I know the trick about wiping your knife with oil, but my patience doesn't cover the 700 times this wipe must be done during the chop phase. The food processor seems like a good solution but in fact is not.

This year I had a lightbulb moment: why not soak the dried fruits in their rum bath overnight and THEN chop them? Ah hah. I just did the chop and it was SO much easier.

Another lightbulb moment: maybe someone sells a mix of pre-chopped real fruits? I found this one and will be ordering some, which I will supplement with dried cherries and pineapple.

Lazy is better than having a beloved tradition that you yourself dread.