Christmas Stollen

Christmas Stollen is a german treat that I made in 2014 on a whim. It was so delicious, and such a hit at my family Christmas party, that I make it every year now. I'm tired of tracking down my recipe through files on my computer so I've decided to put it here and share it with everyone.

German

Christmas

Stollen

Recipe adapted from various internet findings and developed by Lisa.

READ THROUGH ENTIRE RECIPE BEFORE BEGINNING

 Dough

·          2 1/4 cups flour (I did half all-purpose flour and half almond flour)

·          1/2 cup granulated sugar

·          1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

·          1/2 teaspoon salt*

·          1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) cold butter

·          1 cup ricotta cheese, part-skim milk type

·          1 large egg

·          1 teaspoon vanilla extract

·          1 1/2 teaspoons Buttery Sweet Dough Flavor*

·          3-4 drops of (doTerra) lemon oil

·          ¾ C dried cherries, chopped up

·          1/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted and cooled ( I also chopped these a bit)

·          Candied orange peel (I made these, didn’t let them dry, chopped them while warm and threw them in.)

·          Almond Paste to line the inside (I got mine at Fresh Market)

·              *Truly- this stuff is amazing and I’ve never heard of it, but I found my buttery sweet dough flavoring at Orson Gygi, I also got my almond butter there.

   Topping

·               6 tablespoons butter, melted (to spread on top after baking)

·               3/4 cup confectioners' sugar (I did half powdered and half granulated)

 

Directions

      1. Preheat your oven to 325°F. Lightly grease a baking sheet, or line it with parchment.

      2. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl.  

      3. Cut the cold butter into small chunks, then blend it into the flour mixture to form uneven crumbs.

      4. In a separate bowl, mix together the cheese, egg, vanilla, and flavors.

      5. Toss the fruit and almonds with the flour mixture until evenly distributed. Then combine the wet and dry ingredients, mixing until most of the flour is moistened.

      6. Lightly flour your hands and separate dough into two balls.**

      7. Roll each piece of dough into an 8" x 7" oval about 1/2" thick. Line the inside with almond paste.  

      8. Fold each piece of dough roughly in half**, leaving the edge of the top half about 1/2" short of the edge of the bottom half. Use the edge of your hand to press the dough to seal about 1" in back of the open edge; this will make the traditional stollen shape. It's also the familiar Parker House roll shape, if you've ever made them.

      9. Place the shaped stollen on the prepared baking sheet.

     10. Bake the stollen till they're very lightly browned around the edges, about 40 minutes. A cake tester inserted into the center should come out clean.

     11.   Remove the stollen from the oven, and transfer to a rack. Brush them each with 2 to 3 tablespoons melted butter. Sprinkle heavily with confectioners' or non-melting white sugar.

     12.   Plastic-wrapped stollen will keep well for 2 weeks or so at room temperature.

     13.  Yield: two 1-lb. stollen loaves.

**MY dough was sticky, and they suggested “kneading it on a floured surface”- however mine would have stuck to everything. So I floured my hands and dumped a bit of flour over the dough in the bowl, then scooped out half and formed it into the rectangle on the parchment on the cookie sheet. After lining the inside with the almond paste, I picked up the side of the parchment paper closest to me and used it to fold the dough over the paste on top of itself. Then, I did the same with the other half, only formed it on a piece of parchment on the counter. After folding it over, I cut the extra parchment and placed the second stolen next to the one already on the cookie sheet so I could bake them together. J