I baked stollen yesterday. I love a nice stollen. Diana will take one to college with her, and another is going to Carolyn because she apparently can't bake her own (?). Well, I do doctor mine up a bit, and she likes the way I do it. I'll make more later, maybe even today...My mom's recipe is made in the mostly traditional way - we don't get 'quark' here, so you wind up mashing cottage cheese through a sieve. This recipe is already converted to US measurements, vs. the European weighing everything by grams (which is actually more consistent, especially with dry ingredients).
Start off by sifting 3 cups flour with a tablespoon of baking powder onto a large cutting board. Build up into a mound and create a depression in the middle.
Crack 2 eggs into the middle, and cut a stick of softened butter around the rim of the depression.
Add a cup of sugar around the top, and then use the sieve again to mash 1 cup cottage cheese over the top.
The recipe calls for a Tbsp of rum, and a tsp. of vanilla. I overdo both of those a bit, because I like them. I also add another tsp. or so of Almond extract. 
Next you use a pastry cutter or even a knife to blend the dough together.
Once its coarsely blended, work it with your hands into a ball.
The last bit is the zest from a lemon and the almonds. The original recipe is for 4 oz. blanched ground almonds. I grind up about 2 cups of regular raw almonds. I like the color and coarseness of the almonds that way better - plus a lot more almond!
If I wanted to get really fancy, I could wrap the dough around a tube of marzipan here, but I haven't tried that yet. Maybe some day.
Once the lemon and almonds have been kneaded in, I split the dough in half. The original recipe calls for making one big loaf, but it will sometimes spread out a bit far, and I don't want a biscotti. So I flatten the dough to about 1/2 inch thick, and fold in half.
These bake at 325 degrees for about 40 minutes. Immediately after taking out of the oven, rub about 1/4 stick of butter on the hot stollen, and then sift powdered sugar on top of that - thick as possible.
Stollen will keep for a long time, wrapped in plastic wrap and foil. It's great with just butter, or plain. Whatever you like.
Once its coarsely blended, work it with your hands into a ball.
The last bit is the zest from a lemon and the almonds. The original recipe is for 4 oz. blanched ground almonds. I grind up about 2 cups of regular raw almonds. I like the color and coarseness of the almonds that way better - plus a lot more almond!
If I wanted to get really fancy, I could wrap the dough around a tube of marzipan here, but I haven't tried that yet. Maybe some day.
Once the lemon and almonds have been kneaded in, I split the dough in half. The original recipe calls for making one big loaf, but it will sometimes spread out a bit far, and I don't want a biscotti. So I flatten the dough to about 1/2 inch thick, and fold in half.
These bake at 325 degrees for about 40 minutes. Immediately after taking out of the oven, rub about 1/4 stick of butter on the hot stollen, and then sift powdered sugar on top of that - thick as possible.
Stollen will keep for a long time, wrapped in plastic wrap and foil. It's great with just butter, or plain. Whatever you like.
This is not actually for Christmas alone. It's also for Advent, which begins tonight :)
4 comments:
Ok, so is this a hint? I like it better when YOU make it! I thought that was understood! Heehee. Eventually I may try it, but if the whole recipe is there I may even try this year. I would love to share your Stollen with Carl's family too!
well, i have never ad this stuff.
you know,
i CAN get packages at my dorm though...
;)
Oooooooo...
I need to go install the 'freshbakedsmell' plug-in for my browser but I can't seem to find it at the moment.
Scratching at the screen doesn't seem to work either.
Nothing better at Christmas time! Especially if you play dumb and someone makes it for you! Heehee...ooops did I say that outloud?
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