We’ve reached the end of the stollen story, and really, it’s pretty anticlimactic. After two days of resting, you sprinkle on about another 1/2 cup to a whole cup of powdered sugar, slice, serve, and enjoy. It isn’t the prettiest or most photogenic of holiday treats, but it istasty.
Moist and tender. Boozy and fruity. Sweet, but not too sweet. It really is a delicious holiday bread. But don’t just take my word for it…
Slate just published an article hailing Stollen as the best Christmas bread. The author, L.V. Anderson, begins the article: “There are certain things Germans do better than everyone else. Not incurring massive amounts of public debt is one of them. Christmas baking is another.” Public finance aside, the article even mentions Melissa Clark’s recipe from 2009, which is the recipe featured here.
Since I began this holiday baking over a week ago, I’ve been feeling a mix of emotions: anticipation as I shopped for the ingredients and soaked the fruit and nuts; excitement as I started mixing the bread; panic and frustration when it all went awry; fear that the bread wouldn’t rise at all after sitting in the refrigerator all night; hope that it would turn out ok; relief when it did; and finally, pride. I succeeded in making an edible, even delicious, holiday stollen. And I shared the experience with you.
I’m headed home to Iowa Friday, where I’ll be for a few days and I plan to take the second loaf of Stollen home with me. Hopefully my family will enjoy it as much as I enjoyed the experience of making it.
I want to wish all of my readers, friends, and loved a very happy, restful, and tasty holiday season.
this was delicious!