Our Favorite Stollen Recipe! This Is Our Favorite Stollen Recipe Here at the German Food Guide

Our Favorite Stollen Recipe! This is our favorite Stollen recipe here at the German Food Guide. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do. It's so easy to make you'll never go back to buying boxed Stollen again. This recipe makes 3 Stollen. These make great gifts, but if you want to keep all of them, they also freeze well.

Ingredients 2 packages (4 1/2 teaspoons) Active Dry Yeast 1 cup Whole Milk (luke warm) 2 1/2 sticks (300g) Unsalted Butter - European Style is best 1 1/4 cups Sugar 2 packages Vanilla Sugar Pinch of Salt 3 1/2 - 4 cups All Purpose Flour Zest from 1 Lemon Zest from 2 Oranges 8 oz (227g) Candied Orange Peel 8 oz (227g) Candied Lemon Peel 12 oz Raisins 7 oz Slivered Almonds, chopped

Additionally, you will need: 5 tablespoons Butter 3 packages of Vanilla Sugar Powdered Sugar

Instructions Combine the yeast and 1/2 cup of the lukewarm milk in a small bowl. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes. Sprinkle in 1/2 teaspoon of sugar, then cover again. Allow this to sit in a warm spot until it starts to become frothy. Add the butter to a large mixing bowl. Using a paddle attachment on your mixer, cream the butter until it looks smooth. Add the sugar, pinch of salt, and 2 packages of vanilla sugar. Mix this until the butter has absorbed the sugar and the butter begins to lighten in color slightly. Add the lemon and orange zests and mix until combined.

Change to the hook attachment. Add about 2 cups of the flour and begin mixing on low speed. Slowly pour in the milk/yesst mixture. Gradually add more flour, stopping when you've added about 3 cups. At this point, check the dough. It should start pulling together into a ball and it should pull away from the sides of the bowl. If not, add a little more flour until you get it there. The dough should not be dry and crumbly. If it is, add a teaspoon or two of milk and mix this in.

Cover the bowl and allow this to sit for 30 minutes. This helps the dough to rest and to begin absorbing the flavors of the lemon and orange zests.

Add the candied orange peel, candied lemon peel, raisins, and almonds to the dough. Mix all this in using the hook attachment on the lowest speed. Once everything looks evenly distributed, stop mixing.

Transfer the dough to a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow this to sit at room temperature for 1 hour.

Transfer the dough to your work space or counter. It will not have risen much in the hour. Cut the dough into 3 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a 1-inch thick rectangle - with rounded corners. Fold one side of each rectangle half way over to form the traditional Stollen shape. Place these 3 Stollen on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place them about 1 inch apart. Cover with plastic wrap and let them rise in a warm location for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 325°.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter. Brush each Stollen with the melted butter. Bake for 50 - 60 minutes or until the Stollen are deep golden brown.

Remove the Stollen from the oven. Remove any burnt, hard raisins from the outside of the cakes. Melt the remaining 3 tablespoons butter. Brush each Stollen with butter, then dust the top of each Stollen with one package of Vanilla Sugar. Allow the Stollen to cool completely.

If you plan on freezing any of the Stollen, now's the time to do it. Wrap the Stollen well to prevent freezer burn and freeze up to 6 months. Otherwise, cover each Stollen completely with aluminum foil and put in an air tight container. Place them in a cool, dry, dark place for up to 4 weeks. This allows the wonderful flavors to intensify. Although the Stollen taste great immediately, its well worth the wait!

Before serving, dust a good amount of powdered sugar on top of each Stollen.