Christmas stollen are an essential part of the Advent season here in Germany. Not everybody likes these sweet and heavy bakes though – but to be honest – you can’t please everybody ;) I love Christstollen a lot. So much I love to share it with others. And with these Christmas Stollen baked in Glass Jars, it is much easier to bring them as a gift to a Christmas party. An easy peasy homemade gift that beats every storebought bottle of mulled wine easily ;P
I already have a nice recipe for a “traditional” German Christstollen here on the blog… well, maybe not that traditional since I threw out the candied orange and lemon peel and used other dried fruits instead – nonetheless, this Christmas Stollen with Nuts is pretty much like a traditional Christstollen and really delicious. Just without the gross ingredients. Just kidding ;P
This recipe also does not ask for candied orange and lemon peel or raisins – instead, I used dried figs, pineapple, apricots, etc. There are no raisins in here either – that was the specific request of a friend. He doesn’t like raisins and would spit out the stollen immediately if he tastes a raisin. He is a very picky eater, but I still like him ;P
If you are totally into raisins, you can use them, of course! I don’t mind candied orange and lemon peel either, but with other dried fruits you can get so much more flavor into this bake!
In order to gift this stollen, it already comes with the packaging – the glass jar it has been baked in. You need glass jars that can stand the heat of the oven, of course. Here in Germany, we have glass jars called “Weckgläser” – they are used for marmalade, pickled gherkins, and bakes like this one here. They withstand high heat very well and can be easily closed afterward. If you are careful and keep everything very clean, the stollen will last for a little eternity in the glass jars. You can bake a stollen like that up to 4 weeks in advance. It’s actually better if they have some time in those glass jars to develop the flavors you expect from a perfect stollen.
Note: The layer of confectioners’ sugar kind of “disappears” over time, because the moisture of the stollen melts the sugar. That is ok if you want to store them and eat them at home, but when you want to gift them to somebody that can look a bit… meh ;) To make the stollen a bit more “attractive”, you can add some dried fruits on top of the stollen dough or press them into the dough before baking – the stollen will have a much nicer look at the end. If you know the person you are gifting the stollen and you know they are going to eat it instantly anyway, you can open the glass right before taking it to the party and dust the stollen with a thick layer of confectioners’ sugar. The stollen in the opened and closed again glass jar will not last as long as a still sealed one, but if it is eaten soon anyway, it doesn’t matter ;)
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
For the dough:
12.3 oz. (350g) dried fruits (e.g. apricots, cranberries, plums etc.)
1 organic lemon
1 cup (125g) chopped hazelnuts or almonds
5-6 tbsp. rum (or orange juice)
4 cups (500g) all-purpose flour
1.5 oz. (42g) fresh yeast
1 tbsp. sugar
1/4 cup (60g) sugar
1/2 cup (125ml) milk, lukewarm
2 cups (250g) butter, softened
1/2 cup (75g) ground hazelnuts (or almonds)
For the sugar coating:
8 tbsp. melted butter
confectioner’s sugar for dusting
Für den Teig:
350g Trockenfrüchte (zB.Aprikosen, Cranberries, Pflaumen, Feigen etc.)
1 Bio-Zitrone
125g gehackte Haselnüsse (oder Mandeln)
5-6 EL Rum (oder Orangensaft)
500g Mehl (Type 405)
42g frische Hefe
1 EL Zucker
60g Zucker
125ml Milch, lauwarm
250g weiche Butter
75g gemahlene Haselnüsse (oder Mandeln)
Für den Zuckermantel:
8 EL geschmolzene Butter
Puderzucker zum Bestäuben
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
2. Sift the flour into a large bowl. Make a hole in the middle, crumble the fresh yeast and add along with the tablespoon sugar and the lukewarm milk and mix until the yeast is dissolved. Add the sugar on top of the flour around the hole. Add the butter in small pieces on top of the sugar. Cover all with a kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place for 20 minutes.
3. Knead all ingredients to a smooth dough – it should come off easily from the bottom of the bowl. Add the dried fruits/nuts and knead in with your hands until all is well combined. Cover again and let rest for another 30 minutes in a warm place.
4. Preheat the oven to 390˚F (200°C). Grease the glass jars and sprinkle with the ground hazelnuts (almonds). Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and fill it into the prepared glass jars (the jars should be only 3/4 full). Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes. Take them out of the oven and add the melted butter on top. Dust with confectioner’s sugar and close the jars immediately. Let cool on a wire rack. The stollen should stay in the closed jars for 2 weeks to develop all flavors – after that, they should be eaten within 2 more weeks.
2. Das Mehl in eine große Schüssel sieben. In die Mitte eine Vertiefung drücken und die Hefe hineinbröseln. Den Esslöffel Zucker und die lauwarme Milch zugeben und mit der Hefe zu einem Vorteig verrühren. Zucker auf den Mehlrand streuen und die weiche Butter in Flöckchen darauf verteilen. Alles abdecken und an einem warmen Ort 20 Minuten gehen lassen.
3. Alle Zutaten zu einem glatten Teig verarbeiten – er sollte sich leicht vom Boden lösen lassen. Mit den Händen die Früchte/Nüsse unterkneten und den Teig dann weitere 30 Minuten zugedeckt an einem warmen Ort gehen lassen.
4. Den Ofen auf 200°C (390°F) vorheizen. Die Weckgläser einfetten und mit gemahlenen Haselnüssen (Mandeln) ausstreuen. Den Teig vierteln und in die Gläser füllen (die Gläser sollten maximal 3/4 voll sein). Im Ofen ca. 25-30 Minuten backen. Die Stollen nach dem Backen sofort mit der geschmolzenen Butter beträufeln und mit Puderzucker bestäuben und dann verschließen. Auf einem Kuchengitter abkühlen lassen. Die Stollen sollten etwa 2 Wochen reifen und sind dann noch etwa 2 Wochen haltbar.
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
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German Christstollen in a Glass Jar
- Prep Time: 00:30
- Cook Time: 00:30
- Total Time: 02:00
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Cakes
- Cuisine: German
Description
Delicious gift for a loved one around Christmas: Classic German Christstollen baked in a glass jar.
Ingredients
For the dough:
12.3 oz. (350g) dried fruits (e.g. apricots, cranberries, plums etc.)
1 organic lemon
1 cup (125g) chopped hazelnuts or almonds
5-6 tbsp. rum (or orange juice)
4 cups (500g) all-purpose flour
1.5 oz. (42g) fresh yeast
1 tbsp. sugar
1/4 cup (60g) sugar
1/2 cup (125ml) milk, lukewarm
2 cups (250g) butter, softened
1/2 cup (75g) ground hazelnuts (or almonds)
For the sugar coating:
8 tbsp. melted butter
confectioner’s sugar for dusting
Instructions
1. Chop the dried fruits and nuts finely. Add the zest of a lemon, the lemon juice and rum (or orange juice) and mix until well combined. Cover and let rest overnight.
2. Sift the flour into a large bowl. Make a hole in the middle, crumble the fresh yeast and add along with the tablespoon sugar and the lukewarm milk and mix until the yeast is dissolved. Add the sugar on top of the flour around the hole. Add the butter in small pieces on top of the sugar. Cover all with a kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place for 20 minutes.
3. Knead all ingredients to a smooth dough – it should come off easily from the bottom of the bowl. Add the dried fruits/nuts and knead in with your hands until all is well combined. Cover again and let rest for another 30 minutes in a warm place.
4. Preheat the oven to 390˚F (200°C). Grease the glass jars and sprinkle with the ground hazelnuts (almonds). Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and fill it into the prepared glass jars (the jars should be only 3/4 full). Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes. Take them out of the oven and add the melted butter on top. Dust with confectioner’s sugar and close the jars immediately. Let cool on a wire rack. The stollen should stay in the closed jars for 2 weeks to develop all flavors – after that, they should be eaten within 2 more weeks.
Notes
Good for 4 glass jars – each 17 fl. oz.
