When it’s dark and cold outside and everything inside smells of cinnamon and vanilla, one thing is obvious – December and the Christmas season are here! Our house doesn’t smell of cinnamon and vanilla all year round, but when we’re baking in the kitchen, the smell quickly spreads through all the rooms. ;) It was no different with these delicious German (Quark) Stollen Stars. When you take these little treats out of the oven, they smell wonderfully Christmassy…
There are a few classics we always bake during the Christmas season. For us, these are Christmas cookies, gingerbread, and Christmas Stollen. The latter may not be everyone’s favorite pastry, but we really like these dense bread-ish cakes with candied orange peel, lemon, and raisins. If only the preparation was not so time-consuming and the waiting time wasn’t always so long. ;)
A traditional Christmas Stollen needs a lot of time from start to finish. Normally, a baked Stollen should rest in a cool place for at least 2-3 weeks so it can develop its flavors and the perfect texture. Usually, we are fine with that, but if you need something a little quicker, these Stollen stars are just perfect. They taste very similar to the original, even without the long waiting times. A win-win for all Christmas Stollen fans! ;)
Quark Stollen stars are a wonderfully uncomplicated and a quick alternative to the traditional bake. They combine the typical flavors of a traditional Stollen – candied orange peel, candied lemon peel, raisins, cinnamon, vanilla, and even a little rum. Of course, a generous amount of butter and sugar are also essential. Similar to their larger counterparts, the smaller Stollen stars are coated with butter after baking and then covered with sugar. When making traditional Christmas Stollen, this is usually just confectioners’ sugar – for our stars we used a mixture of regular sugar, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla sugar.
Even though the smaller Stollen stars don’t have the same texture as the traditional version, we love our little stars. Thanks to the quark, they are fluffy and soft and will keep for a few days. However, you shouldn’t leave these little treats lying around for several weeks like a classic Christmas Stollen. They are intended as a quick alternative and shouldn’t be left lying around forever… Fresh from the oven or the next day with a cup of coffee – simply perfect! A week old… not so much.
The dough for the Stollen stars is quick to prepare and doesn’t need time to rise – there’s no yeast in it. The only thing that takes a little longer, when preparing the stars, is soaking the fruit in rum. This should be done the evening before (or even longer in advance). It’s not really »work« you have to do, because the is just soaking in rum, but it’s something you shouldn’t forget doing. ;) When baked, the stars are coated with melted butter while still warm and then rolled in the sugar mixture. This makes the Stollen stars ten times more delicious! ;P
As with traditional Christmas Stollen, only a portion of the Stollen stars are kept at our home – most of them are usually given away to family and friends. You don’t want to overindulge yourself. If something like this is lying around, it will be eaten in our house. So give a way as much as possible (and bake more if needed). ;)
If you prefer to make a classic version of Christmas Stollen, you’ll find a few recipes for that here on the blog. Our Christmas Stollen with Marzipan is made in the traditional way with yeast and needs time to mature/ripen. If you want to serve it at Christmas, you should to get started at least two weeks earlier. ;)
Our Quark Stollen for Christmas requires a little less waiting time – it’s ready to eat and give away after just a few days. Our Mini Curd (Quark) Christmas Stollen are even quicker done. It’s ready to enjoy shortly after baking… but gets even better after a few days. ;)
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
(12 Stollen stars)
For the rum-soaked fruit:
1.8 oz. (50g) candied orange peel*
1.8 oz. (50g) candied lemon peel*
1.8 oz. (50g) raisins (or cranberries)
2-3 tbsp. rum
For the dough:
2.5 oz. (70g) butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup (50g) sugar
2 medium eggs
5.3 oz. (150g) quark
10.2 oz. (290g) all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. gingerbread spice
1 pinch of salt
For the decoration:
2.8 oz. (80g) butter, melted
1/4 cup (50g) sugar
2 tbsp. vanilla sugar*
1 tbsp. confectioners’ sugar
(12 Sterne)
Für die eingelegten Früchte:
50g Orangeat*
50g Zitronat*
50g Rosinen (oder Cranberrys)
2-3 EL Rum
Für den Teig:
70g weiche Butter
50g Zucker
2 Eier (M)
150g Quark
290g Mehl (Type 405)
3/4 TL Backpulver
1/4 TL Lebkuchengewürz
1 Prise Salz
Für die Dekoration:
80g Butter, geschmolzen
50g Zucker
30g Vanillezucker*
1 EL Puderzucker
Variations & alternatives
As we probably all know, opinions are very divided when it comes to raisins. If you don’t like them, you can of course leave them out here. Chopped (dried) cranberries, dates, or apricots work just as well in the recipe. A few chopped nuts also work well in the Stollen stars here…
If that’s not enough for you, some finely chopped marzipan could also be added to these Stollen stars. Marzipan and Christmas, a match made in heaven. ;P
Instead of the sugar mixture, you could use a simple sugar icing (with a little lemon juice) and brush the stars with it instead. In that case, just leave out the melted butter – no need to brush the baked stars with that.
This sweet treat is ideal as a gift
If you want to give the stollen stars as a gift, simply get a few small bags or tin boxes and fill them with the Stollen stars. Decorate the bags or boxes with a pretty ribbon and a note, and you have a great gift from your own kitchen for someone you love. Who could resist something like that? ;)
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. Mix the candied orange peel, candied lemon peel and raisins with the rum in a small bowl, cover and let soak overnight.
2. Add the butter and sugar to a large bowl and mix until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one after another and mix well after each addition. Next, add the quark and mix in. Combine flour, baking powder, gingerbread spice, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl and mix in briefly. Before the dough starts sticking together, add the rum-soaked dried fruit and mix in, and then knead everything to get a homogeneous dough. The dough will be very sticky, but that’s OK. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for about 20 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F). Line a baking sheet with baking parchment and set aside.
4. Roll out the dough on a floured surface – you want it to be about 1,5 cm thick. Cut out as many stars as possible using a large star cookie cutter*. Place them on the baking sheet with some space in between. Collect leftover dough, roll out again and cut out more stars. If not all stars fit on your baking sheet, you can bake more stars in a second round. Bake the Stollen stars for about 16-18 minutes – they should have nicely browned all over.
5. Melt the butter for the decoration and let cool down slightly. Mix sugar, vanilla sugar, and confectioners’ sugar in a shallow bowl and set aside.
6. Take the Stollen stars out of the oven and brush them immediately with melted butter while still on the baking sheet. Roll the still hot Stollen stars in the sugar mixture until completely coated with the sugar mixture. Place them on a wire rack and let them cool down completely. Repeat if you have more stars to bake. The Stollen stars are good to eat for a few days if you store them in a tightly sealed container.
1. Orangeat, Zitronat und Rosinen zusammen mit dem Rum in einer Schüssel vermengen, abdecken und dann über Nacht ziehen lassen.
2. Die weiche Butter mit dem Zucker in einer großen Schüssel hell und luftig aufschlagen. Die Eier einzeln dazugeben und jeweils gut unterrühren. Den Quark dazugeben und unterrühren. Mehl mit Backpulver, Lebkuchengewürz und Salz vermengen, dann zur großen Schüssel dazugeben und kurz untermengen. Bevor der Teig anfängt zusammenzuhalten, die eingelegten Trockenfrüchte dazugeben und dann alles zu einem homogenen Teig verkneten. Der Teig wird recht klebrig sein, aber das ist OK. Die Schüssel abdecken und den Teig für etwa 20 Minuten ruhen lassen.
3. Den Ofen auf 200°C (390°F) Ober-/Unterhitze vorheizen. Ein Backblech mit Backpapier auslegen und zur Seite stellen.
4. Den Teig auf einer bemehlten Arbeitsfläche etwa daumendick ausrollen und dann mit einem Sternausstecher* so viele Sterne wie möglich ausstechen. Mit etwas Abstand zueinander auf das Blech setzen. Verbliebenen Teig noch einmal verkneten, ausrollen und ausstechen, bis alles aufgebraucht ist. Wenn nicht alles auf ein Blech passt, kann man auch eine zweite Runde backen. Die Stollensterne für etwa 16-18 Minuten backen – sie sollten rundum ein wenig Farbe bekommen haben.
5. Die Butter für die Dekoration schmelzen und ein wenig abkühlen lassen. Zucker, Vanillezucker und Puderzucker in einer flachen Schüssel vermischen und bereitstellen.
6. Die Stollensterne aus dem Ofen holen und direkt auf dem Blech noch mit geschmolzener Butter bestreichen. Die noch heißen Sterne in der Zuckermischung wälzen, bis sie rundum mit Zucker bedeckt sind. Zum Abkühlen auf ein Kuchengitter setzen. Noch nicht gebackene Stollensterne backen und dekorieren. Die Stollensterne halten ein paar Tage durch, wenn man sie in einer gut schließenden Dose aufbewahrt.
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
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German (Quark) Stollen Stars
- Prep Time: 00:30
- Cook Time: 00:18
- Total Time: 10:00
- Yield: 12 1x
- Category: Stollen
- Cuisine: Germany
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
A classic German Christmas bake turned into a sweet treat – German (Quark) Stollen Stars are based on Christmas Stollen, just way smaller and less sweet. ;P
Ingredients
For the rum-soaked fruit:
1.8 oz. (50g) candied orange peel*
1.8 oz. (50g) candied lemon peel*
1.8 oz. (50g) raisins (or cranberries)
2-3 tbsp. rum
For the dough:
2.5 oz. (70g) butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup (50g) sugar
2 medium eggs
5.3 oz. (150g) quark
10.2 oz. (290g) all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. gingerbread spice
1 pinch of salt
For the decoration:
2.8 oz. (80g) butter, melted
1/4 cup (50g) sugar
2 tbsp. vanilla sugar*
1 tbsp. confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
1. Mix the candied orange peel, candied lemon peel and raisins with the rum in a small bowl, cover and let soak overnight.
2. Add the butter and sugar to a large bowl and mix until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one after another and mix well after each addition. Next, add the quark and mix in. Combine flour, baking powder, gingerbread spice, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl and mix in briefly. Before the dough starts sticking together, add the rum-soaked dried fruit and mix in, and then knead everything to get a homogeneous dough. The dough will be very sticky, but that’s OK. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for about 20 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F). Line a baking sheet with baking parchment and set aside.
4. Roll out the dough on a floured surface – you want it to be about 1,5 cm thick. Cut out as many stars as possible using a large star cookie cutter*. Place them on the baking sheet with some space in between. Collect leftover dough, roll out again and cut out more stars. If not all stars fit on your baking sheet, you can bake more stars in a second round. Bake the Stollen stars for about 16-18 minutes – they should have nicely browned all over.
5. Melt the butter for the decoration and let cool down slightly. Mix sugar, vanilla sugar, and confectioners’ sugar in a shallow bowl and set aside.
6. Take the Stollen stars out of the oven and brush them immediately with melted butter while still on the baking sheet. Roll the still hot Stollen stars in the sugar mixture until completely coated with the sugar mixture. Place them on a wire rack and let them cool down completely. Repeat if you have more stars to bake. The Stollen stars are good to eat for a few days if you store them in a tightly sealed container.
Notes
Let the baking begin!
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