German Christmas Stollen Cookies
Transport yourself to a German Christmas market with these delicious German Christmas stollen cookies. As a bite-sized version of a traditional Dresdner stollen recipe, these bites offer the same classic dried fruit and citrus flavors that you love in the classic Christstollen. Perfect as a gift during the holiday season!
Related recipes
For more German Christmas cookies and treats, check out the following recipes:
- German gingerbread cookies
- Coconut macaroons
- Candied pecan maple clusters
- Chocolate crossies
- Baumkuchen
My Weihnachten guide has more festive German tips as well.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Festive flavors: These dried fruit cookies encapsulate the rich, traditional flavors of German stollen, making them a perfect treat for the holiday season.
- Stollen cookie: These handy stollen bites offer the same festive taste as a whole Christmas Stollen but in convenient, bite-sized portions.
- Food gift: These dried fruit cookies make delicious homemade gifts during Christmas time.
Ingredients
- Dry ingredients: You’ll need all-purpose flour, active dry yeast (or instant or fresh yeast), and granulated sugar.
- Wet ingredients: Warm whole milk, melted butter, vanilla extract, and eggs at room temperature.
- Dried fruit: Sultanas and dried red currants, glazed lemon peel and orange peel. You can also add lemon zest or orange zest for extra freshness.
- Nuts: Ground almonds add a wholesome texture and nutty flavor to these Christmas cookies. You can substitute them with ground walnuts, pecans, or hazelnuts as well.
- Christmas spice: I use 1 tsp of my Christmas spice mix which is a blend of ground cinnamon, nutmeg, all-spice, ginger, and cloves. Add a knife tip of each instead if you don’t want to make up a large spice mix.
- Icing sugar: For dusting the cookies post-baking.
How to make stollen cookies
1. Activated yeast and dry ingredients.
2. Stollen dough before the rise.
3. Shaped stollen cookies before baking.
4. Stollen cookies after baking.
Tips
- Soak fruits: Soak the dried fruits in warm water or rum the night before to enhance their flavors and keep the cookies moist.
- Dough rise: Allow the yeasted dough to rise in a warm place until it has expanded in size. This step is crucial for achieving a light and airy texture in your stollen cookies.
Serving
Serve these stollen cookies as a tasty addition to your Christmas dessert table, or package them in an airtight container for a delicious homemade gift during the festive season.
Variations
Rum raisins: Traditionally rum-soaked raisins add extra flavor to homemade stollen. Simply soak the raisins and red currants in 1/2 cup of rum.
Marzipan: Fill the stollen cookies with homemade marzipan to create an indulgent and sweeter treat.
Crinkle cookies: Roll the cookies in icing sugar before baking for crinkle cookie coating.
FAQ
Yes, you can prepare the dough a day ahead, allowing it to rise in the refrigerator overnight for a convenient next-day bake.
Keep the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. They also freeze well for longer storage.
German Christmas Stollen Cookies
Ingredients
- 5 oz raisins
- 5 oz dried red currants
- 1/2 cup milk lukewarm
- 2 tsp active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup ground almonds
- 1 tsp Christmas spice mix
- 3/4 cup butter softened
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3.5 oz candied citrus peel
Instructions
- Add the sultanas and dried red currants to a medium bowl and pour over boiling water until they're fully submerged. Set aside to plump up.5 oz raisins, 5 oz dried red currants
- Activate the dry yeast by combining lukewarm milk, yeast, and 1 tbsp of the sugar. Mix and let it froth up for 5-10 minutes.1/2 cup milk, 2 tsp active dry yeast
- In a large bowl or a bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, ground almonds, Christmas spice, and sugar.1/4 cup sugar, 3 cups all-purpose flour, 1 cup ground almonds, 1 tsp Christmas spice mix
- Add the activated yeast, softened butter, vanilla extract, and eggs to the flour mixture. Mix until fully combined.3/4 cup butter, 2 eggs, 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Drain the sultanas and red currants and incorporate the soaked fruit into the dough alongside the candied citrus peel.3.5 oz candied citrus peel
- Knead the dough by hand or with a dough hook until it becomes smooth and elastic. Shape it into a large dough ball and then let it rise in a warm place covered with a damp tea towel or plastic wrap 1-2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350F/180C.
- Roll the dough into small balls (about 2oz each) and place them on a lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
- Bake the stollen cookies for 15-20 minutes until golden brown, then cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes.
- Roll in icing sugar while warm. Enjoy immediately or store them in an airtight container in a cool place for up to a week.
