German Stollen have been around for nearly 700 years and are prized throughout the world as one of the most famous and beloved of all Christmas pastries. Your search for the BEST authentic German Stollen recipe has ended: Flaky, moist, and divinely flavorful, these homemade German Christmas Stollen are INCREDIBLE!
For more traditional German Christmas recipes be sure to also try our Pfeffernüsse, Lebkuchen, Springerle, Vanillekipferl and Zimtsterne!
Sweet cakes and breads studded with candied fruits and nuts are hallmarks of Christmas baking in many areas of the world. Examples include fruitcake which is traditional throughout the English speaking nations, panettone in Italy, keks in Poland, julekake in Norway, bolo-rei in Portugal and birnenbrot in Switzerland. But perhaps none are revered as highly throughout the world as German Stollen.
I grew up in southern Germany and celebrating the Christmas season without homemade Stollen was simply unthinkable.
What is Stollen?
Christmas stollen, known in Germany as Christstollen, is a yeast bread that is baked with dried fruits, candied citrus peel, nuts and spices. Variations include Mandelstollen (almond), Mohnstollen (poppy seed), Quarkstollen (quark), Nuss-Stollen (nuts), Butterstollen (high butter content), Dresdner Stollen and Marzipanstollen.
Stollen are famously dusted with a thick coat of powdered sugar, reminiscent of the snowy German landscape, and baked with spices conveying the warmth of the Christmas season.
© shutterstock
Where Did Stollen Originate?
The first and most famous variety of stollen is the Dresdner Christstollen. Some historians date its origin back to 1329 and over the centuries the stollen was refined to become what it is today. And it has come a long way indeed because up until 1650 the stollen was a bland, hard pastry as the use of butter and milk was forbidden during Lent by the Catholic church. It was in this year that Prince Ernst von Sachsen, at the request of the bakers of Dresden, petitioned the pope to lift the butter ban. The request was denied and then, five popes later, the ban was finally lifted in 1490 via the pope’s famous Butterbrief, “butter letter.”
From that point the stollen gradually developed into an enjoyable sweet bread incorporating additional ingredients and it become an important symbol of the region. King August II in 1730 commissioned the bakers of Dresden to bake a gigantic stollen in celebration of the strength of the Saxon military, an event to which he invited the dignitaries of Europe in the hope of building allies. The stollen weighed 1.8 tons (that’s 3600 pounds!), was 27 feet long and 18 feet wide and a special oven was designed and built just for this purpose. It took a convoy of eight horses to transport the stollen to the king’s table and a 26 pound and 5 1/4 foot-long knife was used to cut it.
Germany’s first Christmas market was held in Dresden in 1434. This market, the Dresdner Striezelmarkt, continues to be held every year. Also held annually on the Saturday prior to the 2nd Advent is the Dresdner Stollenfest featuring Germany’s largest Christstollen. So far 2013 holds the record for the largest Stollen weighing nearly 9400 pounds! Each year a horse-drawn carriage parades the giant stollen through the streets and on to the Christmas market. Per tradition, a replica of the original 5-foot long knife is used to slice the stollen. The mayor of the city tastes the first piece and the stollen is then cut into thousands of pieces that are sold with the proceeds going to charity.
© Lianem | Dreamstime
The Symbolism Behind Stollen
The word “stollen” refers to a post or boundary stone for a city. It is also thought it could refer to the entrance of a mine shaft. Some historians believe that the stollen’s characteristic shape was molded after the shape of a mine tunnel, reflective of the silver and tin mining industries of the time. But there is also religious symbolism behind the stollen with the loaf, or bread, being symbolic of the body of Christ. Specifically, being dusted with powdered sugar, it is symbolic of the baby Jesus in swaddling clothes. Thus it is traditionally called Christstollen, or Christ Stollen.
How to Make Stollen
I’m sharing with you my recipe for Stollen which is thoroughly authentic in its method and ingredients. It features dried fruits, candied lemon peel, nuts and marzipan (which you can omit if you choose). I LOVE the addition of marzipan and it’s one of the most popular varieties of Stollen. Don’t worry about having to go out and buy some, it is unbelievably quick and easy to make your own (seriously, it takes about 5 minutes). Check out our recipe for Easy Homemade Marzipan!
A Word About Store-Bought Candied Citrus Peel (do you hate it as much as I do?)
I have to tell you, I absolutely detest store-bought candied citrus peel. And most people I speak to feel the same. It has a bizarre chemical flavor no matter the brand. For that reason I’ve never been a fan of fruitcakes in general. BUT using your own homemade candied citrus peel is a 100% deal changer.
While you can use store-bought candied citrus peel if you insist, I VERY, VERY STRONGLY recommend making your own. Please, trust me on this: Using homemade candied citrus peel is the difference between night and day when it comes to flavor! It is vastly superior in every way and will make your Stollen taste incredible! And the good news is it can be made far, far in advance. In fact, I freeze mine so it lasts basically forever and I take out what I need as needed. Check out our recipe for Candied Orange Peel!
For anyone who may be feeling a little intimidated at the thought of making Stollen, don’t be. If you can make a cake or a loaf of bread, you can make Stollen. But while it’s easy to make, it’s not quick to make. There’s a waiting game involved both during the baking process and the aging process. In the baking process the Stollen dough has to rise a couple of times just like in making yeast bread. Then it has to bake for a while. And then there’s the waiting process. Typically the Stollen is tightly wrapped and kept in a cool place to age for 2-3 weeks before eating. This allows the liquid from the rum-soaked dried fruits to soak into the bread creating both flavor and moistness.
NOW, while letting Stollen age will allow the flavors to fully penetrate the bread, our Stollen is absolutely AMAZING straight out of the oven! So the question of to wait or not to wait we’ll leave up to you.
Fun trivia: Fruitcakes that contain a lot of alcohol can remain edible for years. Yes, years. For example, the Antarctic Heritage Trust discovered a 106-year-old fruitcake last year and after sampling it (the brave souls) they said it was not only in “excellent condition” for its age but was even “almost” edible! Another fruitcake baked in 1878 in Michigan was kept as a family heirloom and sampled for the first time in 2003 by Jay Leno on The Tonight Show. It’s amazing what an incredible preservative alcohol is. So in other words, as long as you keep your Stollen tightly wrapped and in a cool place, letting it age for 2 weeks is, like, nothing.
Lastly, if you’ve never been a huge fan of store-bought Stollen you’re not alone. I’ve never cared for them either. But homemade…that’s an entirely different story.
Your search for the best Stollen recipe has ended: Flaky, moist, and divinely flavorful, these homemade German Christmas Stollen are INCREDIBLE!
Authentic German Stollen Recipe
Let’s get started!
Place the raisins, candied citrus peel and almonds in a medium bowl and pour the rum over it. Stir to combine. Set aside and let the fruit mixture soak in the rum while the dough rises.
Stir the yeast and 2 tablespoons of the sugar into the lukewarm milk and let sit in a warm place for 10-15 minutes until very frothy.
Place the flour, remaining sugar, egg, egg yolks, butter, vanilla extract, lemon zest, salt, cardamom, mace and cinnamon in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the yeast/milk mixture.
Use a spoon to stir the mixture until it comes together. Knead the dough on the bread setting and once the dough comes together continue to knead for 7 minutes.
Remove the dough ball, lightly spray the bowl with a little oil, return the dough ball, cover loosely with plastic wrap and place it in a warm place or lightly warmed oven (just barely warm), to rise until nearly doubled in size, at least 1 hour.
Punch down the dough and add the soaked fruit/nut mixture to the dough (it should have absorbed all the rum by now but if there is excess liquid, pour it out before adding the mixture to the dough).
Using the dough hook, knead the fruit/nut mixture into the dough until combined. If the dough is too wet to handle, add a little bit of flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface.
Cut the dough in two equal halves. Press or roll each piece into an oval to about 1 inch thickness. Roll each piece of marzipan into a log the length of the oval. Press the marzipan gently into the middle of the dough.
Fold the left side of the dough over to cover the marzipan, then fold right side over on top of the left side so that the edge of it sits just left of the middle of the stollen. In other words, don’t fold the right side all the way over to the left edge of the stollen.
Pinch and tuck the top and bottom ends of the stollen to cover the marzipan.
Use the bottom edge of your hand to press down along the length of the stollen towards the right of the center to create a divot and characteristic hump.
Place the stollen on a lined baking sheet. Cover the stollen loosely with plastic wrap and let them rest in a warm place or lightly warmed oven for 40-60 minutes until puffy.
At this point you can pick off any raisins that are sticking out of the dough (they will burn during baking).
Towards the end of the last rise, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and bake the stollen for 30-40 minutes or until golden. You can use an instant read thermometer to aim for an internal temperature of 190 degrees F.
Let them sit for 5 minutes, then use a toothpick to poke holes all over the stollen. This will allow the melted butter to seep in.
Generously brush the stollen with the melted butter while the stollen are still warm.
Immediately sprinkle with a generous amount of powdered sugar, rubbing it into the creases and down the sides. Let the stollen cool completely.
The stollen can be sliced and eaten now or wrapped tightly (I like to wrap in plastic wrap then foil) and left to “ripen” in a cool place for 2 weeks. The liquid from the dried fruits will further penetrate the dough for more flavor and moisture.
Stollen can also be frozen for longer storage.
For eating, I like to warm the slices up for a few seconds in the microwave, it makes the crumb nice and soft.
Slice and enjoy!
For more traditional German Christmas goodies try our:
- Pfeffernüsse
- Lebkuchen
- Springerle
- Gugelhupf
- Printen
- Speculoos
- Vanillekipferl
- Zimtsterne
- Kokosmakronen
- Magenbrot
- Bethmännchen
- Heidesand
- German Rum Balls
BEST Authentic Stollen (German Christmas Bread)
Ingredients
- For the Dough:
- 1 cup lukewarm whole milk
- 3 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 4 cups all-purpose flour ***NOTE: Amount will vary depending on how much liquid is in your fruit/nut mixture. Be sure to drain any excess liquid. Add more flour as needed if dough is too wet.
- 1 large egg
- 2 large egg yolks
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks) , at room temperature so it's very soft
- 2 teaspoons quality pure vanilla extract
- zest of one lemon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 3/4 teaspoon ground mace (recommended but can substitute nutmeg)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 8 ounces Homemade Marzipan/Almond Paste , divided in half (you can omit the marzipan if you prefer)
- or store-bought marzipan/almond paste
- For the Fruits & Nuts:
- 9 ounces raisins
- 3 ounces candied lemon peel , finely diced
- 3 ounces candied orange peel , finely diced
- Homemade Candied Citrus Peel Recipe (we VERY STRONGLY recommend using homemade, it makes ALL the difference!)
- 3 ounces blanched slivered or sliced almonds , finely chopped
- 1/3 cup quality dark rum
- For the Glaze & Dusting:
- 1 stick unsalted butter , melted
- powdered sugar for generous dusting
Instructions
- Place the raisins, candied citrus peel and almonds in a medium bowl and pour the rum over it. Stir to combine. Set aside and let the fruit mixture soak in the rum while the dough rises.
- Stir the yeast and 2 tablespoons of the sugar into the lukewarm milk and let sit in a warm place for 10-15 minutes until very frothy.
- Place the flour, remaining sugar, egg, egg yolks, butter, vanilla extract, lemon zest, salt, cardamom, mace and cinnamon in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the yeast/milk mixture. Use a spoon to stir the mixture until it comes together. Knead the dough on the bread setting for 7-8 minutes. Remove the dough ball, lightly spray the bowl with a little oil, return the dough ball, cover loosely with plastic wrap and place it in a warm place or lightly warmed oven (just barely warm), to rise until nearly doubled in size, at least 1 hour (likely closer to 2 hours depending on the temperature of the environment).
- Punch down the dough and add the soaked fruit/nut mixture to the dough (it should have absorbed all the rum by now but if there is excess liquid, pour it out before adding the mixture to the dough). Using the dough hook, knead the fruit/nut mixture into the dough until combined. If the dough is too wet to handle, add a little bit of flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and cut it in two equal halves. Press or roll each piece into an oval to about 1 inch thickness. Roll each piece of marzipan into a log the length of the oval. Press the marzipan gently into the middle of the dough. Fold the left side of the dough over to cover the marzipan, then fold right side over on top of the left side so that the edge of it sits just left of the middle of the stollen (see pics). In other words, don't fold the right side all the way over to the left edge of the stollen. Pinch and tuck the top and bottom ends of the stollen to cover the marzipan. Use the bottom edge of your hand to press down along the length of the stollen towards the right of the center to create a divot and characteristic hump (see pics). Place the stollen on a lined baking sheet. Cover the stollen loosely with plastic wrap and let them rest in a warm place or lightly warmed oven for 40-60 minutes until puffy. At that point you can pick off any raisins that are sticking out of the dough (they will burn during baking).
- Towards the end of the last rise, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and bake the stollen for 30-40 minutes or until golden. You can use an instant read thermometer to aim for an internal temperature of 190 degrees F. Let the Stollen sit for 5 minutes, then use a toothpick to poke holes all over the stollen (this will allow the butter to seep in), then generously brush the stollen with the melted butter while the stollen are still warm. Immediately sprinkle with a generous amount of powdered sugar, rubbing it into the creases and down the sides. Let the stollen cool completely. You may want to give it another dusting of powdered sugar once cooled.
- The stollen can be sliced and eaten now or wrapped tightly (wrap in plastic wrap then foil) and left to "ripen" in a cool place for 2 weeks. The liquid from the dried fruits will further penetrate the dough for more flavor and moisture. Stollen can also be frozen for longer storage.
- Makes 2 large or 3 medium Stollen.For eating, I like to warm the slices up for a few seconds in the microwave, it makes the crumb nice and soft.
Nutrition
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet November 20, 2018
Sue says
Hi, I’m looking forward to making this, we absolutely love stollen! Our shop-bought one doesn’t contain eggs, which is great for me, as I have an egg allergy. Do you think I could leave the eggs out, and add extra milk and butter to replace the volumn and moisture?
Aaron says
Sue,
My mother also cannot have eggs. I added soy lecithin at a ratio of 1 tablespoon of powder per yolk or whole egg. I also replaced half the milk with quark (a German cream cheese). Unrelated to consistency and for flavour only, I added additional peels (grapefruit and lime) to my candied peel mix and replaced part of the raisins with dried cherries, dates, and figs. I also included a few pistachios and macadamias in my nut mix. These are just personal choices but the lecithin and quark probably gave the stollen the binding and thickening effect. My mom said it was the best she had ever had. She’s had stollen every Christmas since her reaction to eggs developed so it was high praise from her.
Hope this helps if only slightly,
Aaron
Barbara says
Anxious to make this Stollen ….. can the dough be made using a bread machine but then shaping it by hand?
Marie says
I’ve used this recipe as my go-to Stollen for giving during the holidays. I usually make 9 medium loaves and store them well wrapped in the freezer for several weeks. I’ve tasted a stollen after two months in the freezer – no loss of quality.
This is a DELICIOUS stollen recipe and our German neighbor said it tastes authentic. I make the marzipan every year and did the candied peels twice (using your linked recipes). Note: The citrus peels are easy, so just do it if your only option is the gross glaceed stuff in the grocery store. Thank you for sharing your recipe; it’s become a wonderfully delicious tradition with friends and family.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you, Marie, it warms my heart to hear that! :)
Francine says
Hi Kimberly. I made this for the first time last Christmas season – and it was wonderful. My latest effort is going through the second rise, and I have a question. I don’t remember the dough being particularly wet last year (I know, that’s a long time to remember specifics!), but it does seem rather wet this time around. I double checked all my ingredient measurements, and everything was correct It seems I’ve had to add a fair amount of additional flour. Any thoughts on this? I drained the fruit/nut mixture well with no extra liquid remaining. In fact, the dough was pretty wet before adding the mixture to it.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Francine, I’m so glad you made and enjoyed it last year, thank you! Without having been there to observe you making it this time around it’s hard to know what went wrong but something obviously did. The dough shouldn’t have been “wet” either before or after adding the reconstituted fruits. Nothing has changed in the recipe since I first published so somewhere along the process either too much liquid was accidentally added or not enough flour.
Francine says
I don’t know either – but it really didn’t matter. I added additional flour and prayed. And I have to say, it was truly out of this world. My son and I are working out way through one of the loaves. It might last another day or two. I took the other loaf to my sewing group meeting today, and it disappeared in a flash.
Love this and will be making it again closer to Christmas when my son’s girlfriend from Amsterdam visits
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Excellent! Prayers work :) And so does flour :) So glad everyone enjoyed it, thanks again for the feedback, Francine!
Julie says
How much flour needed depends on the humidity in the air. So the flour required will change with what’s going on with your weather at the time you make it. Just that simple. Adding more flour was the right thing to do :)
Levi says
I had this same issue! Making this for the first time today with my new KitchenAid. For some reason the dough just would not come away from the sides during the first knead with the dough hook, until I added more flour. Hoping it still turns out well. Using store bought mixed peel as I was too keen to make this tonight but already have bought oranges and lemons to make my own candied peel for the next batch.
Lucy deGraft-Johnson says
I’m having this trouble too. This is my first time making it and I thought I must have got the measurements wrong. I’ve had to add loads of extra flour to get it to come away from the sides of the bowl. It was too sticky to even turn out. I probably added 25% extra flour in the end. It’s on its first prove now, so fingers crossed
Claire says
I’m having the EXACT same problem right now. I thought it was just me. I’m questioning if that milk amount is too high? I’m going to see how well it rises since I had to add quite a bit more flour.
Jaimee Linder says
Well, I have read all the reviews and I will take the plunge in making this for my bestfriend, whom is German and her memories of her Grandmother baking are always lovely. My friend, was actually asked about a traditional roll cookie that is of German history. Any thoughts?
Brandy says
When you say store in a cool place, do you just mean the refrigerator? I wasn’t sure and was worried about it getting moldy if left out even wrapped up.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Brandy, no the refrigerator as it will dry out your stollen. Keep it well-wrapped in whatever the coolest area of your house is. Basements are ideal but most people don’t have one, so we just do our best with what we have.
Skye Malone says
My father grew up a few years in Germany and is fond of keeping his Christmas traditions alive. We use to have store-bought stollen and lebkuchen cookies, which are okay, but the first time I made your homemade recipes, it was as if my father was a little kid again. The stories he told were worth it, but when he personally talked to me about how AUTHENTIC it tasted, that was the best Christmas present.
Thank you for your recipes. They are worth any and all extra effort and totally taste like they are made with love.
(P.S. PLEASE MAKE YOUR OWN MARZIPAN! It is a WORLD of a difference, and everyone was beyond impressed I made it homemade!)
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
This warms my heart and made my day, Skye, thank you so much for sharing! <3
Deborah says
Every year I have purchased Stolen from a bakery in Missoula, Montana. This bakery is famous for their Stolen. Every year there is an article about it in the local newspaper. It is truly the most amazing Stolen. This past Christmas, I couldn’t go to Missoula to buy the Stolen. I really missed it and have lamented not having it since Christmas. I am book marking this recipe and plan to make it in early December so that it can “rest” for a while. I also make a spiced Marachino cherry cake that I wrap in brandy soaked cheesecloth but I make that in September. Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe and I can tell just by reading it that it will be wonderful.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you, Deborah, I hope you enjoy this recipe and look forward to hearing what you think about it!
Kj says
Can you explain why the marzipan is in a tube down the middle of one side? Is there some historical tradition about that? I like to know the history behind different bakes. I like that you included that. Would one ever cut the marzipan into small chunks like the size of the fruit so you get it mixed throughout?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Kj, I don’t know that there is any historic significance or symbolism behind that, it’s just how it’s typically done. If you prefer you can cut it up into chunks and mix it throughout.
Sharon Quari says
Hello
The mazipan is symbolic of the baby Jesus and the fruit cake is the swaddling o keep him warm.
Mariana says
Hi dear, do you have a suggestions on a non-alcoholic way soak the dried fruits and get a similar taste? Thank you! I’m so excited to try this receipe.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Mariana, you can soak them in fruit juice instead, like apple or orange juice.
Julie says
Phew! I made the stollen before reading this post. I chose to use fresh orange juice. It’s on it’s last rise. I’m really looking forward to this as I spent almost 4 years in Germany many years ago and LOVE the food – especially the Stollen!
Grace says
College student just getting into baking here–I made this at Christmas for my grandmother, who remembered eating stollen over the holidays when she was a kid. I went all in and made the linked candied citrus and marzipan as well. It was really well received! It was a whole day project but it turned out perfect, everyone liked it, and it even got Grandma’s stamp of approval for looking and tasting just like she remembered. The citrus was such a success I made a second batch soon after (we chocolate covered some to make imitation orange sticks too–so good!), and I can see myself using your marzipan recipe again as well. Highly recommend this recipe :)
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Grace, that is so wonderful that you put it all that effort for your grandmother and that your efforts paid off – well done! I’m so happy everyone enjoyed it and appreciate your feedback, thank you!
Jeff says
Hi! This looks excellent. I can’t wait to try it. I just have a question—I only want to make one stollen. Can the recipe be cut in half? Thank you!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Jeff, yes you can cut the recipe in half to make just one Stollen. Happy baking!
Angela says
Hi Kimberly. If halving how much egg/yolk should I use please?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Angela, you’ll use one large yolk instead of two and for the one large egg, I would beat it with a fork and then remove a little of it (it doesn’t need to be exactly half).
Sandra K. says
WOW! I HATE any type of fruit cakes, but this “Stollen” was superb… You can adjust the type and amount of fruit to your liking. I followed the recipe with the exception of using dried blueberries, cranberries and cherries also adding some dried mango and homemade peels and chopped up almond slivers. I do want to add much more marzipan to it however. Baked up perfectly and tastes DELICIOUS.
Anna says
Thank you for this authentic recipe, i love Stollen! I only use metrics so I found your click to convert measures very useful, can I ask which CMS you are using?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Anna, I’m using U.S. Customary and there is also the option to click and switch to Metric.
Louise Marischuk says
Excellent
Thanks for a great recipe
Bonnie says
Thanks so much for this wonderful recipe! I made many batches for our extended family! Everyone loved it! Several have asked for the recipe so I am directing them to you!!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thanks so much, Bonnie, I appreciate it! <3