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.Â
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:Â 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:
- PfeffernüsseÂ
- Lebkuchen Â
- Springerle
- Gugelhupf
- PrintenÂ
- SpeculoosÂ
- VanillekipferlÂ
- Zimtsterne
- Kokosmakronen
- Magenbrot
- Bethmännchen
- HeidesandÂ
- 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
Katie says
I am making your recipe tomorrow and I was wondering if you think dried cherries would be okay instead of raisins? I am making the stollen to share with coworkers and most of them do not like raisins, which is crazy because I love them. I also made the homemade candied citrus and I am going to make the almond paste. I was also thinking about using spiced rum, what do you think?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Katie, absolutely, cherries are a great substitute. And spiced rum is totally fine too. Happy baking!
Laura says
I have been making this recipe for years and we all love it! I make 3 medium loaves and the first loaf is almost gone before it is even cool! I make my own candied citrus like you suggested, but omit the marzipan because the kids don’t like it. I try to keep at least one wrapped up for a week or two, but its so delicious it doesn’t usually last that long! Thanks so much for sharing! This is definitely a holiday favorite :)
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m so thrilled to hear that, Laura, thank you! :)
Alesa Belvedere says
This is an amazing recipe! It’s nearly impossible to find a really good Stollen in our area. The previous city we lived in had a wonderful German restaurant that made theirs every Christmas. I’ve been using your recipe every Christmas for the last three years. It’s not difficult if you follow the steps. I agree its worth making your own marizpan and candied fruit! You will be delighted upon your first bite!!
My only question is can it be split into 3 loaves instead of two?
Thank you for this recipe and the joy it brings to our Christmas Holidays!!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, Alesa, I’m so glad you enjoyed it, thank you! Yes, you can divide it into 3 loaves, you’ll just need to reduce the baking time (same internal temp).
Vilaiwan Dienel says
Hi
Thank you for your great recipe; it is my second year baking this recipe for my family. I appreciate your expertise and making baking possible!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thanks so much, Vilaiwan, I’m happy it’s become a tradition!
Karen Stoeckle says
This was my first time making Stollen. Your directions were excellent and it came out so delicious. I did make the citrus and the almond paste homemade as you suggested and they were both super easy. I will definitely be making this every year!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
That’s fantastic, Karen, thank you, and I’m happy all your hard work paid off!
Deborah Straubel says
Hi Kimberly, so often you see a recipe and think, oh wow, I must try this, and you end up so disappointed. Well, this recipe is definitely not one of those!! I made two last week and I am making another two today, for my brother-in-law, my husband’s family are German, I also made them some Linzertorte. I let it rise for one hour and it is so awesome. Today I will let it rise a little longer and see if there is a difference. Thank you for this recipe, I’ve never made Stollen before, but it will now be one of our treasured recipes. I did make your homemade peel and almond paste as well, so good!!!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Deborah, I am so truly happy to hear that, thank you very much!
Wayne Downing says
I never had a stollen. My wife and sister in law recommended it. So I tried your recipe. Instead of the homemade candied fruits I used store bought candied fruit (the kind you put in fruit cake) Sorry. But it did work well. They shared it with the neighbors and now I have a request for the stollen for 5 of my neighbors. Great recipe. Thanks
We give out cookies and now a stollen to the neighbors for Christmas.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m so glad it was a hit, Wayne, thank you!
Lindsey Kraus says
Thank you for another wonderful recipe, I made my own candied peel and my own marzipan as you recommended.the bread is finishing off the last rise and looks wonderful can’t wait to try it
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
That’s so exciting, Lindsey, congratulations and please let us know what you think!
Kristen says
Do you use your marzipan or almond paste recipe for this? I see the recipe says one is thicker if adding more almond flour and rose water, the other is thinner. I am not familiar with either, and have only ever bought stollen, but am going to try making it for my 94 year old grandpa! Also, can you candy cherries and pineapple yourself and add, or will their larger size affect texture and/or baking time? Thanks!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Kristen, I use almond paste as it’s a bit softer but you can use marzipan as well. If you make the marzipan/almond paste recipe as stated that’s exactly what you need for this Stollen. I haven’t tried making candied pineapple but making candied cherries is a different process than the candied citrus peels. But yes, you can add candied pineapple and candied cherries to the Stollen and no, it won’t affect the texture or alter the baking time. That’s wonderful that you’re making this for your grandpa, I hope he enjoys it!
Jenn says
Can I use rum extract? My son is making this for his school as part of a report, and I’m uncomfortable using actual rum.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Jenn, yes you can but don’t use the same equivalent of extract or it will be terribly overpowering; be sure to dilute it with water.
Anna Ludvigsen says
Thanks for this fantastic and detailed recipe. Tried it last year and it was a great success…came back this year to do it again. It will become a family Christmas staple. Frohes Fest!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you so much, Anna, I’m happy it’s become a family tradition!
Kristen says
Instead of just candied orange and lemon peel, is this good with other homemade candied fruit (cherries and pineapple) or does their larger size affect the baking? Also do we use your almond paste recipe or follow your marzipan note with rose water and more almond flour?
Thank you! Going to make for my 94 year old grandpa instead of buying it this year. His mom made it growing up and it’s his favorite thing to eat in Christmas.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Kristen, you can use any candied fruit you like and it won’t impact the baking. If you make my almond paste as written that’s exactly what you need for this stollen (you can also make/use marzipan, which is firmer, but I use the almond paste version). Happy baking and Merry Christmas to you and your grandpa! :)
Susy says
Hi there, can I use white rum? OR??
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Susy, yes that’s fine.
HEIDY van den Engh says
I have made stollen for 40 years. Thought I would try a new recipe. Your recipe is good, almost the same as all the others I have made, the difference is your rising time which is completely off. For a new baker, to tell them that this bread will take an hour is very misleading. The amount of sugar and butter will require at the minimum 2 hrs and can go as high as 4 hours for the first rising. A friend made your recipe and when her dough did not rise sufficiently after the hour she assumed she had done something wrong and threw it out.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Heidy, you’ll note that my recipe states “at least 1 hour”. That clearly implies that a longer rise time is likely. An exact time cannot be given as it is highly dependent on the temperature of the environment. I’ve added a note in the instructions for any individuals for whom that isn’t clear.
Amy-Grace says
Hello, can we replace the rum for brandy or a non-alcoholic liquid like orange juice, or just hot water?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Amy-Grace, yes you can use brandy or orange or apple juice. Happy baking!