Stollen - German Christmas Bread

For those of you who have never had Stollen, let me properly introduce you. World, meet Stollen.

I know there are probably hundreds of cultural and ethnic variations of this holiday dessert but in its simplest form it is just a Christmas quick bread with a batter much like a muffin or quick bread you are already familiar with.  In the U.S., we can usually find Stollen in high end grocery stores around Christmas and in January, you may see them discounted. If you are tempted, just take one home and try. They are truly delicious.

What makes this type of "quick bread" special is that the main ingredient is quark. I have posted the recipe recently and to make it at home is really quite an easy task so give it a try. If you are American or live in the U.S., I should say, it will be very difficult to find, which is why I highly recommend making it yourself.

I suppose a thick Greek yogurt or Kefir cheese might work as a substitute but if you have even the slightest bit of curiosity, then quark should be on your bucket list of things to do in the kitchen before you forget...  It takes about two to three days to make quark ahead of time but don't let that stop you from exploring two new things at the same time: Quark and Stollen. I promise you, you will not be disappointed so double up and make two batches while you are at it!

This recipe was provided by my mother-in-law who is from Austria but I had to make a few tweaks in order to work with what I had in my pantry. Oddly, I had just made quark, but I didn't have currants so I used dried cherries, for instance. Her recipe called for ground hazelnuts, which surely, would be divine, but I only had almonds, so I used those instead.  I didn't have rum extract so I used vanilla. Go with your best guess substitutes and if you have any questions, just leave a comment.

Stollen Ingredients:

• 500 g soft white wheat ground yesterday (all-purpose or pastry flour is just fine)
• 200 g sugar
• 2 eggs
• 250 g ground almonds
• 500 g quark
• 125 g raisins
• 125 g currants or dried cherries
• 125 g butter
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1 tsp rum flavoring or vanilla extract.

Baking:
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

This was amazing and did not last the week even when we tried very hard to eat just one piece. :) I make two at a time because I usually make about 1000 g of quark at a time.  If you do make two, these freeze very well so just wrap up the extra stollen tightly and securely in plastic wrap, then put it in a large gallon freezer bag and freeze until you need a Christmas pick-me-up.

When you are ready to eat it, take the wrapped stollen out of the freezer bag and plastic wrap and let it defrost on a plate in the fridge or kitchen counter until you are ready to serve. This is where the quark shines... The quark is what will keep it from getting dried out and it will stay moist on the kitchen counter even if left out overnight loosely covered with foil or a clean towel.

Hope you like it and I'd love to hear from you if you do decide to try it!

Dad's Thanksgiving Key Lime Pie

Yep, this is my Dad's favorite pie.  Without fail, every year, two pies get made at each holiday get together. One so that Dad can have pie after dinner as well as an entire pie for him to take home for left-overs, which means there has to BE enough for leftovers...

Oh well, that's the best part of any holiday, right?  However, I am thinking that after my Dad's stalking of everyone who had a piece of "his" pie this year, we may need to consider making a third... Just saying.  Our family is big and Dad can lay down a guilt-inducing stare for those that decide to share his pie. And let's face it, we all want a piece of this pie!

This year, my family had a Thanksgiving Do-Over.  That is to say, we redid our family holiday tradition in December because some of us had to work and therefor we missed our holiday get together. Not to worry, we have no issues with having an unscheduled "real Thanksgiving" even if it falls off the normal holiday calendar. We enjoyed it immensely and it may even become a tradition if we ever need a fallback Turkey Day.

I had been considering this very post because when we go to make it, we always have to fake the recipe and it turns out right every time. Still, I figured that I would write it down today so we always have it at hand and also because my hungry brother just texted me. He needs a pie fix, poor dear. :) Big Sis can accommodate you, so here it is, Love. Let me know how it goes, ok?

Graham Cracker Crust Ingredients:

* 8 inch premade graham cracker pie crust

OR make your own, it's super easy:

* 2 packages of graham crackers or favorite cookie that makes sense with this pie
* 2 tbsp sugar
* 1 stick of melted butter or coconut oil

1. Put the crust ingredients in the food processor and process until the mixture looks like wet sand.
2. Dump the contents into a greased or buttered spring form pan or 8 inch pie pan.
3. Using a small glass, gently press the crumb mixture on the bottom and sides of the pan. Doesn't need to be perfect, Brother.

**Also, if you don't have a food processor, just put the sugar and graham crackers into a zip lock bag and beat the crap out of it with a rolling pin. Ok, just kidding, you don't need to kill it, just roll the pin back and forth over the crackers to make a crumb and it doesn't have to be a fine crumb either. Chunky is good here, too.  Put the crumbs in a bowl and work in the melted butter with a fork until it is crumbly as instructed above. Dump this into the pan and form the same way I mentioned.  The results will be just as good.

Key Lime Pie Filling
* 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
* 1/2 cup lemon, key lime or rangpur lime juice (pink grapefruit might be awesome?!)
* 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
* 3 egg yolks, save egg whites for the meringue or make macarons :)
* 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar or 1 tbsp of corn starch (there is usually corn starch in powdered sugar and I have substituted this successfully before)

1. In medium bowl, combine milk, lemon juice, and zest; blend in egg yolks and powdered sugar.
2. Pour into ready made crust.
3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Meringue Topping (optional of course):
* 3 egg whites
* 1/4 teaspoon cream or tartar
* 1/4 cup sugar

1. Beat egg whites with cream of tartar until soft peaks from.
2. Gradually beat in the sugar until stiff.Spread over filling; seal to edge of crust.
3. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until meringue is golden brown.