For as long as I can remember, my mom made what she called Stollen every year at Christmas. Traditionalists would not recognize our family’s rendition of Stollen, which is similar to fruitcake.
Ours would be described best as a tender sweet roll pastry cradling fresh or canned fruit, with nuts and a sweet glaze topping—more akin to a Swedish Tea Ring. But Mom called it stollen, so we do too.
Our Holiday “Christmas Stollen” Story
I can still remember the aroma of the yeast bread as a child and the large roasting pan we used to mix the dough in by hand. Cherry, blueberry, almond, apple, peach, and apricot flavors would make it hard to choose just one, so we would fill our plates with slivers of them all.
Of course, each of us had a different favorite and Mom faithfully indulged us. She learned to make this delightful pastry from her sister, Louise, who was a tremendous cook.
My sister, Debbie, and I have carried on the tradition with our own families, teaching our children to make it as well. It is part of our family’s Christmas breakfast every year and we often give it as a gift to friends.
Although we use the same dough recipe and similar fillings, Debbie shapes her dough in the unique way our mother did—similar to a boat holding the fruit center with a lattice top.
Making this Stollen recipe as gifts, she has made dozens of them at a time (usually by request), so this method made it easier to create more varieties with custom sizes.
Years ago, mine deviated in shape to resemble a Swedish Tea Ring or what some call a Christmas wreath. I liked the presentation and I can divide the dough to make smaller rings for gifts, about the size of a dinner plate.
Our family and friends settled on just two favorite flavors—Cherry, and Blueberry-Cream Cheese (recipe below)—so this method has worked well for us. I have also experimented with different flour mixes to incorporate whole wheat here and there, or layered butter into the dough like a croissant to give it a richer texture from time to time.
It is heartwarming to know my mom, extended family, and close friends are enjoying this delicious Christmas breakfast just as we are. Although separated by distance, we relish each bite of this family tradition as though, for just a moment, we are together again.
Recipe Steps:
Blueberry-Cream Cheese Stollen
Ingredients
- 1/2 Recipe Sweet Roll Dough (recipe below)
- 1 can Comstock Morefruit Blueberry Pie Filling
- 1/2 Cup sliced Almonds
Glaze:
- 1 Cup Powdered Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Milk
- 1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla
Cheese Filling:
- 8 ounces cream cheese , Softened
- 1/4 Cup Sugar
- 3 Tablespoons Flour
- 1 Egg Yolk
- 1/2 Teaspoon Grated Lemon Peel
- 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
Instructions
Prep the Blueberry Filling:
- BLUEBERRY FILLING: Put pie filling in a colander with fairly large holes. Shake colander from side to side to remove as much filling as you can so that mainly the fruit remains. Lightly chop berries to make a very chunky paste.
For the Cream Cheese Filling:
- CHEESE FILLING: Beat cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in flour, egg yolk, lemon peel and lemon juice.
Rolling & Shaping the Ring:
- Roll 1/2 Sweet Roll Dough into a rectangle, approximately 15×9 inches, on a lightly floured surface (or divide the dough to make 2 smaller 4×7 rings).
- Spread cream cheese filling over dough with spatula. Spread blueberries over cream cheese leaving 1 inch clear of edge of dough. Roll up tightly, beginning at 15-inch side. Pinch edge of dough to seal well. To shape the log into a ring, pick up the dough in your hands and gently stretch as you bring the two ends together as you lay it on a parchment-lined baking sheet, seam side down (if not using parchment paper, butter a baking sheet).Once it is on the pan it is easier to move it as needed to get the dough into a circle with the two ends touching. Slip one of the ends into the other just a little and pinch the dough around it to seal the ring.
- Using kitchen scissors, make cuts 2/3 of the way through the ring at 1- inch intervals. Turn each cut section on its side. Let rise until double, about 40 minutes.(TIP: The ring can be frigerated before allowing to rise andbaked the following day.)
- Heat oven to 375°F. Bake until golden brown, 25-30 minutes. (If the tea ring browns too quickly, cover loosely with foil.) Remove from the oven and cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely (this is where the parchment comes in handy as you can grab the corner of the paper and slide the tea ring off the pan onto the rack).
For the Icing:
- Mix 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon milk and 1/4 almond extract until glaze is smooth. Place in a zip-loc bag and press down toward a bottom corner. Snip the end when you are ready to glaze and simply squeeze desired amount of glaze onto ring. Sprinkle with sliced almonds while glaze is still wet.
Notes
Variations:
- Add a layer of cream cheese filling before spreading the cherries over the dough.
- Substitute other fruit pie filling for the cherry and strain in the same way.
- Substitute walnuts or pecans for the almonds.
- Flavor icing with essential oils or other extracts like orange, butterscotch, or vanilla.
- Make it with 100% whole wheat flour and follow the sweet roll dough recipe for our Sprouted Wheat Cinnamon Rolls
- Make it Gluten-Free by using this gluten-free sweet roll dough recipe or purchase a handy gluten-free sweet dough mix
- Make it Vegan with this recipe for a Festive Vegan Tea Ring.
Make-ahead TIPS:
- Prepare the dough and refrigerate or freeze before shaping. HERE’S HOW: Allow the dough to rise for 1 1/2 hours, or until doubled in size. Punch down dough and refrigerate for up to 4 days or transfer to a freezer-safe bag and freeze for up to 1 month (defrost in the fridge). When ready to use, allow dough to come to room temperature for 30 minutes. Roll out and shape as directed starting in STEP 2 in the recipe.
- Shape and refrigerate the ring for up to 24 hours until ready to rise and bake.
- Shape the dough into one large ring or divide the dough for 2 smaller rings.
- Look for pre-made dough at the store, but be careful to get sweet roll dough and not regular bread dough. Sweet roll dough is different from bread dough because it has more fat (butter) and sugar so the finished pastry is flakier and sweeter than regular bread.
- Prepare and bake the tea ring as indicated in the recipe, except the final step of icing. Once the pastry is baked and cooled completely, wrap in two layers of plastic wrap, then wrap again with aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 1 month. (The ring can also be cut into serving size peices and frozen separately.) When ready to serve, remove from the freezer and completely unwrap the pastry. Place on a serving tray and cover with a lightweight dish towel; allow to defrost at room temperature until defrosted (2-3 hours). Mix the icing and decorate the tea ring. Serve at room temperature or gently warm individual servings for 20 seconds in the microwave.
Nutrition
Sweet Roll Dough
Ingredients
- 1 package active dry yeast
- 1/2 cup warm water 110°F
- 1/2 cup lukewarm milk 110°F
- 1/3 cup sugar or honey
- 1/2 cup butter , softened but not melted
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Dissolve yeast in warm water in large bowl. Stir in milk, sugar, butter, salt, egg and 2 cups of the flour. Mix until smooth. Mix-in enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle with lightly floured hands.
- Turn dough onto lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Place in greased bowl; turn greased side up. Cover; let rise in warm place until double, about 1 1/2 hours.
- Shape into desired recipe (like stollen or cinnamon rolls), let rise, and bake as directed.
Barb says
Just made this for Easter breakfast – Amazing!
randiag at FrugElegance says
Omygoodness my mouth is watering! I love how you & your sister have kept the tradition going and yet even evolved it to a new level. Making it into a ring looks amazing. Like it came from a speciality bakery. YUM!!
visiting from blogging50 😉
Debrashoppeno5 says
This looks so delicious. What a nice way to celebrate the season.
Florence says
Oh my goodness, those look wonderful! Love pastry! It reminds me of a special sweet bread my dad got every year from one of his patients….never knew what it was called, but it was a pretty dessert bread. Pinned. Visiting from BF group.
April @ The 21st Century Housewife says
What a lovely Christmas breakfast, and what a heartwarming tradition to share a family breakfast, even when you can’t all be together.