Favourite Christmas Treats

Italian Panettone 

Panettone has been a symbol of Christmas in Italy forever. The domed sweet bread is scented with spices and fruit and was traditionally wrapped and given as a gift. Bakers have tried variations on the original recipe, but the first is the best in my view. 

The best panettone has a creamy yellow crumb, a fragrant citrus scent and has a rich, buttery texture when you pull off a bite.

German Stollen

Sometimes called German Christmas Bread, Stollen is a classic German Christmas treat. As a child living in Germany for four years (former Canadian Air Force brat here), I remember the melt in your mouth texture of these rich, sweet slices of sweet bread.

This moist, yeasty bread is packed with fruit, nuts, and zesty candied lemon and orange peels. It’s also sometimes referred to as Christstollen (because Stollen is eaten at Christmas).

Topped off with a coating of melted butter and plenty of powdered sugar, just ditch the calorie counting and enjoy! 

Much maligned of late and I think mostly because of poor commercial varieties which can be dry, hard and tasteless, a good fruitcake was a Christmas tradition when I was growing up. My late mother used to make both light and dark fruitcake and started them in November. The finished cakes were then well wrapped and put in the freezer, ready for Christmas. 

I prefer mine uniced, but the tradition is for a thick layer of marzipan to coat the top, after which the cake is decorated with miniature Christmas figurines and ribbon. 

Do you have some favourite Holiday treats?