How to make the perfect stollen for Christmas 2025: top 3 recipes

Stollen is a traditional German Christmas pastry made with dried fruit, candied fruit, and spices. There are also recipes for stollen with poppy seeds, nuts, and marzipan. In recent years, this type of pastry has also gained its momentum in Ukraine, being served at Christmas.

Here are the top 3 best recipes for stollen that will surely appeal to everyone who tries at least a piece. One of them was shared by a food blogger with the nickname emiliya yevtushenko on Instagram. Another was shared by a cook with the nickname tallykoroleva also on Instagram. And the third recipe was published on Lilia Tsvit's YouTube channel.

Stollen No.1

Ingredients for the filling for three pieces

• mix of candied fruit and dried fruit - 500 g
• nuts - 200 g
• orange juice - 500 ml
• lemon juice - 1 pc
• lemon zest - 1 pc
• cognac - 100 ml
• cinnamon and clove mixture - 2 tsp.

Ingredients for the starter

• milk - 150 ml
• sugar - 1 tbsp
• fresh yeast - 15 g
• flour - 150 g

Ingredients for the dough

• eggs - 2 pcs
• cream or sour cream 20% or higher - 50 g
• sugar - 80 g
• powdered sugar - 300 g

• vanilla sugar - 12 g
• salt - ½ tsp
• melted butter - 150 g
• butter - 150 gr
• flour - 420 g

Method of preparation

1. Pour water over all the ingredients for the filling, except for the nuts, and leave for a week, stirring daily.

2. Fry the nuts and chop them with a knife.

3. Combine all the ingredients for the starter and set aside in a warm place for 40 minutes.

4. In a bowl, mix the melted butter, eggs, all the sugar, salt, and cream, and beat well with a mixer to dissolve the sugar.

5. Mix with the starter and add flour. Knead with a spoon and then with your hands.

6. Transfer to a bowl, cover with a towel and set aside for 40 minutes.

7. Add the candied fruit and nuts and mix them into the dough. You can add a little flour while kneading and set aside in a warm place again for 40 minutes.

8. Knead the dough and divide it into 3 parts.

9. Roll out each part 2 cm high, then roll up and leave it under a towel for another 20 minutes.

10. Bake at 160 degrees for 60 minutes.

11. Brush the hot stolen with melted butter and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

12. Wrap it in parchment and put it away until Christmas.

Stollen No.2

Ingredients for the dough for 2 pieces

• butter - 125 g
• sugar - 125 g
• cottage cheese - 125 g
• vanillin - 1 pack
• orange juice - 1 pc
• orange zest - 1 pc
• egg - 1 pc
• flour - 300 g
• baking powder - 10 g

Ingredients for the filling

• bried cranberries - 70 g
• raisins - 70 g
• candied fruit - 70 g
• dried mango - 70 g
• dried almonds - 100 g
• fresh cranberries - 1 handful

Method of preparation

1. Pour rum or cognac over the dried fruit the day before cooking.

2. Before cooking, drain them in a colander and then dry them with a paper towel.

3. Beat the butter with sugar with a mixer.

4. Add the orange zest, juice, egg, cottage cheese, and vanilla. Beat until smooth.

5. Add the sifted flour and baking powder, dried fruit (sprinkled with flour), nuts (chopped with a knife) and fresh cranberries to the mixture. Mix well.

6. Put the dough on a floured surface and roll out a rectangle.

7. Fold it in half and form a stollen.

8. Put it on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 200 degrees.

9. Once the stolen is in the oven, lower the temperature to 170 degrees and bake for an hour.

10. Brush the hot stolen with melted butter and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Stollen No.3

Ingredients for the dough for 3 pieces

• eggs - 2 pcs
• cream - 50 ml
• sugar - 80 g
• vanilla sugar - 1 packet
• salt - ½ tsp
• butter 83% - 150 g
• flour - 470 g

Ingredients for the starter

• milk - 150 ml
• sugar - 1 tbsp
• yeast - 15 g
• flour - 100 g

Ingredients for the filling

• dried apricots - 200 g
• raisins - 200 g
• cranberries - 100 g
• orange zest - 1 pc
• cinnamon - 1 tsp
• ginger - 1 tsp
• cardamom - ½ tsp
• nutmeg - 1 tsp
• cognac - 100 ml
• hazelnuts - 100 g
• almonds - 100 g

Additional ingredients

• butter - 100 g
• powdered sugar - 300 g

Method of preparation

1. Put dried fruits in a jar, add spices and pour boiling water over. When the water has cooled, drain it.

2. Add the orange zest and spices. Pour in cognac or rum. Cover, stir and refrigerate for at least a day.

3. Mix all the ingredients for the starter and set aside in a warm place for 40 minutes.

4. Combine all the ingredients for the dough at room temperature in a deep bowl. First, knead with a spoon, and then with your hands.

5. Cover the dough with a towel and put it in a warm place for 40 minutes.

6. Add nuts and dried fruits. Mix thoroughly.

7. Divide the dough into three equal parts, roll each of them into a rectangle, fold it in half, and then roll up.

8. Place the stollen on a parchment-lined baking sheet, cover with a towel, and leave for another 20 minutes.

9. Bake at 160 degrees for an hour.

10. Brush the hot stolen with melted butter and sprinkle with powdered sugar.