Ingredients:

• 3/4 kg / 1.6 lbs potatoes (mealy or mashing type like Russet)
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 1 small egg
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 tsp salt
• pinch of nutmeg (optional)
• pinch of pepper, preferably white ground
• oil for frying, canola

Preparation:

1. Wash the potatoes and place in a large pot. Cover with water and add salt. Boil, covered, until soft. Drain the water. Peel and place in a bowl, then mash with a hand masher, or use a potato ricer while still hot. Set aside.
2. Place about one inch of oil in a frying pan. Begin heating at medium to start. Be careful not to burn the oil.
3. Separate egg carefully, and add yolk into the potatoes. Set aside the egg white. Add butter in flakes to the potatoes, as well as the flour, and seasonings. Blend together well.
4. Whisk the egg white in a bowl. In a separate bowl, pour in breadcrumbs. Set both bowls aside.
5. Knead the potato dough with your hands, and then shape into long cylinders. Cut with knife if necessary, to create about two inches long, and 3/4 to one inch thick pieces.
6. Quickly coat each piece in egg white, then gently press into breadcrumbs to cover.
7. Test oil by dropping a few breadcrumbs in, and if the oil sizzle, the pan is ready. If not, raise the temperature slightly and wait a few minutes more.
8. Fry croquettes, turning frequently, until golden brown. Turn heat down if they are browning to quickly.
9. Set croquettes on paper towel to drain off some oil. Serve while hot.

Difficulty: Easy.
Preparation Time: 70 minutes.
Portions: 10 slices.

Ingredients:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups water
• 750 ml bottle of dry white wine
• 750 ml bottle of dry red wine
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup dark Jamaican rum

Preparation:

1. Bring water and sugar to a boil in a large pot, while stirring constantly until the sugar has dissolved.
2. Add the wines and bring the mixture to a simmer. Stir in the rum and lemon juice.
3. Ladle the punch into cups and serve warm.

Ingredients:

• 1 2/3 c. blanched almonds or hazelnuts (about 1/2 pound)
• 4 c. unbleached flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. finely ground black or white pepper
• 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 1 tsp. dry powdered mustard
• 1/4 tsp. ground mace
• 1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
• 2 1/2 sticks butter (10 ounces), softened
• 1 1/4 c. light brown sugar, packed
• 3/4 c. honey
• 1/3 c. warm water
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350-degrees F. Toast the nuts in a shallow pan on the middle rack for about 10 minutes, until they are only lightly toasted. Cool the nuts.
2. Using a food processor or blender on ‘Chop’, chop the nuts along with 1/4 cup of the flour until they are about the size of uncooked grains of rice.
3. In a large bowl, beat butter until creamed. Add the sugar and beat until thoroughly mixed. Next, beat in the honey. Reserve about 2 tablespoons of water and place the the rest into the bowl, beating to mix. It will look curdled. In a small cup stir the reserved 2 tablespoons water with the baking soda until the soda is dissolved; add to the bowl and mix.
4. In another bowl, mix the sifted, dry ingredients. Add these into the butter bowl, blending in gradually. Finally, beat in the chopped nuts.
5. Spread out three large pieces of plastic wrap or paper, wrap, and then flatten each package to about a 1-inch thickness. Place the packages in the freezer for about 1 hour (no longer) or in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.
6. To bake, adjust two racks to divide the oven in thirds and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with baking parchment or aluminum foil, shiny side up, and set aside.
7. Flour a pastry cloth and a rolling pin. Unwrap a piece of the dough. Cut it in half. Work with one half, rewrapping the other half and placing it in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it. Place the dough on the floured cloth. If it is very firm pound it a bit with the rolling pin. Turn the dough upside down occasionally while you work with it, and re-flour the pastry cloth and the rolling pin as necessary. Roll out the dough to a 1/4-inch thickness. Using a large, round cookie cutter (mine is 3 1/2 inches in diameter), start to cut the cookies on the outer edge (not in the middle) of the dough, and cut them touching each other.
8. Place the cookies about an inch apart on the lined sheets. It might be necessary to use a metal spatula to transfer the cookies from the pastry cloth to the sheets. Use a smaller cutter to cut cookies from any of the scraps that are large enough. Press any other scraps together, re-wrap, and re-chill. Bake for about 18 minutes, reversing the sheets top to bottom and front to back once during baking.
9. Bake until the cookies are golden. If the cookies on the lower rack start to darken too much around the edges, slide another cookie sheet under them – the double sheet will protect the bottoms. Cool briefly on the sheets until the cookies are firm enough to be moved. With a wide metal spatula transfer the cookies to racks to cool.
10. Dust each cooled cookie in confectioners sugar. If desired, cookies can be redusted the next day before serving, or gifting. Store in an airtight container.

Ingredients:

• 6 c. flour
• 1 1/2 tbsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 pound butter, softened
• 2 1/4 c. sugar
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 c. fruity wine, such as Riesling

Preparation:

1. Sift together flour, salt and cinnamon into a large bowl.
2. Beat butter with electric mixer, while gradually adding 2 cups of sugar, and beat until light and fluffy.
3. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then alternately beat in the dry ingredients and wine, about a third at a time. Dough will be very soft.
4. Divide the dough into 5 equal parts, flatten, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate overnight.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Roll out dough about 1/4 inch thick on a lightly floured surface. (Placing a piece of wax paper over the dough while rolling will help prevent sticking, without adding too much extra flour to the dough.)
6. Cut with cookie cutters, transfer to greased cookie sheets. Scraps may be gathered, rechilled, and rolled one additional time.
7. Brush cookies with lightly beaten egg, sprinkle with a little of the remaining sugar. Bake in batches until golden, about 20 minutes.
8. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and cool completely. Decorate or glaze as desired. Cookies taste best after sitting for 1 week.

There are many things we love in our house. Some of the Stolze family favorites? We must have Marzipan and Butter Stollen, Pfeffernüsse, Lebkuchen (gingerbread, especially chocolate covered for the boys), and of course liqueur-filled chocolates – every year.

What to do if you don’t have someone to send them to you? There are a few options. For one thing, if you have an Aldi’s near by, they always do some German Christmas specialties this time of year. I have found Stollen, Lebkuchen, Pfeffernüsse and frozen specialty German cakes there. Some even carry Glühwein. Aldi’s is a German owned company, so they are great for finding reasonably priced German goods. Another option is Big Lots. They occasionally carry some of the German cakes and Stollen there. Not as fresh, in my opinion, but good in a pinch. Also, some Shoprites carry a good mix of German sweet items, such as Balsen brand cookies and Stollen. And if you simply can not find these near you? Try German Deli, an online German specialty retailer based in Texas.

German Deli has made it very easy and affordable to try a variety of holiday specialties. They offer the Christmas in a Box, which is essentially various sizes of gift boxes containing German holiday specialties.  You can also find items to purchase individually.

I wish you luck in you German holiday food endeavors. It can be difficult, but rewarding in the end. Trust me.

Enjoy, and happy holidays!

Difficulty: Easy.
Preparation Time: 45 minutes.
Portions: 6.

Ingredients:

• 1 (750 milliliter) bottle red wine
• 3/4 cup water
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 orange
• 10 whole cloves
• Optional – 1/2 cup rum

Preparation:

1. In a medium size saucepan, combine the water, sugar, cinnamon and cloves. Bring to a boil while stirring constantly, then reduce heat and continue to simmer.
2. Cut the orange in half and squeeze the juice into the pot. Place cloves into the orange peel and drop into the mixture. Cook until the mixture starts to thicken like syrup.
3. Pour in the wine and rum (if using) and stir, heating gradually until steaming. DO NOT BOIL. Remove oranges and serve in prewarmed mugs.

This is a very easy shortcut version.  If you would like a more authentic torte, try the Himbeertorte – German Raspberry Cake Recipe and replace the raspberries with strawberries. You will require a special flan pan to make your own cake shell.

Difficulty: Easy.
Preparation Time: 1 – 3 hours.
Portions: 8.

Ingredients:

• Prepared sponge cake shell (can often be found in the produce section of the grocer)
• 1 container, ripe strawberries
• sugar

Glaze

• 2/3 c. sugar
• 2 tbsp. cornstarch
• 1 1/2 c. water
• 1 (3 oz) pkg Strawberry Gelatin (sugar free if you want less sweet)

Preparation:

1. If your strawberries are fresh and rip, then cut 1 hour before placing on cake, otherwise cut 2 – 3 hours before. Cut lengthwise in halves or quarters, and place in large dish. Sprinkle with sugar. Set aside for the allotted time.
2. Line the cake shell with strawberries, oerlapping at the bottoms to cover the crust completely.
3. Glaze: Cook the first three ingredients until the mixture becomes thick. remove from heat and add gelatin immediately, while continuously stirring. Stir until smooth.
4. Allow to cool for 10 minutes.
5. Pour the glaze over the strawberries being careful to not allow too much to spill over the sides. Make sure the berries are covered completely.
6. Ready to serve in about an hour, or until glaze is fully set. If keeping longer than a day or two, refrigerate, or the berries may begin to mold. Serve with whipped cream.

These are the best candidates for a good Rumtopf (make sure fruits are pitted, cored, and with stems/leaves removed, if applicable):

• Pineapple (cut into large chunks)
• Cherries (any variety)
• Peaches (cut in halves, quarters, or slices)
• Apricots (halves)
• Nectarines (halves)
• Plums (half or quarter)
• Pears (peeled and sliced)
• Grapes (sweet seedless red or green grapes are ideal)
• Strawberries (don’t wash, just remove stem & leaves).
• Raspberries (don’t wash).
• Red currants
• Gooseberries

The following fruits are not good candidates:

• Citrus fruits (too acidic)
• Apples (odd texture)
• Bananas (mushy!)
• Blackberries and Blueberries (bitter)
• Watermelon and cantalope (waters down the mixture)
• Rhubarb (can make the mixture sour)

A few points to make.  First of all, fruit should be ripe, not overripe. Overripe fruit will become mushy and could affect the taste negatively. Also, frozen fruit is not recommended due to the excessive moisture upon thawing.

Our next segment will explain preparation of your Rumtopf.

See also:

Rumtopf – Preserving Seasonal Fruits Pt.1

Rumtopf – Preserving Seasonal Fruits Pt. 3

This recipe is an adaptation of a Bavarian recipe I came across online which uses a potato dough. Enjoy!

Difficulty: Moderate.
Preparation Time: 1 hour 20 minutes.
Portions: 4.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds potatoes (slightly ‘stale’ works well)
• 150 grams flour (approximately 5 ounces)
• 3 tablespoons salt
• 2 eggs
• 3 tbs ghee (melted butter)
• 5 apples
• butter
• sugar
• 10 ounces milk
• 150 grams sugar (approximately 5 ounces)

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F, or 200 degrees C.
2. Peel potatoes and boil in salted water until soft. While still hot, press the potatoes until pulverized. Let cool.
3. Add eggs, flour, and salt.  Blend together and knead well. If dough sticks, add more flour gradually until it no longer does.
4. Shape into a roll about 2 inches thick. Cut the roll every 2 inches to create about 6 or 7 pieces.
5. Knead each piece down to about 1/4 inch thickness to create the wraps.  Spread butter on each dough wrap.
6. Peel and slice apples thinly. You may chose to chop them instead to get a better fit. This is also fine.
7. Fold each wrap in half over the apple. Gently press the edges together to get a good seal.
8. Place the Maultaschen in a large baking dish and coat both sides with the melted butter. Bake for 40 minutes. (See next step for interim steps in baking process).
9. In a small saucepan, place milk and sugar.  While stirring constantly, allow to boil.  Then bring mixture to simmer until sugar is completely dissolved.
10. Add the thickened, blended milk mixture into the dish with the ravioli after about 10 minutes of baking time has elapsed.
11. Serve with some vanilla sugar sprinkled (optional) on the Maultaschen.