That looks so good! I had friends who owned a German gift shop (he had been stationed there and she was German), and they would import cases of those around this time of the year. I see that the recipe is unleavened and has ricotta in it...very interesting.
Thanks! It really is a good and easy recipe...just a couple of kneads and no proofing, etc. I thought the "unsliced" pics didn't look so great; the slices really tell the story. I couldn't find any "Fiori di Sicilia" so I subbed a teaspoon of grated lemon rind. Have you ever used that? Oh, and I didn't have slivered almonds so I used toasted chopped pecans.
I've never heard of Fiori di Sicilia. One site describes it as "...a bit of citrus, herbal notes from a variety of flowers, and a lot of vanilla wrapped together in a symphony of flavors and aromas." It sounds like one of those things I would buy for a specific recipe and then never touch again (I've got lots of stuff like that.) $10 to $15 per ounce. An ounce is only 6 teaspoons. I like your substitute. But on the right day, I'd try it, then let the half bottle sit with all the other single-recipe ingredients I've got kicking around. (Whole Foods doesn't carry it.) But what the heck is Fiori di Sicilia doing in Stollen???
Like my Lee & Perrins cookbook: "Add one drop..." But others make Fiori di Sicilia. And apparently it's a not-uncommon ingredient in baked goods. Funny when you search on Amazon for it, "King Arthur" is in the Suggested list, but they don't sell King Arthur brand Fiori di Sicilia. Hmmmmm...... Martha Stewart refers to it as "a blend of essential oils layered with the musky depth of vanilla"...you substitute for vanilla at a ratio of 50%. I've got an empty spot on my shelf next to the half bottle of Datu Puti cane vinegar and the nearly-full bottle of sherry vinegar, right behind the jar of Za'atar.
Yeah, I looked it up when I read the recipe, but I checked other stollen recipes that just called for lemon zest or lemon oil. A lemon was a lot cheaper. I even used store-brand AP flour. :gasp:
It doesn't make sense to put it in Stollen. Everything else I read had it in baked Italian Christmas breads & pastries. I really doubt you could find it in the store. If Whole Paycheck ain't got it...
Not that anyone cares, but the stolen has a different texture somehow... more like a scone or something similar. It's not "cakey" nor particularly "bready." Also, it's not as good today as it was fresh from the oven, so I put a slice in the toaster oven and that helped. And as for other snacks, I finally finished off the Moose Munch that my daughter gave me for Christmas. My dentist will probably be glad to hear it.
Last night I got a bee in my bonnet to make cookies, so I dragged out the Nestle's semi-sweet chocolate chips and made toll house cookies with pecans (recipe on bag). They turned out great but I totally forgot that the recipe makes 10,000 cookies so I was in the kitchen for 2 hours, scooping cookies and swapping out baking sheets. I sent my husband over to his sister's house with a plate full of cookies and some to his mom as well. I suppose I'll put some in the freezer because we still have a TON of cookies.