The Best Cranberry Apple Stollen
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This homemade cranberry apple stollen is a traditional German bread made with nuts, dried fruits, spices, and marzipan. In this version, we’re using dried apples, cranberries, and hazelnut marzipan for a soft, buttery Christmas treat! This bread is perfect for guests, holiday snacking, and gifting to friends.

The first time I met Marc’s German side of the family was in Idaho Falls where we combed through old pictures of Trier, looked at his grandma’s Hummels and Räuchermanners, and I ate a ton of stollen because did you know there are huge chunks of marzipan in the middle?!
I may have eaten three or four slices and left his family’s house covered in powdered sugar. It was fine, I’m fine. It was worth it and now it’s one of my favorite Christmas breads along with cookie butter cinnamon star bread or these buttery ginger cranberry orange scones.
Anyways, even though my husband is half German, he’d never tried stollen because of his almond allergy. So, I decided to make an alternative version with homemade hazelnut marzipan, dried cranberries and apples, and a splash of bourbon! This recipe is based on the stollen I learned how to make in pastry school and it is so good.
Homemade hazelnut marizpan
Obviously you can use store-bought hazelnut marzipan if you can find it, but it’s so easy to make it at home. All you need is hazelnut flour, powdered sugar, an egg white, and vanilla! If you can’t find store-bought hazelnut flour, make your own by blitzing hazelnuts in a food processor until it’s mealy.
If you’re looking for a shortcut, use store-bought almond marzipan instead! You can find it in the baking aisle of the grocery store.
Make the marzipan
Macerate the fruit
Mix the dough
To test if the dough is properly kneaded, try the poke test! After you knead the dough, use your finger to poke the dough about 1/2-1 inch. If it fills back in slowly, it’s ready to go! If it springs back right away, it needs to be kneaded longer. Or, if it doesn’t spring back, the dough is over-kneaded.
Shape the loaves
Make sure you seal the edges and ends of the dough very well. Otherwise, it could pop open while it’s baking.
Bake & finish
Turn your oven into a proofing box
To help the dough rise properly, I like to turn my oven into a proofing box. Here’s how I do it!
- Set your oven to the lowest setting (mine is 170°F) and let it heat for 4-5 minutes. You don’t want the temperature to go over 130°F (54°C) or the yeast could die.
- Then, start boiling some water on the stove. Place an oven-safe baking dish on the bottom rack of your oven.
- Place the covered dough in the oven on the top rack, and then pour the boiling water in the baking dish on the bottom rack. Close the oven door and let the dough double in size about 1-1 1/2 hours. The heat and steam from the boiling water will mimic a proofing box!
How to store & freeze
Store the loaves in an airtight container or wrap them in a zipper bag. Place them in a cool, dry place for up to 1 week. If you want the stollen to last for longer, you can freeze it! Wrap the stollen in plastic wrap or parchment paper and place the loaves in a zipper bag or airtight container. Freeze for up to 3 months.
A make ahead option
If you want to split up the steps, there are lots of ways to spread out the recipe for this German Christmas bread!
- Marzipan – make it up to 1 week in advance.
- Fruit – macerate the fruit up to 12 hours in advance.
- Make-ahead dough – to start the dough early, make it up until the first rise. Instead of placing the dough in a warm spot, just cover it well and place it in the fridge to slow-rise overnight, no more than 12 hours. When you’re ready to continue, take the dough out and let it warm on the counter for 20-30 minutes, until it is fully doubled in size. Then, continue with the remaining steps according to the directions.
I actually really like the slow-rise method because it allows the dough to ferment a bit in the fridge and develop more flavor. However, it’s just as good if you make it all in one go!
For the best results, I always recommend measuring the ingredients with a scale instead of measuring cups. It’s the only way to make sure that the bread comes out great every time! If you don’t have a kitchen scale, make sure you’re measuring the flour properly. Fluff it with a whisk and spoon the fluffed flour into a measuring cup. Level it off without packing the flour in.
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The Best Cranberry Apple Stollen
Ingredients
Hazelnut Marzipan
- 176 grams hazelnut flour, plus more for dusting (1 1/2 cups)
- 150 grams powdered sugar, sifted (1 1/2 cups)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg white
Macerated Fruit
- 120 grams dried cranberries (3/4 cup)
- 60 grams chopped dried apples (3/4 cup)
- 66 grams hazelnuts, roughly chopped (1/2 cup)
- 50 milliliters bourbon (1/4 cup)
Stollen Dough
- 240 milliliters whole milk, warmed to 110°F/43°C (1 cup)
- 8 grams active dry yeast (1 Tablespoon)
- 67 grams sugar, divided (1/3 cup)
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 113 grams unsalted butter, softened & cut into chunks (1/2 cup)
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest (about 1 lemon)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons orange zest (about 1 orange)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 480 grams all-purpose flour, plus more as needed (4 cups)
- 1 batch hazelnut marzipan (recipe above)
Topping
- 28 grams unsalted butter, melted (2 Tablespoons)
- 200 grams powdered sugar, plus more as needed (2 cups)
Equipment
- Stand mixer with dough hook
- Food processor
- Parchment paper
Instructions
Make the hazelnut marzipan
- In a food processor, combine the hazelnut flour and powdered sugar. Pulse a few times to combine. Add the vanilla and egg white and pulse until a thick dough forms.
- Turn the dough onto a cutting board dusted with hazelnut flour and knead it until there are no dry spots. Roll the marzipan into two 12-inch logs and wrap the marzipan tightly in beeswax or plastic wrap.
- Refrigerate the marzipan for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 week. Alternatively, you can freeze the marzipan for up to 3 months.
Macerate the fruit
- In a medium bowl, combine the dried cranberries, dried apples, and hazelnuts. Pour the bourbon over the fruit-nut mixture and stir to combine. Let it sit, stirring occasionally, while you make the dough, or for up to 12 hours.
Mix up the dough
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the warmed milk, yeast, and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Let it sit until it’s foamy, 5-10 minutes.
- Then, add the remaining sugar, egg, egg yolk, butter, vanilla, lemon zest, orange zest, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, and salt. Use a dough hook to stir the mixture together until it's broken up a bit.
- Add the flour and mix until you have a dough that is tacky and pulling away from the sides of the bowl. If the dough is too sticky, add more flour 1 Tablespoon at a time until it's tacky but not sticking to the bowl. Avoid adding too much flour or the bread will come out dry.
- Knead the dough for 7-8 minutes until it is very smooth. Remove the dough from the bowl and grease the bowl with neutral oil or baking spray. Add the dough back to the bowl and cover the bowl with a linen. Place the dough in a warm spot until it is doubled in size, about 1-1 1/2 hours.
- Once the dough is doubled, punch it down to release the air. Pour off any excess bourbon from the fruit-nut mixture, and add the fruit & nuts to the dough. Use a dough hook to mix the fruit and nuts into the dough until well-combined. If the fruit-nut mixture makes the dough too wet, add flour 1 teaspoon at a time until the dough is tacky but doesn't leave a residue on your hands.
- Tip the dough onto a floured surface and cut it into 2 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a ball. Roll each dough ball into a 1-inch thick oval that is about 14 inches long by 10 inches wide.
- Place 1 marzipan log gently into the middle of one of the dough ovals. Fold the left side of the dough over until it covers the marzipan, and then fold the right side over the top of the left side (like a brochure) just until it reaches the left side of your marzipan log. (Do not fold the right side of the dough all the way over the edge of the left side of the loaf). Seal the side of the loaf where the edge of the dough meets the left side of the marzipan log. Pinch the ends so no marzipan is showing.
- Then, using the side of your palm, press your hand along the left side of the marzipan log to create a divot in the loaf. This will give the stollen the classic "bump". (See pictures in the blog post). Repeat with the remaining dough and marzipan.
- Place the stollen loaves on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Cover the stollen loaves loosely with linens and let them rise in a warm spot until puffy, about 1 more hour.
Bake & finish
- While the loaves rise, preheat your oven to 350°F (177°C). Once the loaves are puffy, pick off any pieces of fruit or nuts sticking out (they’ll burn in the oven). Bake the stollen for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown. The stollen are done when they sound hollow when you give them a "knock".
- Let the stollen sit at room temperature for a few minutes. Then, use a skewer or toothpick to poke holes all over the top of the bread. Next, brush the butter evenly over the tops of the loaves, allowing them to soak in the butter.
- Dust the loaves generously with powdered sugar. Let them cool completely and then dust them with powdered sugar once more. Slice and serve the stollen with hot coffee or store for later! Each loaf serves about 16 slices.
Notes
Originally posted on December 21, 2021.
Several years ago I had a Christmas stollen that I fell in love with. Your recipe sounds like it might duplicate that wonderful stollen. If I can get out in a snow storm tomorrow to get a couple of ingredients I’m missing, I hope to give it a try. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Thanks Joyce, I hope you love this recipe! Stay safe in the snow storm!
This is perfect, just what I’ve been looking for! I’m going to make these a little smaller to give away at the office. Thanks!
Oh yay, I’m so glad! For mini versions, I would definitely double up your sheet pans and reduce the bake time so they don’t burn on the bottoms. I would start checking for doneness around 20-25 minutes. Hope everyone loves them! xx.