Stollen
This was my children's favorite Christmas goodie. A German Fruit Bread that was traditional with us for Christmas Morning breakfast.
The recipe makes about 7 loaves but don't worry it will all be eaten.
5 pounds flour
1 1/4 pounds sugar
1 1/4 pound butter melted and cooled
5 envelopes dry yeast
4 eggs, beaten
milk or water
1 lb seedless raisons
1 pound currents
1/2 pound chopped almonds
1/2 pound citron
dissolve yeast in warm water , add 1 tablespoon of the sugar and set aside
Mix flour and sugar in VERY large bowl
make an indentation in the middle of dry ingredients and add melted butter , beaten eggs and yeast mixture.
With your hands incorporate dry ingredients into wet a little at a time until soft dough stage is reached. If necessary add more water or milk to incorporate all dry ingredient.
Mix in fruit and nuts.
Cover bowl and place in a warm place until double is mass.
Punch down and divide into loaves and
either put in loaf pans or mold into ovals on baking sheet.
Allow to rise a second time to double in mass.
Bake in slow oven (300^o) about 2 hours if loaves are large
Cool before cutting if you can without some one grabbing some.
Dust with powdered sugar or ice and decorate.

 Pannetone  di Natale
Here's another Christmas bread. This time from Italy
1 envelope of dry yeast
1/4 cup milk scalded and cooled
1/2 cup flour
Mix these three and put into a warm place till bubbly
3/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
cream together
3 eggs
2 egg yokes
stir into yeast mixture
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
enough flour to make dough soft and sticky
Divide dough in half
In one half knead
1/2 cup shredded candied peel
1/2 cup citron
1/2 chopped blanched almonds
Let both half's of dough rise in a warm spot to double its bulk
Knead each half again for three minutes.
Butter a tube pan, sprinkle with sugar, and cover with
whole Blanched Almonds
Roll out plain dough into a long rectangle.
Roll out fruited dough to same size and place on top of plain dough.
Roll the two layers together into a long roll and place in prepared pan.
Let rise till double in bulk
Bake at 400^oF 10 minutes, reduce heat to 350^oF and continue
to bake another 50 minutes
Partially cool and turn out onto rack.

How about some Christmas Cookies?
Favorka
This one is from Poland
5 egg yokes
3 tablespoons sugar
5 tablespoons sour cream
grated rind of 1/4 lemon
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
Stir egg yokes and sugar until smooth
add sour cream , lemon rind and extract
sift in flour and salt.
Knead on lightly floured board until smooth and firm enough to roll.
Chill, then roll very thin and cut into 4" strips.
cut gash through center of each strip, pull one end through opening
fry in deep far for about 1 min
Drain on paper towel and dust with confectioners sugar
Speculas
and this one is from Belgium
7 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
cream together
2 cups flour
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon mace
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
combine with creamed mixture and form into a ball.
Cover and chill overnight
Roll dough to 1/4" thickness on lightly floured board.
cut with cookie molds to Santa, star etc.
Bake on greased cookie sheet at 350^oF for 10 to 12 min.

Pepernoten (Gingernuts)
Speculaas are a traditional Dutch biscuit or cookie baked on St. Nicholas'
  Eve (Dec. 5).
4 c  Flour
1 c  Butter
1 1/2 c  Brown sugar
4 ts Baking powder
1 pn Ginger
1 pn Nutmeg
1 pn Cloves
1 ts Cinnamon
1 pn Black pepper
1 ts Salt
Milk
Blanched almonds (opt.);
OR Candied fruit peel (opt.)
 
Preheat the oven to 350 ^oF. Mix all ingredients in the mixing bowl. Wash your hands and with your wet hands mix everything well. Knead the mix until it becomes a dough that does not stick to your hands. Grease the baking-tray using the butterbrush Roll the dough into little balls, as big as marbles, and put these on the baking tray. Put the baking tray in the middle of the oven and for about 20 minutes. Turn of the oven, let the gingernuts cool for 10 minutes and then use the saptula to remove them from the baking tray.
 

Now for some Christmas Candies
as a good tip, get a candy thermometer and be careful of temp.
Spiced Nuts
2 tablespoons water
1 slightly beaten egg white
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups pecan halves
add water to egg whites
add sugar and spices mix well. Let stand till sugar is dissolved
about 15 min.
Dip nuts in mixture and spread on greased cookie sheet
bake in oven 250^o until golden about 1 hour

 or another version of the same thing
Candy Coated Nuts
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups pecan or walnut halves.
combine sugars and sour cream; cook to 236^o
Add vanilla;
beat until mixture begins to thicken.
Add nut; stir till well coated .
Turn out on greased cookie sheet;
separate into individual pieces.

Fudge
4 cups sugar
1 14 1/2 oz can evaporated milk
1 cup butter
2 6 oz packages of semi sweet chocolate pieces
1 pint marshmallow cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup broken nut meats
cook sugar, milk and butter to 236^o. Remove from heat, add chocolate, marshmallow cream, vanilla and nuts.
Beat till chocolate is melted and blended
Pour into buttered 13 x 9 x 2 inch pan. Cool and cut into squares

NEW YEARS EVE RECIPE
Oliebollen'
(pr. 'oh-lih-bul-lun', Dutch doughnuts)

 1 lb flour
 1 small bag dried yeast
  1 egg
  1pt of milk
 2 tea-spoons salt
 1 big golden apple
  1/4 lb currants
    1/4 lb raisins
  3 table-spoons shaved 'sucade' (pr. 'soe-kah-duh', sugar-coated
lemonpeel)
 oil
 powdered sugar
Preparation
(30 minutes + one hour rising + 45 minutes)
Mix yeast and flour in a mixing bowl. Make a little pit in the middle
and break the egg in here. Heat the milk in a saucepan until it is
lukewarm, and pour the milk into the little pit. Add the salt. Use the
mixer to whisk it into a smooth batter, and keep mixing it for about
2 minutes. Peel the apple and grate it. Wash the currants
and the raisins and dry them thoroughly. Add to the batter: the
grated apple, currants, raisins and sucade and then mix thoroughly.
Cover the mixing bowl with a clean tea-towel and leave it to rise for
at least one hour in a warm place, until the volume has
doubled.
Use a saucepan to heat the oil until just some steam
comes off. Make little balls from the batter. Put the
balls into the hot oil. Do not make too many balls in one time, because
the balls will still rise a little. cook them for about 5 minutes until
they are goldenbrown and done. Flip them after three minutes (stab
a toothpick into the ball to see of it is done; it is done, when the
toothpick comes out dry). When the balls are ready, take them out
of the saucepan with a spatula and put them on a piece of paper
towel to remove the oil. Mix the batter in the mixing bowl now and
then during the cooking, to prevent the sinking of the filling. Serve
the 'oliebollen' warm, sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Another hint
Cooled 'oliebollen' you can reheat in an oven for about 10 minutes,
after you pre-heated it to 150 C (gas oven level 2). After this, put
them on a piece of paper-towel to remove some oil and sprinkle
them with powdered sugar. But think of it that they are also very
good when cold!