Tomorrow the canine handlers are having a holiday party. My plan was to bring stollen, but since I don't like citron and a coworker is allergic to almonds, that cuts out the two most significant ingredients. I decided to use some of the fruit from my garden in it instead. I modified the recipe to make it "black forest" stollen by mixing in a pint of sour cherries and a cup of chocolate chips, then mixing a little cocoa powder into the sugar glaze. The main lesson I learned was to start the yeast separately in water before adding the cherry juice; trying to start the yeast directly in the juice just didn't work. Also, I think I could have used fewer chocolate chips, because the chocolate was a bit overpowering, but that's a matter of personal taste.
Black Forest Stollen
2 C frozen cherries, thawed and chopped in half
2/3 C sugar
2 t yeast
1/4 C warm water
1/2 t salt
4 eggs, room temperature
1/2 C butter, softened
1 C chocolate chips
4 C flour
Glaze:
1/2 C powdered sugar
1 T cocoa powder
2 t milk
Makes 2 loaves.
In other news, I see that Disney is producing a movie version of Into the Woods. I may actually have to go to the theater to watch that.
