German Stollen

There cannot be Christmas holidays without the beautiful flavors of home made cookies and cakes! One of my favorites is the German Christmas Stollen: 

Ingredients:
For the dough:
1,2 kg all purpose flour
120 gr. yeast
200 gr. sugar
1 pinch salt
3/8 l milk
3 eggs
1 pack vanilla powder
300 gr. butter
For the filling:
200 gr. whole almonds, blanched, peeled and chopped
500 γρ. raisins blonde
200 γρ. raisins black
100 γρ. candied orange peel
100 γρ. candied lemon peel
Zest & juice of a lemon
1/4 tsp cardamon, nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon
100 ml rum
1 bitter almond extract
For the frosting:
250 gr. melted butter
250 gr. icing sugar

Preparation:
The night before baking, mix in a large bow; all the ingredients for the filling and let soak. 

Dough: In a large bowl, sift 1 kg of the flour and make a pothole in the center. Dissolve the yeast in the warm milk and a pinch of salt and 1 tbs sugar. Add the yeast to the center of the bowl. Carefully take some flour and mix with the yeast, until you have a liquid porridge.

Spread some sugar and flour over the porridge and cover the bowl and leave it in a warm place, until the yeast has doubled in size. 

Knead well. Mix eggs with sugar and vanilla and add to the dough. Knead again and leave the dough covered to rest in a warm place, until it has doubled in size.

Add the rest of the flour and the sugar and knead again.

 Add the filling to the dough and knead again. From 2 oval shapes and fold each oval piece in half. Carefully lift the dough onto the baking sheet and leave to rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until nearly doubled in size. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/gas 4. Bake the stollen for 60 minutes, or until golden.Cover with foil if it begins to brown too much. Brush warm loaf with butter and dust thickly with powdered sugar. Cool on ​rack.Wrap tightly in foil.

Merry Christmas

monday moodboard

It's less than a month till Christmas and I'm in a christmass mood! 

 1. Signoraluna 2. HeartshapedCreations 3. Azulsupplies 4. SparrowPrimitives 

Visit  Staroftheeast's blog to see more monday moodboards featuring gorgeous creations by the members of the Europeanstreeteam!

Christmas cookies recipes

This year I decided to follow the German tradition and bake Christmas cookies, to fill our home with Christmas smells! When we were young, we used to bake cookies with my mom and we had great fun! Later, I continued the tradition and was baking cookies with my son when he was little, or a friend!

The tradition of course wants the cookies to be baked one month before Christmas, but I only had time to do that last minute!And my son helped me too, by decorating them.

Biscuits with pistachios
Ingredients: (for 60 pcs. approx.)
175 gr. butter softened
100 gr. castor sugar
1 pinch salt
4 tbsp lemon squash
1 tbsp water
25 gr. candied lemon
50 gr. chopped peanuts
Zest of one lemon
300 gr. flour
Glaze: 50 gr. castor sugar
1 tbsp lemon squash
Chopped peanuts
Beat butter. Add sugar, salt, lemon juice and water and beat well for 10 minutes, until you have a smooth dough.
Finely chop the candied lemon and pistachios and add to the mixture. Stir in the flour and lemon zest and beat until just combined.
Cover the dough with foil and refrigerate for an hour.
Roll out the dough with about 0,5 cm thick and cut out with star shape cutter and place on the baking sheet
Bake in preheated oven for 10-15 minutes at 200 degrees in the middle position of oven.
Allow to cool. Make the glaze by mixing the powdered sugar with lemon juice and brush each cookie with the glaze. Garnish with chopped pistachios.
 

Cookies with colorful sprinkles
Ingredients (50 pcs. approx.):
250 gr. butter softened
150 gr. sugar
1 pinch salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 egg yolk
350 gr. flour
100 gr. castor sugar
1-3 tbsp rum
100 gr. colorful sprinkles
Beat butter. Add sugar, salt, cinnamon, yolk and beat well for 10 minutes, until you have smooth dough.
Stir in the flour and beat until just combined.
Cover the dough with foil and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Roll out the dough with about 0,5 cm thick and cut out with star shape cutter and place on the baking sheet
Bake in preheated oven for 8-10 minutes at 200 degrees in the middle position of oven.
Make the glaze by mixing the powdered sugar with the rum and brush each cookie with the glaze when it is still warm. Garnish with colorful sprinkles.
 

Cookies with couverture icing
Ingredients (70 pcs. approx.):
350 gr. flour
100 gr. sugar
250 gr. butter
65 gr. Ground hazelnuts
65 gr. cocoa
1 egg
½ tsp cinnamon
100 gr.couverture
Beat butter. Add sugar, cinnamon, egg, hazelnuts, cocoa and beat well  until you have smooth dough.
Stir in the flour and beat until just combined.
Divide the dough in two portions and form two rolls 4cm wide. Cover with foil and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Cut out the dough in 1cm slices and place on the baking sheet
Bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes at 180 degrees in the middle position of oven.
Place 100 gr of the finely chopped couverture in a heatproof bowl and place it over a saucepan of simmering water. Once the chocolate has melted, remove it from the heat. Stir with a wooden spoon until it has completely melted and is smooth and glossy. Taking one cookie at a time, dip one end of each cookie in the melted chocolate and place it on a wire rack to finish cooling.

Cookies with candied fruit decoration
Ingredients (80 pcs. approx.):
300 gr. Butter
150-200 gr. Castor sugar
1 pinch salt
500 gr. Flour
For the glaze:
150 gr. Castor sugar
2-3 tbsp water or lemon juice
Candied pineapple or orange
Beat butter. Add sugar and salt and beat well  until you have smooth dough.
Stir in the flour and beat until just combined.
Divide the dough in two portions and form two rolls 4cm wide. Cover with foil and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Cut out the dough in 1cm slices and place on the baking sheet
Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes at 200 degrees in the middle position of oven.
Make the glaze by mixing the powdered sugar with the water or lemon juice and brush each cookie with the glaze when it is still warm. Garnish with candied pineapple or orange
 

Cookies with red icing and colorful sprinkles
Ingredients (60 pcs. approx.):
100 gr. butter
75 gr. sugar
1 vanilla
1 egg yolk
200 gr. flour
250 gr. castor sugar
3-4 tbsp water
1-2 drops red food coloring
100 gr. colorful sprinkles
Beat butter. Add sugar, vanillia, yolk and beat well for 10 minutes, until you have smooth dough.
Stir in the flour and beat until just combined.
Cover the dough with foil and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Roll out the dough with about 0,5 cm thick and cut out with star shape cutter and place on the baking sheet
Bake in preheated oven for 8-10 minutes at 180 degrees in the middle position of oven.
Make the glaze by mixing the powdered sugar with the water and the food coloring  and brush each cookie with the glaze when it is still warm. Garnish with colorful sprinkles.
 

Biscuits with coffee and walnuts
Ingredients (60 pcs. approx.):
350 gr. walnuts
350 gr. powdered sugar
4 tbsp nescafe
3 tbsp hot water
Powdered sugar for rolling out the dough
Glaze:
150 gr. powdered sugar
1-2 tbsp nescafe
1-2 tbsp hot water
Walnut halves for decoration
Grind the walnuts with the sugar in a food processor and pour into a bowl.
Dissolve coffee in hot water and add the walnuts.
Work with your hands quickly in a mixture.
Cover the mixture with foil and refrigerate one hour to cool.
Spread powdered sugar on the working bench and roll the dough to a thickness of 1cm.
Cut out with round shape cookie cutter and spread on a baking sheet. Leave them overnight to dry.
The next day in a bowl, dissolve coffee in hot water and add the sugar. Ointment cookies with icing and decorate with the walnut halves. 

DYI - Christmas wreath with Santas choir table decoration

Many years ago I made this beautiful wreath that I had found in a German magazine. Unfortunately, some time from a leak in the attic humidity drenched the box and it was destroyed. Last year I attempted to rebuild the Santas from felt, but did not have time to finish and  eventually I made the Santas  ornaments for the tree. I hope another time to be able to make it again ;)

You will need:
1. A ready-made wreath natural or synthetic
2. 4 red candles
3. Small gift packets and musical instruments
4. Satin ribbon of your choice 

For the Santas:
1. Styrofoam balls with a diameter of 3.cm5 and 1.5cm
2. An old thick  women pantyhose in skin color
3. Red lipstick
4. Black marker
5. Red marker
6. Red satin fabric 
7. White faux fur or wool fabric or felt
8. Florist's  wire
9.  White wool yarn for the mustache and beard
10. paper with music notes theme

To make the Santa cut the small balls in half and glue on each ball the small half (for the nose). Then cover the ball with a piece of hose and fasten it down with a few stitches. Draw eyes with the black marker and the mouth with the red. With the lipstick gently paint the nose and cheeks. Thread a needle with the white thread and sew a beard and moustache (photo 1). With a little glue fix eyebrows.Stick a long piece of wire in the head with direction from bottom to top in the centre and then turn and pass it back. Twist the two pieces of wire together. Cut a triangle from the red satin fabric (photo 2), stick it on the head and garnish it with fur.Attach the heads on the wreath and  in front of each head attach the little   music sheets. Decorate the wreath with the rest of the candles, bows and ornaments.

And since you are talking about wreaths, take a look at these wonderful ideas about door wreaths I found at  BHG:

Review

It's been such a long time since my last post!I have been so terribly busy these past two months,I neglegted my blog totally. At last, after some days of holidays I can start finding my old rythm!
The move to our home finished and we settled everything pretty good!

Right then the preparations for the Christmas bazaars and festivals began! I made new scarves

and many new necklaces and chokers

Somewhere inbetween I decorated the house for Christmas 

and made small Christmas gifts for friends and family

And I received wonderful presents too:

This is my European secret santa present, from Claudia, aka Deepindigo!A gorgeous set of bag,cowl and brooch! Claudia makes beautiful knitted and sewn accessories for women and children!

And this is the present I received from Mellie for the Greek secret santa gift swap!A wonderful tapestry from felt. Mellie,aka Stemellina makes gorgeous creations with felt!

 

Now I'm searching for the right pattern to knit this gorgeous yarn that I received for Christmas from a good friend from England!Susan is  a wonderful person I met through Etsy.

Holidays need festive food too, so I made yesterday my favorite dish, "Peking duck with fried rice", but I will post the recipe some other time, because this post is too long already!

I wish to all a happy New Year, with love,health and harmony!

 

Happy Holidays!

Prepare your gift list!

Yesterday I saw the first Christmas shop window! The weather is still summery, but it is already November and the shops are getting ready for the Christmas season!

This year I suggest you to buy handmade gifts, because:

Buying Handmade makes for better gift-giving.

The giver of a handmade gift has avoided the parking lots and long lines of the big chain stores in favor of something more meaningful. If the giver has purchased the gift, s/he feels the satisfaction of supporting an artist or crafter directly. The recipient of the handmade gift receives something that is one-of-a-kind, and made with care and attention that can be seen and touched. It is the result of skill and craftsmanship that is absent in the world of large-scale manufacturing.

Buying handmade is better for people.

The ascendancy of chain store culture and global manufacturing has left us dressing, furnishing, and decorating alike. We are encouraged to be consumers, not producers, of our own culture. Our ties to the local and human sources of our goods have been lost. Buying handmade helps us reconnect.

Buying handmade is better for the environment.The accumulating environmental effects of mass production are a major cause of global warming and the poisoning of our air, water and soil. Every item you make or purchase from a small-scale independent artist or crafter strikes a small blow to the forces of mass production.

Moreover:

When you buy handmade you are supporting traditional arts and crafts techniques that have passed down through generations. In today’s high tech world the old arts and crafts traditions are being replaced by mass production but when you buy handmade you are saying that you prefer your items to be high quality pieces of art instead of mass produced trinket.