How to make
First you need to prepare the poppy seed filling for your mini stollen.
The poppy seeds are grinded in a coffee grinder. In a pot, mix the milk, sugar and ground poppy seeds. Heat it over medium heat until the mixture boils. The mixture is then left to simmer quietly, while stirring it periodically until the liquid evaporates. The time required for the filling to thicken is about 15-16 minutes. Remove it from the heat, flavor it with vanilla and add oil (as much you like). Allow it to cool and then fill the mini stollen.
In a large bowl, pour the flour, ground almonds, baking powder, sugar, vanilla and salt. Using a wire whisk, mix all of the dry ingredients well. Add 5.3 oz (150 g) of the butter, softened at room temperature and cut into cubes.
In another small bowl, mix the eggs with the cottage cheese with a spoon or egg whisk.
Knead the dough with your hands, while adding a little of the flour to the softened butter and spoon by spoon of the boiled mixture. Add the essence. You can also use a mixer with whisks for dough.
If you knead it by hand, it will take you about 10 minutes.
To the finished dough add the raisins soaked in rum, lemon and orange peels, as well as the freshly grated lemon peel of one lemon, dried apricots and the cut into small pieces prunes. From the dough you can prepare six mini stollen.
Divide the dough into six balls. Place the dough on a well floured surface and carefully flatten the balls into about a 0.8″ (2 cm) thick circle and fill them with plenty of the poppy seed filling.
Fill half of them with the rolled up marzipan.
The oven is heated to 360°F (180 degrees). The baking time is about 20 minutes. If you prepare mini stollen, with a size of 2.8″ (7 cm), bake them for 12 minutes. The mini stollen are baked well on top and until they're almost black underneath.
This makes them with such a specific taste of caramelized sugar, which is typical for Christmas. They are incredibly fragrant and delicious. I prepared both types.
When the mini stollen are baked, spread them with melted butter - 1.8 oz (50 g) and sprinkle them generously with powdered sugar.
Wait for them to cool and put them in a metal pastry box. This way the mini stollen can be stored for up to a month.
You can prepare these fragrant mini stollen without a poppy seed filling by adding other dried fruit.
They are incredibly tasty and fragrant - I highly recommend it!
