Mom, You Stole Bread?

A funny story I'm sure most moms will enjoy. On the way to Christmas of '81, I thought my mother was a thief! Want to know why? The bakery called and said her Stollen bread was ready...please, let me explain! Stollen has got to be my mother's most favorite Christmas-time treat. Yes, there are the Pfeffernusse cookies and the Bahlsen Gingerbread cookies, like Contessa and Grandessa Lebkuchen, which, by the way, make my mouth water, but my mother always needed her Christmas Stollen. For those of you not too keen on German Christmas traditions, Stollen is a bread-like cake that is usually eaten around Christmas...in fact, living in California, the only time of the year I can find it is at Christmas (Cost Plus, to be exact, although there are specialty bakeries that carry it as well). It's a type of fruitcake made with dried citrus peel, dried fruits, almonds, and spices and sprinkled with powdered or icing sugar. A tasty treat, but typically dense, so you can't eat a whole lot of it. Now, back to 1981 and me thinking my mother's a thief. I was home alone one day when the phone rang: Bakery: Hello, is Valerie there? Zandra: No, she's at work right now. (remember, this is 1981) Bakery: Could you please let her know her Stollen bread is ready to be picked up? Zandra: Stolen bread? Bakery: Yes, it's ready to be picked up. Zandra: (hesitating) Ok, I'll let her know. At this point, I was dumbfounded! How could my mother steal bread? When she returned home from work, I must have had the strangest look on my face as she immediately asked me what was wrong. Zandra: Mom, did you steal bread? Mom: Steal bread? Zandra: Yeah, the bakery called and told me your stolen bread is ready, why would we steal bread? Mom: (laughing hysterically) No, no, no! That's mom's Christmas cake. It's called Stollen. Zandra: Ohhhh, I thought that was weird...are you sure? Mom: (still laughing hysterically) Yes, dear, let's go get the cake. My mother, to this day, still laughs at that story...can you blame her? If you'd like to attempt making your own Christmas Stollen, check out these links:

• The Worldwide Gourmet's Stollen Recipe
• AllRecipes' Christmas Stollen
• Kitchen Project's History of Stollen
• Taste of Home's German Stollen Recipe