Name: Stollen biscuits
Prep time: 1 h 40 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 2 h
Yield: 60
Cuisine: German
Ingredients: 50 g pistachios; 100 g cranberries; 100 g raisins; 100 g candied orange peel; 100 ml orange juice; A little rum, optional; 500 g flour; 120 g brown sugar; 7 g vanilla sugar; 100 g ground almonds; 7 g dried yeast; 1 tsp gingerbread spice mix; 50 ml apple sauce; 200 g plant-based butter, at room temperature; 150 ml plant-based milk, warm (not hot!)

Stollen biscuits are a slightly different take on the traditional Christmas bread that originates from Germany. The original stollen is a sweet yeasted bread made from flour, almonds and dried fruit, which has to rest for several weeks before serving to get just the right texture. Well, my version is simpler and much quicker. We still let the dough rise for approx. 1 hour,

These biscuits are made by rolling the dough into 4 logs, 3-4 cm in diameter, baking them, and slicing them into biscuits once they've cooled. The preparation actually reminds me of homemade biscotti, except that stollen biscuits are much softer in the middle. They only bake for 15-20 minutes, and if you think at that point that they aren't done yet, please don't leave them in the oven any longer. As the dough cools after baking it sets and firms up further. If you want superb, soft biscuits, don't bake them for too long.

The result is exceptionally soft biscuits that simply melt in your mouth. This is one of the best recipes for Christmas time. Don't worry, there isn't much work involved – although the preparation time is 2 hours, keep in mind that this includes the soaking, rising and baking. The actual work is much less, and the result is superb.

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