In a few days my boyfriend and I will pack up our car and head down to the Chicago suburbs to spend Christmas with his family. It’s a special visit — there’s no itinerary and no obligations, and it’s the only time all year that the entire family is together. Also, there’s brunch. For as long as anyone can remember, my boyfriend’s mother Jill has made a lovely Christmas brunch. The offerings have changed over time but the brunch has evolved into a beloved holiday tradition that always includes Jill’s delicious quiche and homemade granola, bacon, fresh fruit and moist, crumbly coffee cake.
It’s a tradition I never intended to mess with, but then I tasted a little nibble of Midwest Christmas Stollen and then another little nibble and then a bit of a bigger nibble, and before you know it I’d mentally added thick, buttery slices of this wonderful rum-infused, fruit and nut filled bread to our Christmas brunch spread, right there between the Quiche Florentine and Aunt Leona’s coffee cake. Now the Stollen sits in my fridge, all wrapped up in pretty holiday packaging, awaiting its trip to Chicagoland.
(I hope that’s okay, Jill. I especially hope that you’ll have a few slices left over to savor on quiet mornings with a steaming mug of coffee or tea and a warm little dog curled up at your feet.)
As long as I’m messing with tradition, I figure I might as well take along a jar of Cherry Berry Nut Mix in the hopes that having such a delicious and nutritious snack at the ready might prevent me from devouring handful after guilty handful of the Chex® Mix Jill makes every year at her grown children’s request. If anything can combat the Siren Song of salty, garlic-y cereal coated in butter and Worcestershire it’s the plump brightness of dried tart cherries and tangy dried cranberries combined with the sweetness of dried blueberries and the honest crunch of raw almonds and pecans.
So here’s to holiday traditions, both old and new. What about you — do you have food traditions that have changed or evolved over the years?
Megan,
Bless Your Heart! I can hardly wait to add the Christmas
stollen to our brunch, as well as the cherry berry nut mix.
The stollen reminds me of the Swedish Coffee Bread that
I learned to make, watching my Mother. Traditions are so
beautiful because they can be carried on, altered or added
to. You are a part of our Christmas traditions, and I am
grateful for you.
The stollen is absolutely DELICIOUS! i was a little iffy about paying thirty bucks for one loaf of stollen, but it was soooooooo good i wish i would have bought ten loafs! we ate it all in one session! wow! that’s all i have to say .. wow! THANK YOU BREADWORKS!
Do you guys make the stollen there?
Hi Wendy,
Our Midwest Christmas Stollen is made for us at a local Northern
Michigan bakery just a few miles away from our Petoskey kitchen. The
original recipe was adapted by Justin’s wife, Kate Marshall, over 15
years ago and features our Michigan dried cherries, blueberries and
cranberries. It’s been a classic ever since. Happy Holidays!