You can still take advantage of our gift boxes--we have extended our 10% off special through this coming Sunday, December 13.  It is so easy on you!  All you have to do is set up a separate order for each of  your gift boxes, and we will do all the rest--even autographing the cookbook that goes with each box.

Here's a list of our various gift boxes that are each packed to order--

• Super, Super Bowl Party
• Barbecue
• Grilling
• Chiles 4 Health
• Tex-Mex
• Holidays in New Mexico (recipes are included, no book)
• Mexican Regional
• Quick and Easy Southwestern
• Hotter Than Hell
• Chili Madness

Or, if you would like to give a gift certificate for any of our Cooking Classes, the certificate is good for a year and if the Pandemic continues, we will extend the time, so you will never be out.  We have set a spring schedule for our classes and if they need to be rescheduled we will extend the time of your gift certificate.  We still have a few openings for this Wednesday, December 16 Holidays in New Mexico cooking class. 

You can also give the online courses as a gift.  For any of the gift certificates, just email us at info@janebutelcooking.com or call us at 505-243-2622.

Either a gift box or a cooking school certificate makes a great gift that keeps on giving!

Any time now you may wish to make your stollen for Christmas morning with champagne.  It is a marvelous way to start Christmas Day.  I worked for years to perfect my recipe, and I am including it below.  One good thing is the recipe makes two stollens and they will freeze for a year--so you only have to bake it every other year.  The stollen plus a nice bowl of fresh fruit and possibly some breaded bacon or ham make a really yummy breakfast.  

STOLLEN

The best of all stollens—I worked on this recipe for years and feel it is well worth the extra effort. For years I’ve been making a recipe every other year for serving on Christmas morning with champagne.

Temperature: 325 F

Baking time: 1 hour

Yield: 2 large loaves

¾ cup unsalted butter

½ cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon mace (if you do not have mace, substitute more nutmeg)

Grated rind of 1 lemon

Grated rind of ½ orange

2 eggs

¼ cup dark rum, brandy or sherry

1 cup milk 1 package active dry yeast

¼ cup warm water

6 cups all-purpose flour, approximately

1 cup raisins

1 cup currants (if unavailable, substitute more raisins)

¼ pound each candied orange peel, lemon peel, and citron

1 slice candied pineapple

1 cup toasted almonds1 ½ pound candied whole red and green cherries

¼ cup melted butter

Powdered sugar

1. 1. Cream butter, add sugar gradually and cream until fluffy. Blend in salt, nutmeg, mace, lemon and orange rind.
2. 2. Add eggs. One at a time, beating well after each addition. Add liquor and milk.
3. 3. Soften yeast in water and stir into mixture. Add flour until dough is easy to handle. Turn out on a lightly floured board and knead until the dough is satin smooth and the gluten is well developed.
4. 4. Do not add more than ½ cup flour into the dough while kneading as too much flour will make the bread dry and coarse.
5. 5. Mix together all fruit except cherries, then dredge with ¼ cup flour, making sure each piece is covered.
6. 6. When the dough is smooth, add the fruit and almonds, a small amount at a time, until the fruit is spread throughout the dough and all is used.
7. 7. Poke holes in the dough with your forefinger and place a cherry in each hole. This prevents mashing the cherries.
8. 8. Divide the dough in half and place in large well-greased bowls; brush generously with melted butter and set a warm place to rise. Since the dough is heavy with fruit, it will require about 8 hours to rise.
9. 9. 9. To form, turn out on a lightly floured board, punch down and divide in half. To make typical stollen or crescent shaped loaves, first pat the dough into an oblong shape, then fold in half lengthwise.

10. Place loaves on a greased baking sheet; brush with butter and let rise until doubled.

11. Preheat oven to 325F during last 10 minutes of rising. Bake for 1 hour, brush several times with melted butter as the loaves are baking. When baked, dust generously with powdered sugar just before serving. Serve warm.

Reprinted with permission from Jane Butel’s Freezer Cookbook