Happy December! It’s hard to believe we have arrived at the last month of 2015. For many, this is a time of stress with the end of the working year and holiday shopping; for others, a time of joy spent with friends and family. But no matter which describes your month, we know some of our seasonal favorite sweets are bound to brighten your celebrations!

While we love when our cookies get decked out for the month of December, two particular creations make a special appearance during this time of year. If you see them in the bakery, no need to wonder what they are any longer – we’re here to give you some more history and information!

Holiday Cookies

Stollen 

Every year, the traditional fruitcake seems to get a bad reputation as the holiday present no one wants to receive. While the stollen might resemble the notorious loaf, this is one food item certainly not headed for a re-gifting, with its rich flavors and fluffy texture.

For those who do not know, the stollen is a fruit-filled buttery bread, sprinkled generously with powdered sugar. Inside this decadent loaf are unique varieties of candied fruits, nuts and spices, ensuring this traditional German treat will be devoured – not discarded – at your holiday celebration.

Stollen

Sufganiyot

Lighting the menorah for Hanukkah is not required to enjoy our sufganiyot, though it is the occasion on which most people consume these delicacies. These traditional treats for the Jewish Festival of Lights are round balls of dough filled with jelly and then deep-fried.

But these “Hanukkah donuts” are not fried in oil just because we can. It serves a deeply symbolic purpose for the holiday, reminding us of the lamps that burned in the Jewish Temples for eight nights.

Our bakery team is nothing if not creative, so we like to be adventurous with our sufganiyot. Here, you can order yours filled with fudge, custard, blueberry filling, strawberry filling, lemon filling, raspberry or pumpkin filling.

Sufganiyot

So embrace these two seasonal special sweets. Both have been such treasured parts of our warm memories shared at the holiday table, and we are excited to share them with you once again this year.