I make - Stollen Scones

My first attempt of making a gluten free stollen didn't turn out well. Good flavor, yes, but the dough is dry. I was disappointed. I eventually threw them away after freezing them for a few months. I rarely throw away food and I feel terrible about doing so. But sometimes that's the only way without wasting my food quota. It will take a long time before I crack yeasted gluten free bread. 

Then I got a good idea from the wonderous world wide web, something called stollen bars. It's more scone/cookie like and it's yeast free. That gives me hope because I think now I make pretty decent (gluten free) scones and secondly it's yeast free. And the result lived up to the expectation! The stollen bites are light, almondy, just have enough fruity bits and sweetness to feel festive. There will be another day for stollen bars but right now I am in love with my stollen scones. 

Stollen Bites (Yeast Free)

300 g gluten-free flour (your favorite blend)*
50 g ground almond
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
4 tbsps sugar
a scant 1/2 tsp salt
80-100 g cold butter, diced (depending on how rich you prefer)
75-100 g marzipan, in chunks**
75-100 g dried fruits and/or candied peels (sultanas, sour cherries, apricots etc)**
150 ml crème fraiche (double cream or milk)
1 tsp almond extract
1 egg

Combine and mix all dry ingredients into a bowl (flour, almond, baking soda, baking powder, xanthan gum, sugar and salt). Rub the cold butter cubes into the flour mixture until the mixture looks like bread crumbs. Stir in marzipan and rub the marzipan chunks into the flour mixture. Then stir in the dried fruits/peels. 

In a jug combine crème fraiche (or milk), almond extract and 1 egg. Use a fork to mix all wet ingredients together. Pour the wet mix into the flour bowl. Use a spatula or a rubber gloved hand to bring the dough together. The dough shouldn't be sticky. If so, a light dust of gluten free flour may help. Wrap the dough in cling film and chill in the fridge for 2 hours. 

Preheat the oven at 200C. Roll the dough out to be of 2cm thickness. Cut the dough into squares or rectangles (mines were roughly 3x5cm). Bake at 200C for 12-15 minutes.

To give the bites an authentic stollen look, brush warm butter on the top immediately after they come out of the oven and followed by dusting icing sugar. This is optional.

*My blend is: 25% sorghum + 25% brown rice + 30% cornmeal + 20% cornstarch

**The total marzipan and dried fruit/peels is between 150 g to 200 g. Feel free to vary the proportions based on preference.