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Many countries have their own version of the American fruitcake, and I say that lightly because some of these versions bear little resemblance in appearance or flavor to the American fruitcake -- in fact, they are technically breads instead. I would put the Italian panettone and the German stollen (pictured) in that category.

I've long been familiar with the panettone because it is one of my mom's favorite Christmas treats. Panettone [pan-uh-tonee] is a sweet yeast bread made with pine nuts, citron and raisins and flavored with anise. It's always baked in a tall, straight-sided mold. You've probably seen them for sale in gourmet food shops and other specialty stores; they usually come in a box with a string handle.

To be quite honest, I never knew what was the big deal with the panettone (sorry, Ma). I think it's a bit dry and flaky. But mom enjoys it with coffee in the mornings, I think.

Stollen is a completely different story -- I had my first slice last Christmas while doing a story about a German family in Floyd County that makes an intricate gingerbread house every year. The matriarch, Barbara von Claparede-Crola, makes homemade stollen (pronounced with an [sh] sound at the beginning) every year and sells it. Hers is dense with dried fruits and marzipan, an almond puree. It was some of the most delicious stuff I'd ever tasted.

The traditional stollen is a yeast bread filled with dried fruit and nuts and often topped with sugar icing and candied cherries. I was excited to see that Bread Craft bakery on Peter's Creek Road was offering stollen for sale this year. That's their version pictured above. It kind of reminds me of a big mouth just saying "Eeeeeeeat meeeee!"

I pre-ordered mine and picked it up this morning, but they'll be baking another batch in the days just before Christmas, so if you're interested in buying one (they are $9), give them a call now at 562-4112 and reserve a loaf.