Ingredients

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold butter or margarine (1 stick)
1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
1/2 cup red candied cherries, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup dried tart cherries, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh lemon peel
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
Confectioner's sugar (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a large cookie sheet. In large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. With pastry blender or 2 knives used scissors-fashion, cut in butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs. With a spoon, stir in ricotta until mixture is moistened. Stir in candied cherries, dried cherries, pecans, vanilla, lemon peel, egg and egg yolk until well combined.

Turn dough onto lightly floured surface; gently knead dough 2 or 3 times to blend. With floured rolling pin, roll dough into 10-by-8-inch oval. Fold lengthwise, almost in half, letting bottom dough extend about 1 inch beyond edge of top dough. Place stollen on prepared cookie sheet. Bake stollen 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove stollen from cookie sheet to wire rack; cool completely. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar to serve, if you like.