Christstollen Cookies

In the medium stainless steel mixing bowl, combine dark raisins, chopped candied orange and lemon peel, chopped glace red cherries, and toasted slivered almonds. Pour 2 tablespoons dark rum over the mixture, stir to coat evenly, then set aside for 15 minutes at room temperature to let the fruit absorb the rum, stirring once halfway through. The fruit will look plump and slightly glossy when fully soaked.

Place softened room-temperature unsalted butter and granulated sugar in the large stainless steel mixing bowl. Use the flexible silicone spatula to beat the mixture together for 2-3 minutes until it is pale, light, and fluffy, with no visible lumps of butter. Scrape down the sides of the bowl once halfway through mixing to ensure even incorporation.

Add the room-temperature large egg, vanilla extract, ground cinnamon, ground cardamom, fine sea salt, and baking powder to the creamed butter mixture. Stir thoroughly with the silicone spatula until fully combined, with no streaks of raw egg visible, and the spices are evenly distributed to create a smooth, fragrant base.

Add all-purpose flour to the wet butter mixture in 3 separate equal additions, folding gently with the silicone spatula after each addition just until no dry flour streaks remain. Do not overmix, as this will create tough cookies; the finished dough will be soft, slightly thick, and hold its shape when lifted with the spatula.

Drain any small amount of unabsorbed rum from the soaked fruit and nut mixture, then add it to the dough along with the finely diced marzipan. Fold gently with the silicone spatula to distribute the fruit, nuts, and marzipan evenly throughout the dough, taking care not to overwork the dough. Inclusions should be spread evenly so every cookie contains a mix of fruit, nut, and marzipan bits.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured section of the marble counter, shape it into a flat 2cm thick disk, wrap loosely in parchment paper, and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour until firm. Once chilled, return the dough to the counter and use the solid beech wood rolling pin to roll it to an even 1.5cm thickness. The dough will feel firm but pliable, not sticky, when ready to cut.

Use the sharp paring knife to cut the rolled dough into 5cm long, 3cm wide oblong shapes (matching the traditional mini stollen shape), and place them 2cm apart on the parchment-lined rimmed aluminized steel baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 180C (350F) oven for 12-14 minutes, until the edges are light golden brown and the centers are just set. Cookies will continue to firm as they cool, so avoid overbaking.

Let cookies rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer them to the chrome wire cooling rack to cool completely for 20 minutes. Once fully cool, arrange the cookies on the round cream ceramic serving platter, and use the fine-mesh stainless steel sieve to dust a thick, even layer of powdered sugar over all cookies, mimicking the snowy sugar coating of traditional whole stollen.