Stollen is a traditional German Christmas is a dense, sweet bread that’s filled with nuts, dried fruits, spices and usually marzipan. It has a dusting of powdered sugar on top and is great for a snack, dessert or breakfast. I was surprised to see Costco carrying this Kirkland Signature Holiday Stollen for the first time this year. I rarely eat Stollen but I couldn’t resist picking this up to try!
Location in Store
This is located in the bakery section at Costco, the item number is 1855014.
Taste
The first thing I noticed when I opened the package was the fairly strong scent of the stollen. It’s quite aromatic, mainly from the orange peel I think. I was expecting it to taste sort of like a fruit cake, which I’m not a huge fan of. I was pleasantly surprised though – I found it very tasty and easy to eat.
The flavor is kind of hard to describe. It’s fairly mild. I think the most dominant component is probably the marzipan (which is in the center) and almond. It tastes like an almond-based dessert. The raisins add a nice sweetness. I was worried I’d find it way too sweet, but that wasn’t the case at all.
I really enjoyed the combination of almond, raisins and citrus. It comes together well. The powdered sugar on the outside doesn’t seem to add much sweetness. I wasn’t surprised to see rum on it ingredients list as the stollen did seem to have a hint of booziness to it, but it’s not overdone.
With raisins, citrus peel and almond fragments, the stollen has quite a bit of texture, which wasn’t a surprise based on how it looked when I cut into it.
I ate a whole piece of the stollen while sampling it, I definitely didn’t plan to, so that’s a good sign. I didn’t know anything about stollen before this and I was thinking at the time that it would be a great addition to a holiday brunch. It turns out it’s traditionally served at breakfast, so I guess my instincts were good. I’d love to try it warmed up next time. If you’re having a special breakfast or brunch over the holidays, this would be a fun addition.
Cost
The stollen costs $19.99 Canadian at Costco which might seem really expensive but it is a pretty dense, large bread/cake! I definitely wouldn’t say it’s cheap though but a Stollen at a local bakery here is $45.00.
Convenience
I was worried my stollen might be a bit stale because I bought it two days after it was made and tried it the following day, but it was still quite moist. The outer parts seemed slightly dry, but the marzipan center was very soft and moist. I don’t know if it would be great by the expiry date nearly two weeks after the date it was made, but it seems to keep pretty well.
The best before date is 12 days from when I purchased it but I recommend slicing it and freezing it if you’re not going to eat it right away. The Stollen comes in a convenient plastic package that you can easily pop into your freezer. This works well for breakfast, a snack or even dessert! It’s awesome with coffee or tea and even my toddler enjoyed it!
Nutrition
Calories
1/14th of the loaf contains 300 calories, 14 grams of fat, 39 grams of carbohydrates, 24 grams of sugar, two grams of fibre, four grams of protein and 80 milligrams of sodium. That’s quite a bit of sugar per slice but raisins, marzipan and citrus peel are all high in sugar.
Ingredients
The ingredients list has pretty much everything you’d expect to see and of course there’s a few ingredients I’d rather not see. The things I’d rather not see are artificial flavors, palm and palm kernel oil and additives like titanium dioxide.
Scoring
Taste: 8/10
Cost: 7/10
Convenience: 10/10
Nutrition: 0/10
Overall
Give it a try!
This was actually really tasty and enjoyable, and I think it would be a nice addition to your holiday breakfast or coffee time!
Have you tried the Costco Kirkland Signature Holiday Stollen? What did you think of it?
Please note that this review was not paid for or sponsored by any third party. This product was purchased by Costcuisine for the purpose of producing this review. The opinions in this review are strictly those of Costcuisine. Costcuisine is not affiliated with Costco or any of its suppliers. In the event that Costcuisine receives compensation for a post from the manufacturer of a product or some other third party, the arrangement will be clearly disclosed (including where the manufacturer of a product provides Costcuisine with a free sample of the product).
