Marzipanstollen

Brand: Kuchenmeister

Cost: $0.99

Found at: Trader Joe’s

Nothing says “Christmas” like a bunch of Americans going absolutely wild over German baked goods.

Like St. Patrick’s Day, when everyone suddenly seems to be Irish, at Christmas, everyone suddenly seems to be German. As soon as the Black Friday advertisements appear on TV, friends who are as American as apple pie (and indigenous erasure) suddenly start waxing rhapsodic about their German grandmother’s strudel (even though I’ve met Barbara and she’s from Houston).  

Trader Joe’s knows this. Joseph is no fool and stocks the shelves with any number of generically “European” Christmas deserts. And being a generic white woman, I have no natural immunity. And to be fair, most of them are pretty good. This Marzipanstollen, for example, hits all the right notes for a Christmas desert. It’s sweet and soft and flakey and (most importantly to me) cheap. The flavor is vaguely marzipan-y with some raisons thrown in so that you know it’s traditional.

It’s not life changing, certainly (There’s a reason it’s not on sale for the rest of the year) but it is nice. And in this crazy year, nice is exactly what I need.