Typical Christmas Sweets: 10 Ideas from Italy and Europe

That of the Christmas holidays It's a magical time from a thousand points of view, even at the table: especially Christmas sweets are an unmissable appointment with deliciousness, to be experienced without guilt!

In addition to the very traditional panettone and pandoro, there are many others Christmas sweets typical of different areas of Italy and Europe .

Let's find out some and see which one “superfood” touch we could give these recipes replicated at home!

The 10 typical Christmas sweets from different regions and countries

1. Panettone from Lombardy

The classic one, with its yellow egg paste, fragrant and moist, enriched with candied fruit and raisins, has ancient origins, dating back to the court of Ludovico il Moro in Milan.

2. Torrone from Lombardy

Soft or crunchy, nougat immediately brings Christmas to your table: originally from the city of Cremona, it is a mix of sugar, egg white and lots of dried fruit, which makes it truly rich and nutritious. How to give it a superfood touch? By adding the crunchy note of our cocoa nibs !

3. Pandoro from Veneto

This delicate delight was born in Verona towards the end of the 19th century, often contrasted with panettone in a sort of Christmas “derby”. And you, are you team panettone or team pandoro?!

4. Panforte or panpepato from Tuscany

Typical of the city of Siena but now famous throughout Italy, this preparation of water, honey, almonds, candied fruit, ginger and dried fruit is a real concentrate of energy! Why not try adding a pinch of but what ?

5. Christmas log from Piedmont

Piedmont does not hold back when it comes to using rich and delicious local ingredients, and the Yule log is a real triumph in this sense. A soft and buttery biscuit dough, filled with chestnut and hazelnut cream, covered in chocolate... the extra idea is to use our cocoa powder for the filling and covering cream.

6. Struffoli from Campania

To look at them, they look like little gold nuggets: a fried dough then dipped in honey, covered with colorful sugar sprinkles. Try using the manuka honey to enrich them even more!

7. Cartellate from Puglia

The cartellate from Puglia look like nests or crowns: the dough, cut into long “tagliatelle”, is fried and then embellished with cooked wine must or honey. The combination of cooked wine with the dog rose it's really worth trying!

8. Stollen from Germany

A soft leavened dough enriched with candied fruit, dried fruit, raisins... a sort of revisitation of our panettone, but with a more elongated shape and a more "gnucca" consistency. Add a few teaspoons of acai powder It could be the right idea to add color and accentuate the fruity flavor.

9. Speculoos from Belgium

Cinnamon, some hate it and some love it! If you love it, you will also love speculoos, shortbread biscuits flavoured with cinnamon and ginger, whose paternity is disputed by several countries, including Belgium, Holland and Austria.

10. Kugelhopf from Austria

Another leavened cake with a consistency halfway between a cake and a brioche bread, rich in almonds and raisins, usually made in the shape of a donut. To better bind the dough and make it soft, it psyllium it's ideal.