Traditional stolen often contains marzipan – a confection made mainly from ground almonds and sugar. I don’t use marzipan because the fruit blend and a thick coat of icing sugar that covers the bread are sweet enough, so extra sweetness is overwhelming for me. Stollen is a yeasted bread baked with dried fruits and spices that's originated in Dresden. It’s traditionally served at Christmas time in Germany, Austria and parts of France. Stollen symbolises the baby Jesus blanket, and the fruits in it represent gifts of the Three Wise Men (called the Three Kings or Three Magi as well). Find the recipe here…

My, oh my! These buns are so light, delicate and pillowy that you can’t stop eating them! They’re St Lucia buns, served in the run-up to Christmas across Scandinavia. The sweet rolls are eaten traditionally on the 13th of December, St Lucia’s Day (also known as The Festival of Light), in celebration of Lucia, the patron saint of light and the victory of light over darkness. These golden-hued saffron buns are formed into an S shape that resembles a curled-up cat and two raisins are added to represent its eyes. The slightly sweet rolls taste best warm with butter. Find the recipe here…

Keks is a sponge cake with a high content of unsalted butter, packed with dried fruits and almond flakes. It’s baked in a loaf tin and then served generously dusted with icing sugar. Dried fruits – apricots, black currants, sultanas and raisins are soaked in a warm mixture of orange liqueur and orange juice with the addition of orange zest. Keks is buttery, sweet and moist, taste amazing both freshly baked and after a few days. The cake can be prepared in advance and kept tightly wrapped in baking paper and aluminium foil. Find the recipe here…

Traditional sweet mini pies baked and eaten in the festive season before Christmas. Mince pies are made from short crust pastry filled with the sweet mix of dried fruits, spices, citrus zest, all soaked in alcohol. These festive pies of English origin have been known there since the 13th century. They originally were savoury, not sweet as consisted of a mixture of minced meat, suet, fruits and spices. Today almost every housewife has her own recipe for mince pies and mincemeat if she prepares a homemade version of the pies. I prefer less sugary filling but use a bit sweeter French buttery pastry. Try my recipe here…

Mincemeat needs at least two weeks to macerate before using in mince pies. Dried fruits, almonds, spices and orange zest have enough time to soak beautifully in sherry, and their flavours become rich and complex. Although I’m not entirely against store-bought mincemeat as you can buy a very good one, but when is homemade its taste is completely different. Homemade mince meat is easy and quick. Cooking takes only 10 minutes, dried fruits, almonds are available at grocery stores, and you can control the amount of sugar which may be important. The homemade mincemeat can be made up to six months in advance. Find the recipe here….

Hot Cross Buns are a staple of British cuisine. They are made from enriched yeast dough packed with dried fruits, lemon or orange zest, spices and marked with an icing or dough cross on top. The cross is believed to represent the crucifixion of Jesus, the spies signify the spices used to embalm him at his burial. Traditionally spiced and fruited buns are eaten hot or toasted on Good Friday and Easter, however people buy them whenever they feel like a sweet and aromatic bun. In 1592, Queen Elizabeth I banned the sale of hot cross buns on every day except for Good Friday, Christmas and at funerals as they were too special to be eaten daily. Find the recipe for aromatic hot cross buns with a pinch of saffron here…

My poppy seed filling is full of almonds, nuts, dried fruits, flavoured with orange juice and zest. All its sweetness becomes from honey, not sugar. I make it only once a year, just before Christmas, for a traditional polish cake – Poppy Seed Rolls. The filling is an amazing natural poppy seed paste which can’t be compared to any ready-to-eat canned store-bought stuff. Neither difficult nor time-consuming to master can be prepared a few days in advance. The poppy seed filling is also eaten with pasta as a traditional meal at Christmas Eve in some regions of Poland. Find the recipe here...

Granola and Granula. Both names were used in the 19th century in the United States for foods which contained whole grain products crumbled and baked until crisp. Then this breakfast meal consisted of Graham flour and was formed into sheets, baked twice and broken up into smaller pieces. It was edible only when soaked in milk overnight. Fruits and nuts were added in the 1960s and the first mass-market granola was introduced in 1972. Today most of the store-bought granola is high in sugar, unhealthy oils, artificial flavourings, some unnecessary ingredients and it isn’t healthy anymore. But amazingly delicious and healthy cereals can be made at home from the ingredients we know and like. Home made granola is absurdly easy to make. Find the recipe here...