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By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER, Associated Press

DRESDEN, Germany (AP) — When pastry chef Tino Gierig is asked what the famous Dresden stollen tastes like, his eyes sparkle and his voice rises to an enthusiastic sing-song as as he describes the rich delicacy filled with raisins and other dried fruits.

“Stollen tastes like Christmas , like family, like tradition, like hominess, peace, serenity,” the 55-year-old said as he lovingly kneaded his buttery yeast dough before folding in golden raisins in his Dresdner Backhaus bakery .

Bakers in the eastern German city of Dresden have been making stollen for hundreds of years and it is now a treasured Christmas tradition. It is usually cut on the first weekend of Advent — the four-week period leading

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