Hi I'm new here. I came across this site today while I was doing a Google search for a recipe, and I had to join. I was looking for a sweet dough/danish type recipe to recreate the "Christmas breads" my mom used to make every Christmas. I am going to use the blueberry cream cheese braid recipe.

I'm a 23 yr old college student just about finished with my bachelor's degree in psychology. Cooking and baking is what keeps me sane...someday I hope to open my own deli or bakery in Maine (where my husband is originally from and where we are going when we finish with our undergraduate degrees).

I will post on my baker's blog how the braid turns out. I am not sure if I will use the blueberries or not. It sounds so yummy, but my mom used to make her breads with a thick, gooey almond paste that came in a can. If I can find that in the stores around here, I may try the braid with that filling. Every Christmas through my entire childhood she made three braided or swirled breads for Christmas morning: one each of apricot, almond, and poppyseed. The almond was always my favorite and I would eat it until I could eat no more. Now that I am married, this is the first Christmas that my husband and I are not returning to our family's homes for the holidays (they are in NY and Maine; we are in Arkansas for college). I wanted to try to recreate my mom's breads to keep the tradition going.

I am really looking forward to browsing this site and interacting on the forums with other bakers. :-)

In case I can't find the almond filling at the stores here, does anyone have a recipe for an almond filling that might work in a braid?