Stutenkerl
A Stutenkerl belongs to the Saint Nicholas tradition in the German-speaking countries. It is a pastry made of , sweet leavened dough, in the form of a man ( is German for 'lad' or 'fellow'). are generally nationally available around Saint Nicholas Day (December 6th), but also regionally around Saint Martin's Day in November in parts of the Rhineland. There are numerous regional names for the , such as  (in the west and south west), , , , ,  (in North Alsace and Moselle),  (Sud Alsace),  (in Luxembourg),  and  (Switzerland). The pastry often features raisins in the place of eyes and a clay pipe. The pipe may have to do with the Reformation, to make the originally catholic bishop figure more secular. See also 
 Gingerbread man

References

External links 
Stutenkerl in rezeptewiki
Stutenkerl recipes at chefkoch.de

Christmas food
German pastries
Austrian pastries
Swiss pastries
Liechtenstein cuisine