Zimtsterne – Cinnamon Star Cookies
Zimtsterne – Cinnamon Star Cookies have an unmistakable cinnamon and nutty flavor, with a lovley crisp on the outside and a chewy inside. These cookies are Switzerland’s and Germany’s most traditional Christmas treat. Christmas wouldn’t be complete without these delicious stars.
They are easy to make; you just need some time for drying the dough and a little endurance to glaze each cookie individually. If you are on a gluten-free diet, these are cookies for you because Zimtsterne are made without flour.
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Glaze
It’s a quick put-together glaze. Use egg white, powdered sugar, and a little bit of lemon juice. Whisk the egg white mixture with a kitchen aid or hand mixer until peaks form.
With a knife, spatula, or teaspoon (or whatever works best for you), coat the baked & cooled cookies with the egg-white glaze.
I have tried many different ways, and the cookies turn out best when I glaze them after baking. The sugar glaze stays perfectly white, and the cookies look so pretty when I do it that way.
Many recipes ask to glaze the stars before baking; the tricky part here is not to burn the glaze. It happens within seconds, and your perfectly white glaze all of a sudden turns brown. That doesn’t look very good.
Tips
- If the dough is sticky, add some more almonds to it. To roll out the dough, use some sugar. Never use flour for these cinnamon stars.
- Place a little bowl with water next to you, wet the cookie cutter with water, and remove any remaining dough frequently to keep sharp edges.
- Let the cut-out stars dry overnight on a baking sheet. Bake them the following morning.
- Every oven bakes differently; baking times may differ. Just make sure you keep a close eye on the cookies; they only take a few minutes in the oven. You want to take them out when they are still soft and look as if they aren’t fully baked – they will harden once they cool! If you keep them in the oven for too long, you will end up with rock-hard Zimtsterne.
- Store the cooled and dried cookies in a cookie tin at room temperature. They will stay good for about two weeks.
E Guete (Bon appétit)!! Don’t forget to share some pictures with me and tell me how you liked these Zimtsterne – Cinnamon Stars. It would make my day if you tag @mirjamskitchenyodel on Instagram, share on Facebook or pin on Pinterest.
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Zimtsterne – Cinnamon Star Cookie
Equipment
Ingredients
Dough
- 70 g Egg whites
- ¼ tsp Salt
- 200 g Sugar
- 1½ tbsp Ground cinnamon
- 1½ tsp Lemon juice
- 350 g Almonds shredded
Glaze
- 35 g Egg whites
- 175 g Powdered sugar
Instructions
Dough
- Add egg whites and salt to a mixing bowl and lightly whisk together.
- Add sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice, and almonds to the egg-white mixture. Incorporate well until a dough forms.
- Wrap the dough in plastic foil and place it in the refrigerator. Let it chill for 2 – 4 hours.
Roll out dough
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place dough onto a lightly sugared work surface. Since this dough doesn't contain flour, only use sugar to roll out the dough.
- Roll out dough until it is about ½-1 cm thick.
- Cut out the cookies with a small star cookie cutter.
- Fill a small bowl with water. Clean the cookie cutter frequently to keep the dough from sticking and achieve sharp edges in the star.
- Place the stars on the baking sheet and let them dry overnight or for at least 6 hours.
Bake cookies
- Preheat oven to 460°F or 240°C
- Bake the stars for 4 minutes (every oven is different so bake time might slightly differ). The cookies should be soft when you take them out of the oven. They will harden as they cool.
- Place them on a cooling rack.
Glaze
- Add egg whites, powdered sugar, and lemon juice to a mixing bowl. Use a stand or hand mixer, and mix until the egg whites are light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- Use a butter knife, spatula, or spoon (whichever works best for you) and spread the glaze onto the stars.
- Let the glaze completely dry, then store the Zimtsterne in a cookie tin at room temperature.
