If you spent the holiday season in Germany you probably know Christmas Cinnamon Stars aka. Zimtsterne – they are sold in supermarkets everywhere and always look very neat and perfect… but unfortunately, they do not taste as good as if your grandma (or my grandma) had made them ;) That’s why those cookies will never end up on my cookie plate for Christmas. I prefer the “real deal” and always make them at home… even if it takes days of hard labor to do so (which it does not) ;)
Even though Cinnamon Stars are quite easy to prepare, there are some things that can cause problems or go wrong. I experienced that myself when baking them for the first time. But if you know what to do, you can easily get a good result. Don’t worry… I can tell you what to avoid here in order to get nice cookies ;P
So what can go wrong? Well… the egg whites can cause a problem. Depending on the size of the eggs and thus the weight of the egg whites resulting from that, the dough can turn into a delight to work with or a sticky mess. Five standard medium eggs and 14 oz. of the almonds normally result in a perfect and only slightly sticky dough. If the weight of the egg whites varies, you might need to add more ground almonds – otherwise, the dough might be too sticky to work with. You really have to see how the dough feels. If it is very soft and extremely sticky, you have to add more almonds until the consistency fits. If you overdo it with the almonds, the dough will be too dry, which would be bad as well… so pay attention to the “stickiness” and don’t add more almonds if the dough is workable and doesn’t stick between your fingers anymore ;)
The second problem you can experience with the cinnamon stars: well… it is again caused by the egg whites ;) You should whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form, but when the confectioners’ sugar is in, please do not whisk too much. If you overdo it, you will get a really nice and fluffy meringue – which normally sounds good – but in this case, it would cause some problems. The whisked egg whites go partially in the dough and the rest is on top of the cookies. If your egg whites are too “meringuey” the top layer looks kind of “dull” and weird after baking, also this layer breaks much easier if there was too much air trapped inside the egg whites.
Last but not least – this is actually not a problem, but more of a trick work with the sticky dough: the cinnamon star dough is always a bit “clingy” so rolling it out between two sheets of plastic wrap works wonders. Keeps your workplace and kitchen gadgets clean. You can also place the dough in the fridge for some time – if the dough is cooler, it’s also easier to work with. Oh, and rinse the cookie cutter from time to time – that will help you too!
One last thing: keep an eye on the cookies when baking. Some bakers tend to overbake them and in the worst case, the stars turn into jawbreakers because of that. If you stick to the measurements in the recipe (thickness of the dough) and the baking times, everything should be fine, but if you roll out the dough thinner, you have to check the cookies and take them out of the oven before they start to harden. They can still be a bit soft when you take them out – while they are cooling down, they also dry out a bit more and harden a bit more as well.
If you want to try out other classic German Christmas cookies, you might also want to take a look at these two recipes here. Simple Vanilla Crescent Cookies are extremely popular here and should definitely be on the plate for Santa (or other family members) alongside these cinnamon stars. It’s a similar story with classic Spitzbuben (aka. Hildabrötchen) – these Christmas cookies have a lot of fans around here. Probably, because they are so delicious. ;P
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
14-21 oz. (400-600g) ground almonds
5 egg whites
1 pinch of salt
10 oz. (300g) confectioners’ sugar
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. vanilla sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
400-600g ungeschälte Mandeln, gemahlen
5 Eiweiß
1 Prise Salz
300g Puderzucker
1 TL Zitronensaft
1 EL Vanillezucker
2 TL Zimt
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. Preheat the oven to 150°C (300˚F). Line 2-3 baking sheets with baking parchment.
2. Beat the egg white in a large bowl until stiff peaks form. Sift the confectioner’s sugar on top, add the lemon juice, and beat (first slowly then increase speed) until the beaten egg white is fluffy and has a glossy shine. Transfer 5 tablespoons to a small bowl and set aside for later.
3. Add the ground almonds, vanilla sugar, and cinnamon to the beaten egg whites and fold in. You will get a very sticky dough – more a sticky mess than a dough tbh. The dough should not be too soft anyway – in case it is, add some more ground almonds until the consistency is right (it depends on how big the used eggs are).
4. Roll out the dough in between two layers of plastic wrap to a thickness of 5mm (0.2 inches). Use a star cookie cutter to cut out small stars and transfer them to the prepared baking sheets. Clean the cookie cutter from time to time with warm water to remove sticky dough.
5. Brush the stars with the remaining egg whites and bake in the middle of the oven for about 25 minutes. To make sure the stars keep their white coating and don’t turn dark, place an empty baking sheet on the highest rack of the oven. Let the cinnamon stars cool on a wire rack and store in a tin box without other cookies in a cool place.
1. Den Ofen auf 150°C (300°F) Ober-/Unterhitze vorheizen. Etwa 2-3 Bleche mit Backpapier auslegen.
2. Das Eiweiß in einer großen Schüssel schnittfest aufschlagen. Puderzucker darüber sieben, Zitronensaft zugeben und alles zusammen aufschlagen (erst langsam, sonst gibt es eine Riesen-Sauerei) bis der Eischnee glänzt. Etwa 5 EL vom Eischnee abnehmen und zur Seite stellen.
3. Mandeln, Vanillezucker und Zimt zum restlichen Eischnee geben und unterziehen. Der Teig wird eher eine klebrige Masse sein, als ein richtiger Teig. Trotzdem sollte er nicht zu weich sein – je nachdem noch gemahlene Mandeln zugeben, bis die Konsistenz passt (hängt von der Größe der Eier ab).
4. Den Teig zwischen zwei Lagen Klarsichtfolie ca. 5mm (0.2 inches) dick ausrollen. Mit einer Sternform kleine Sterne ausstechen und auf die vorbereiteten Bleche legen (die Sternform zwischendurch am besten immer wieder kurz mit warmem Wasser von klebrigen Teigresten befreien).
5. Die Sterne mit dem zurückgehaltenen Eischnee bestreichen und in der Mitte des Ofens etwa 25 Minuten backen (damit die Sterne oben weiß bleiben, ein leeres Backblech auf die oberste Schiene einschieben). Auf einem Kuchengitter auskühlen lassen und in einer Blechdose ohne andere Plätzchen an einem kühlen Ort aufbewahren.
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
Print
Zimtsterne aka. Cinnamon Stars
- Prep Time: 00:45
- Cook Time: 00:25
- Total Time: 02:00
- Yield: 50 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Cuisine: German
Description
These cookies have to be on every table at Christmas – with their hint of cinnamon and almond they are the perfect treat and a must have of the Christmas Season!
Ingredients
14-21 oz. (400-600g) ground almonds
5 egg whites
1 pinch of salt
10 oz. (300g) confectioners’ sugar
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. vanilla sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 150°C (300˚F). Line 2-3 baking sheets with baking parchment.
2. Beat the egg white in a large bowl until stiff peaks form. Sift the confectioner’s sugar on top, add the lemon juice, and beat (first slowly then increase speed) until the beaten egg white is fluffy and has a glossy shine. Transfer 5 tablespoons to a small bowl and set aside for later.
3. Add the ground almonds, vanilla sugar, and cinnamon to the beaten egg whites and fold in. You will get a very sticky dough – more a sticky mess than a dough tbh. The dough should not be too soft anyway – in case it is, add some more ground almonds until the consistency is right (it depends on how big the used eggs are).
4. Roll out the dough in between two layers of plastic wrap to a thickness of 5mm (0.2 inches). Use a star cookie cutter to cut out small stars and transfer them to the prepared baking sheets. Clean the cookie cutter from time to time with warm water to remove sticky dough.
5. Brush the stars with the remaining egg whites and bake in the middle of the oven for about 25 minutes. To make sure the stars keep their white coating and don’t turn dark, place an empty baking sheet on the highest rack of the oven. Let the cinnamon stars cool on a wire rack and store in a tin box without other cookies in a cool place.
Notes
Enjoy baking!
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