German Cinnamon Star Cookies (Zimtsterne)
Serves 36
45 mins prep
12 mins cook
120 mins Resting Time
177 mins total
Cinnamon combines with a meringue and almond flour to create a light, gluten free Zimtstern. Most Germans buy this Christmas cookie at stores, but it's SO much better homemade!
They are on my 5 favorite German Christmas cookies list!
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Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff. Add in the lemon juice and powdered sugar and beat for 6 to 8 minutes.
Before you move on to the next step, reserve 5 tablespoons of this mixture in a small bowl and cover it airtight. Keep cold in the fridge.
egg whites
pinch salt
tbsp lemon juice
g powdered sugar
Add the ground almonds, cinnamon and vanilla to the beaten egg white sugar mixture and stir until combined. Cover the dough airtight and move it to the fridge for 2 hours to chill. This makes it easier to roll out the dough. You can also keep it in the fridge overnight or up to 24 hours.
g almond flour
tsp ground cinnamon
tsp pure vanilla extract
Preheat the oven (convection setting) to 300 ℉ or 150℃. Prep baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
Roll out the dough on a fairly thick layer of powdered sugar to 1/2 inch thickness. Using a small (1 to 1.5 inch in diameter) star cookie cutter, cut out stars, making sure to remove any dough residue in between and dipping the cutter in powdered sugar to prevent sticking.
Pro tip: keep a shallow bowl of warm water closely to dip your cutter in between when it gets too sticky. This helps the dough slide out of the cookie cutter.
g powdered sugar
Using a pastry brush, brush on the reserved egg mixture. You can do this step either while the cookie is still in the cookie cutter and before placing it on your baking sheet or after moving the cut out shapes onto the baking sheets. Bake for 12 minutes in the center of your oven.
With the convection setting (hot air circulating), there should not be a need to rotate sheets if baking more than one sheet at once. However, depending on your oven, you may want to add this step. I would not recommend baking more than 2 sheets at once.
