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Steeping the Soul

Cakes and biscuits, Traditional German recipes, Yum · 27 November 2019

How to make Zimtsterne: Traditional German cinnamon stars

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Zimtsterne or cinnamon stars are arguably the quintessential German Christmas biscuit. They look like snow coloured stars and all that cinnamon makes them smell and taste that just screams Christmas. They are the perfect addition to our trio of German Christmas biscuits.

I had never made them before. I figured, however, that I had eaten enough of them to know a good cinnamon star from a bad one. If they didn’t work out, I would just share the fail on our Facebook page instead. Anyway, if they were not easy enough for me to make perfect cinnamon stars on the first try, the recipe shouldn’t be on Tea with Mum anyway!

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A plate of fresh German cinnamon stars - Zimtsterne - with Christmas decorations - traditional German Christmas baking - the aroma, taste, shape an look makes them the quintessential Christmas biscuit

Tips for making cinnamon stars

As with many recipes, the most difficult part was separating the eggs and not getting any yolks in the whites!

However, don’t do what I did: I forgot to reserve some of the egg white and sugar mixture for the topping before adding the cinnamon and almond meal. I had to make a double mixture to get the topping.

Tip: The dough of these biscuits is very sticky. To prevent the dough from sticking to the work surface and your rolling pin (because it will), either dust both very well or roll the dough out between two sheets of baking paper. I find it easier to use baking paper and there is no flour to clean up afterwards.

Kids can easily help. Miss M very much enjoyed cutting out the stars and ‘painting’ them with snow.

What do you do with the leftover egg yolks? Make Spritzgebaeck of course!

A plate of fresh German cinnamon stars - Zimtsterne - fresh cinnamon stars cooling on a rack - traditional German Christmas baking - the aroma, taste, shape an look makes them the quintessential Christmas biscuit

Did you know?

Some cinnamon is actually not that good for you. It naturally contains the aroma coumarin, which can damage the liver in large amounts. It can bring dizziness, headaches and nausea. Of course, this doesn’t just affect the cinnamon stars, but anything that contains cinnamon – such as apple pie!

However, it is all about proportions. The average adult, who weighs around 60 kg, can eat 24 cinnamon stars per day without any damage. Children, of course, should not eat as many, but a couple a day will do no harm.

If you want to avoid any risks altogether, use Ceylon cinnamon. It costs more but contains very little coumarin.

A plate of fresh German cinnamon stars - Zimtsterne - fresh cinnamon stars cooling on a rack - with paper house Christmas decoration - traditional German Christmas baking

Make some cinnamon stars for Christmas

These German cinnamon stars taste delicious and are so cute, they are perfect for gifting. Just baking them in the oven will make your whole house smell like Christmas. It is this combination that makes them the perfect Christmas biscuit and number seven on the list of top 10 German Christmas biscuits.

Make some for your family and friends this Christmas!

Cinnamon stars - Zimtsterne: German Christmas cookies;  Christmas baking; traditional German Christmas biscuits
Pin - Cinnamon Star cookies: traditional German Christmas Recipes - with image of cinnamon star cookies

Cinnamon stars

Zimtsterne or cinnamon stars are a quintessential German Christmas biscuit. They look like snow-covered stars and all that cinnamon makes them oh so Christmassy!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 mins
Cook Time 15 mins
Cuisine German
Servings 50 cookies

Equipment

  • Mixing bowls
  • Hand-held mixer
  • kitchen scales
  • silicone spatula
  • baking tray
  • baking paper
  • Rolling Pin
  • star-shaped cookie cutter

Ingredients
  

  • 250 g + a little more icing sugar
  • 3 egg whites
  • a pinch of salt
  • 2 level teaspoon of cinnamon
  • 350 g ground almonds with the brown skin on
  • Plain flour for dusting

Instructions
 

  • Sift 250g of icing sugar into a bowl.
  • In another bowl, beat the egg whites and salt until thick and creamy. Add the icing sugar, bit by bit, and whip until thick and glossy and well-combined.
  • Spoon 6-8 tablespoons of the egg white and icing sugar mix into a separate bowl and place to the side.
  • Fold the cinnamon and almonds into the remaining egg and icing sugar mixture and mix together until it forms a dough.
  • Dust your work surface with icing sugar and roll the dough out flat until it is 1/2 cm thick. Cut out the stars and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Knead the remaining dough, roll it out again and cut out more stars until all the dough has been used.
  • Preheat the oven to 125°c (fan-forced).
  • Take the icing sugar and egg white mix that was put aside and use a pastry brush or rounded knife to spread a layer of the mix over each star.
  • Bake the biscuits for approx. 15 minutes or until done. Allow the cinnamon stars to cool before eating.

Notes

The dough for the cinnamon stars can be used immediately. If you place it (covered) in the refrigerator for half an hour, it will be easier to roll out the dough and cut out the biscuits.
So that the dough doesn’t stick to the star form, dust the form with flour. Tap the form lightly to get rid of any excess.
To keep them fresh for longer, place the biscuits in a tin together with a slice of apple. Yes, apple. They will then last 2-3 weeks.

Nutrition

Serving: 3gCalories: 60.28kcalCarbohydrates: 6.6gProtein: 1.69gFat: 3.47gSaturated Fat: 0.25gSodium: 3.1mgPotassium: 2.93mgFiber: 0.82gSugar: 5.15gCalcium: 16.1mgIron: 0.28mg
Keyword cinnamon, egg whites, German Christmas biscuits, German Christmas cookies, Traditional German recipes
Have you tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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Check out our other German Christmas recipes

Spritzgebäck: German Christmas shortbread biscuits

Terraces: German Christmas biscuits

Vanille Kipferl: How to make traditional German vanilla crescent cookies

Glühwein with tea: German hot mulled wine with tea

Kinderglühwein – German mulled wine for kids

Pin - Cinnamon Star cookies: traditional German Christmas Recipes - with image of cinnamon star cookies

Posted In: Cakes and biscuits, Traditional German recipes, Yum · Tagged: Cinnamon stars, German Christmas baking, German Christmas biscuits, German Christmas cookies, German recipes, German traditions, Traditional German Recipe, Zimtsterne

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