Zimtsterne: German cinnamon stars
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!
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
The dough will also be very sticky. You will need to dust your work surface and rolling pin well. Alternatively, roll the dough out between two sheets of baking paper.
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!
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 contains very little coumarin.
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!
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!
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 excess flour.
To keep them fresh for longer, place the biscuits in a tin together with a slice of apple. They will then last 2-3 weeks.
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