Zimtsterne - "Cinnamon stars"

As a major christmas-fanatic and lover of baked goods, I decided that the best way to start this blog would be a German classic. Cinnamon stars perfectly combine the flavors of almonds and cinnamon and even though they are fairly easy to bake, the contrast between the smooth white topping and rough almond dough made them a German christmas staple.

Ingredients:

• 500g ground almonds (unpeeled) + additional alonds to cover the working area
• 250g confectioner's sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 3 egg whites
• 3 drops bitter almond flavor (can be substituted with other almond flavor or left out if not available in your country)
• 1 pack of vanilla sugar (can be substituted with vanilla flavor)

Preheat the oven to 100 °C (fan oven) or 125 °C (upper and lower heat). Beat egg whites until stiff. Carefully add small portions of confectioner's sugar to the egg whites while you keep mixing. Remove 6 tablespoons of the mixture and keep it seperately, as you will need it for the topping later on. Add the almonds, cinnamon, bitter almond flavor and vanilla sugar to the remaining egg white-mixture. Knead the dough and dust the surface of your working area with ground almonds or flour to keep the dough from sticking to the surface. Spread the dough using a rolling pin until it is approximately 1 cm thick.

 

Use whichever cookie cutters you like, however stars are traditionally used. Next, place the cut-out dough on baking paper and cover the dough with the egg white-sugar mix you set aside earlier. I usually do this with a brush, however spoons should work as well.

Place the cookies in the oven for 20-25 minutes. Check regularly to make sure that the cookies are not baked for too long, as the topping should stay white. Let the cookies cool off for a while before packaging them, as they are very fragile while they are still warm.

Other christmas-recipes will follow soon, so please revisit this site if you are interested in more recipes! Happy holidays!