Best Cinnamon Stars Zimtsterne Recipes

CINNAMON STARS: ZIMTSTERNE (GERMANY)

Steps:

• Sift the confectioners' sugar.
• Put 1/2 cup of the sifted confectioners' sugar, 10 ounces (3 heaping cups) of the almonds and all the cinnamon in a food processor. Process until the nuts are finely ground, with just a few larger pieces.
• Whip the egg whites in a large, clean bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until they hold soft peaks, about 1 minute. Gradually add the remaining confectioners' sugar while whipping, until the whites are thick, creamy and somewhat stiff, about 2 minutes more. Set aside 2/3 cup of this meringue for topping the cookies.
• Fold the ground almond mixture and the lemon zest into the remaining meringue to make a stiff dough.
• Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
• Lay a sheet of parchment or waxed paper on the work surface and lightly dust with confectioners' sugar. Turn the dough out onto the dusted paper, flatten and dust with more sugar as needed, and then lay another sheet of parchment or waxed paper on top. Roll the dough between the papers until it is about 1/4-inch thick. Flip the dough over and gently peel off a sheet of the paper. For ease when cutting, lay the paper back on the dough, flip again and gently pull off the other side of the paper so that the dough is fully released from it.
• Cut cookies with a 3-inch star cutter and place about 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. (Excess dough can be rerolled.) Use a small spoon, brush or offset spatula to spread the reserved meringue over the top of each cookie, taking care not to let the meringue drip over the sides. Press or sprinkle remaining sliced almonds in a decorative pattern into the meringue.
• Bake cookies until bottoms are light golden brown and meringue is set and crisp, about 30 minutes. Turn off the oven and open the oven door to release heat and dry cookies out in the oven for 10 more minutes.

ZIMTSTERNE (CINNAMON STARS)

Steps:

• Heat oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2 and line a large baking tray (or 2 smaller) with baking parchment. Place the egg whites in a large bowl and use an electric mixer to whisk until foamy. Add the lemon juice and whisk again until they hold soft peaks.
• Slowly mix in the icing sugar and continue whisking until the mixture is stiff. Remove about a quarter of the meringue mixture and set aside to use for the topping. Put the almonds, cinnamon, ginger and lemon zest in the bowl with the meringue and mix to form a stiff, slightly sticky dough.
• To form the stars, put the dough on a piece of baking parchment lightly dusted with icing sugar and dust the top of the dough with sugar, too. Place a second sheet of parchment on top of the dough and roll out to about 0.5cm thick (the dough is a little sticky, so the parchment makes it easier to roll). Peel off the top sheet of parchment and use a 5cm star-shaped cutter to cut out as many cookies as possible. Place them on your prepared baking tray.
• Using the reserved meringue mixture, spread a small amount onto the top of each cookie, covering the entire top - you may need to add a few drops of water to make the meringue a little easier to spread. Put the tray in the oven and bake for 12-15 mins until meringue is set but not browned. Allow to cool fully before storing in a sealed container for up to 2 weeks.

CINNAMON STARS (ZIMTSTERNE)

Steps:

• In a food processor, pulse almonds with 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar until finely ground, about 1 minute (do not grind into a paste). Add cinnamon and zest, and pulse twice.
• In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites and salt with an electric mixer at medium speed until stiff peaks form. Gradually whisk in remaining 1 cup confectioners' sugar. Continue to whisk until meringue is glossy and stiff, but not dry, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer 1/3 cup meringue to a small bowl. Add remaining meringue to mixture in processor, and pulse just until dough comes together. Place dough on parchment lightly dusted with confectioners' sugar; pat into a disk, and chill 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 300 degrees, with racks in middle and upper thirds. Dust top of dough lightly with confectioners' sugar, top with parchment, and roll to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut dough using a 1 1/2-inch star-shaped cutter, and transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets. Dip cutter into confectioners' sugar frequently to prevent dough from sticking. Reroll scraps, and cut more shapes.
• Stir the water into reserved meringue; brush mixture generously over tops of stars using a small paintbrush. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until firm when gently pressed, but not hard and dry, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cookies cool completely on sheets on wire racks. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

CINNAMON STARS (ZIMTSTERNE) GERMAN CHRISTMAS COOKIES

Steps:

• Separate egg yolks from whites and beat whites until stiff peaks form.
• Slowly sift in the sugar and lemon juice, then beat some more for about 8 minutes.
• Put aside 4 heaped tablespoons of the meringue - this will be used to top the cookies later on.
• Add ground almonds and cinnamon to the remaining meringue and mix well. You might want to add a dash of rum or Amaretto.
• Cover the dough and let it rest in the fridge for about an hour.
• Sit down, relax and have a cup of tea.
• After an hour fetch the dough from the fridge.
• Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 3/160C/320°F.
• Sprinkle a surface with confectioners' or regular white sugar and roll the dough to approximately 5 mm.
• Cut the stars with a star shaped (yes, indeed!) cookie cutter.
• Put the stars on the lined baking sheet.
• Now get the reserved meringue from earlier. You might have to stir it a bit so it becomes a smooth mix. You also might want to add some more lemon juice. It's a matter of taste.
• Now brush the cookies with the topping and bake them for about 8 minutes.
• Cool on the baking sheet.
• Store in an air-tight tin.
• The cookies should keep for about two weeks.

GERMAN CINNAMON STARS (ZIMTSTERNE)

Steps:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
• 2. Combine the nuts, cinnamon, and zest. Beat the egg whites on low speed until foamy, about 30 seconds. Add the salt, increase the speed to medium-high, and beat until soft peaks form, 1 to 2 minutes. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar and beat until stiff and glossy, 5 to 8 minutes. Reserve one-third of the meringue (about 1/3 cup) and fold the nut mixture into the remaining meringue.
• 3. Place a large piece of waxed paper on a flat surface and sprinkle with additional confectioners' sugar. Place the nut mixture on the sugar, lightly sprinkle with more confectioners' sugar, top with a second piece of waxed paper, and roll out 1/4 inch thick. Remove the top piece of waxed paper. Using a cookie cutter dipped in water, cut into 2-inch star shapes or use a sharp knife to cut into diamonds. Reroll and cut any scraps. Place on the prepared baking sheet.
• 4. Bake until set, 10 to 12 minutes. Spread the reserved meringue over the top of the cookies and bake until the tops are lightly colored, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool. Zimtsternen taste best if allowed to stand for 24 hours. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 weeks.

CINNAMON STARS (ZIMTSTERNE)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
• Butter one or two large cookie sheets.
• Beat egg whites and as they begin to foam and stiffen, gradually beat in sugar. Continue beating until whites form stiff peaks that retain the mark of a knife blade. Set aside half a cup of the whites.
• Sprinkle remaining whites with cinnamon, one and a half cups of almonds and vanilla extract or brandy.
• Stir together gently but thoroughly. Mixture should be thick and fairly solid. Add more almonds if dough is too sticky to be rolled.
• Sprinkle pastry board with sugar and roll out dough to onefourth inch thickness. Cut into star shapes with a small cookie cutter.
• Arrange on buttered baking sheet and brush top of each cookie with a little of the reserved egg whites. Bake in preheated oven about 20 minutes or until golden brown.

CINNAMON STARS: ZIMTSTERNE (GERMANY)

Steps:

• Sift confectioners' sugar. Put 1/2 cup of sifted confectioners sugar, 10 oz (3 heaping cups) of almonds and all the cinnamon in food processor. Process until nuts are finely ground, w/ just a few larger pieces. Whip egg whites in a large, bowl w/ electric mixer on high speed until hold soft peaks, ~ 1 min. Gradually add remaining confectioners sugar while whipping, until whites are thick, creamy and somewhat stiff, ~ 2 min more. Set aside 2/3 cup of this meringue for topping cookies. Fold ground almond mix and lemon zest into remaining meringue to make a stiff dough. Preheat oven to 250. Line 2 baking sheets w/ parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Lay sheet of parchment or wax paper on work surface and lightly dust w/ confectioners sugar. Turn dough onto the dusted paper, flatten and dust w/ more sugar as needed, then lay another sheet of parchment or wax paper on top. Roll dough between the paper until ~ 1/4-in thick. Flip dough over and gently peel off sheet of the paper. For ease when cutting, lay paper back on dough, flip again and gently pull off the other side of the paper so that the dough is fully released from it. Cut cookies w/ 3-in star cutter and place ~ 2 in apart on baking sheets. (Excess dough can be rerolled.) Use asmall spoon, brush or offset spatula to spread reserve meringue on top of each cookie, taking care not to let the meringue drip over the sides. Press or sprinkle remaining sliced almonds in a decorative pattern into the meringue. Bake cookies until bottoms are light golden brown and meringue is set and crisp, about 30 minutes. Turn off the oven and open the oven door to release heat and dry cookies out in the oven for 10 more minutes. Dough can be frozen between the sheets of paper for up to 2 weeks. Store baked cookies in an airtight container for up to 10 days.

CINNAMON STARS / "ZIMTSTERNE"

Steps:

• Pre-heat your oven to 150C.
• Whisk the egg whites and salt until stiff, and gradually add the icing sugar.
• Once the mixture is combined and glossy, take about 10 tablespoons aside (you'll need it later.)
• Now add the nuts and spices with the jelly to the egg-sugar mixture and stir until well combined.
• Roll-out dough about 1cm thick.
• --> TIP: this dough is very sticky. Roll it out between 2 sheets of cling/plastic wrap... it works well this way!
• Cut out stars (or hearts) with a cookie cutter and place them on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
• Now take a brush and add the previously set-aside icing onto each cookie.
• Bake the cookies for 10-15min. The surface should still be white and they are allowed to still be a little soft when they come out of the oven (they are meant to be "chewy" and will still harden a little once they are cool).

ZIMTSTERNE, CINNAMON STARS

Steps:

• Beat egg whites with salt until stiff.
• Add the powdered sugar and mix.
• Keep 1 dl of the mixture as frosting.
• Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
• Roll the dough out in a ziploc bag, that's cut open (cut the two side seams so the two parts are held together only at the bottom) Cut out stars or whatever other shapes you want.
• Bake for 3-5 minutes in a preheated oven at 450°F.
• When cookies are still warm, dip one side of cookies in frosting.