Among the most popular and beloved traditional German Christmas cookies, the holidays simply aren’t the same without Zimtsterne! Wonderfully fragrant and flavorful with a fabulous texture, this authentic Zimtsterne recipe will guide you through step-by-step to ensure your success in creating these delicious cinnamon star cookies!
It’s that time of year to roll up your sleeves and get ready to fill your kitchen and home with the aroma of Christmas baking! And there’s no better place to start than this traditional Zimtsterne recipe!
The smell of cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, fennel seed and star anise are what remind me most of Christmas because they are the smells, along with staple ingredients like nuts and butter, that I grew up with in my home of southern Germany. Â And those traditional German baked goodies are the ones I’m forever biased towards come Christmastime.
Today I have another traditional German cookie to add to your repertoire of holiday baking: Â Zimtsterne. Â Have you tried these before? Â You can find them in any grocery store and Christmas market throughout Germany as well as in Austria and Switzerland. Christmas simply isn’t Christmas without them. Â And of course, as with most things, homemade is the best.
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What Are Zimtsterne? Â
Zimtsterne, or “cinnamon stars” in English, are traditional German cookies flavored with cinnamon and made almost entirely of ground nuts – traditionally almonds but also commonly combined with hazelnuts. Â A southern German specialty, they are naturally gluten free and dairy free and feature a snowy white hard frosting made from sugar and egg white.
An ingredient this recipe calls for that you may not be familiar with is Vanillezucker (vanilla sugar).  It’s commonly called for in a lot of German recipes.  Why no American manufacturer makes I’ll never understand – sometimes in baking you need that touch of vanilla flavor without adding any liquid (i.e. vanilla extract).  That’s where vanilla sugar comes in.
You can easily make your own and a great cost-saving way to do that is to use the discarded vanilla beans of Homemade Vanilla Extract, but it’s much more convenient to have these packets on hand.
Other than that, these cookies call for just a small handful of ingredients, but I promise you, they really pack a wonderful flavor and texture. Zimtsterne are one of the most popular and beloved of all German Christmas cookies. Â And once you’ve tried them you’ll see why.
Happy baking and may you enjoy this Most Wonderful Time of the Year!
Zimtsterne Recipe
Let’s get started!
Beat the egg whites until peaks form (be careful not to over-beat or the frosting won’t turn out right). Â Sift the powdered sugar into the egg whites and use a spoon to stir just until combined.
Reserve 2 heaping tablespoons of the egg mixture in a small bowl for the frosting.
Add the nuts, cinnamon and vanilla sugar. Â Beat until the mixture is combined and comes together in a fairly stiff but pliable mass. Â If it’s too soft to work with add a few more ground nuts and powdered sugar.
Press the dough onto a non-stick surface (you can sprinkle the surface with powdered sugar but I still prefer to spread the dough out onto either plastic wrap or a non-stick cookie sheet to prevent sticking). Â Press/roll it to a width of about a 1/3 inch.
Use a 3-inch star-shaped cookie cutter and cut stars out of the dough. Â Knead the scraps back into a ball, roll it out again and cut more stars.
Preheat the oven to 250 F. Transfer the cookies to a non-stick or lined cookie sheet.
Use a toothpick or small brush to brush on a thin layer of the reserved egg white mixture all the way to the edges of the cookies.Â
Place the sheet on the bottom rack of the oven. Bake the Zimtsterne for about 30 minutes or until set. Then open the oven door just a crack and let the cookies sit for another 10-15 minutes to further dry out. Then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.Â
Let the cookies cool completely.
Can be stored in a dry, airtight container in a cool place for at least 2 weeks.
Enjoy!
Zimtsterne (German Cinnamon Stars)
Ingredients
- 3 large egg whites
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 1/4 cup non-blanched almond meal
- or hazelnut meal
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 packet Vanillezucker (recommended but if you can't get it simply omit **one packet has 1.5 teaspoons of vanilla sugar)
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F (do not turn on the fan, it can cause the egg white topping to brown before the cookies are done). Place the rack on the bottom rung of the oven.
- Beat the egg whites in a medium-sized bowl until soft peaks form (be careful not to over-beat the egg whites or the frosting/glaze won't turn out right). Sift the powdered sugar and stir it into the egg whites until combined. Reserve 2 generous, heaping tablespoons of the egg white mixture for the glaze.
- Add the nuts, cinnamon, vanilla sugar and salt and beat until the dough comes together in a fairly stiff but pliable mass. If it's too soft to work with add a few more ground nuts and powdered sugar. (If the dough is too sticky, add a little more nut flour.)
- Press/roll the dough onto a non-stick surface sprinkled with powdered sugar to a thickness of about 1/3 inch. Use a 3-inch star cookie cutter to cut out the cookies and transfer them to a lined or non-stick cookie sheet. Form the scraps of dough into a ball, roll it out again and cut cookies out of the remaining dough.Use a toothpick or small brush to brush on a thin layer of the reserved egg white mixture all the way to the edges of the cookies. (*SEE NOTE)Place the sheet on the bottom rack of the oven. Bake the Zimtsterne for about 30 minutes or until set. Turn off the oven, then open the oven door just a crack and let the cookies sit for another 10-15 minutes to further dry out. Then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. The cookies can be stored in a dry, airtight container in a cool place for at least 2 weeks.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet November 28, 2016
Julie says
Amazing! I had a craving for star anise and substituted star anise (ground the spice with the coffee ginder) for the cinnamon. They are truly delicious and it isn’t officially Christmas on the Calendar xo Thank you for this wonderful recipe! I also didn’t have any icing sugar on hand so I ground up organic whole brown sugar (Muscovovado) and it worked like a charm!
Kimberly Killebrew says
Fantastic, Julie, I’m so glad you enjoyed them, thank you, and the star anise is a nice twist!
Dabney says
Hi, have you ever tried these with royal icing on top?
Kimberly Killebrew says
Hi Dabney, I haven’t but you can certainly do that.
Naomi says
This recipe came out perfectly. I tired a diff one first and it was a disaster. Happy I found this! My only recommendation would be more cinnamon! They are called cinnamon stars and the cinnamon flavor should really come through. 3 teaspoons, at least.
Kimberly Killebrew says
Fantastic, Naomi, thank you so much!
Bennette says
HI! I want to bake these cookies for my German son-in-law. They are his favorite. One question I have is that after the 30 minutes baking till set, do I leave the oven ON when I open the oven door slightly to let them set? Thank you!
Kimberly Killebrew says
Hi Bennette, turn the oven OFF and then crack the door open. Happy baking! :)
Jeff Reich says
Hi, I’m confused by the temperature. Is it 250 in a convection oven? I ask because it seems low and you mention a fan. Could you please confirm the temp in a conventional oven? Thanks!
Kimberly Killebrew says
Hi Jeff, no this is not convection, this is conventional, hence the mention to not use the fan. Happy baking!
Tim Stadler says
This is the second time I’ve made this. First time was a disaster, this time much better (bought almond meal instead of trying to make it). Mine was much lighter in color. I baked for 30 minutes, “until set” but not sure what the means. Are they supposed to be slightly chewy?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Tim, yes, they’re supposed to be slightly chewy.
MarSon says
As a native of Germany living in the US I have been looking high and low for an authentic Zimtsterne recipe. This is the one! They turned out as imagined following the recipe to the T. One thing I’d like to share is paying attention to the ingredients list of the confectioners sugar you’re using. When I baked a second batch the ‘meringue’ top browned much faster and never got puffy. I used a different confectioners sugar (Florida Crystals Organic) that has cornstarch as an added ingredient listed. The first batch was done with a confectioners sugar not having cornstarch listed snd turned out perfectly. Hope thiis helps.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
That’s wonderful, MarSon, I’m so happy you enjoyed them, thank you! Thanks also for the feedback about the confectioner’s sugar. Which brand did you use the first time?
Sabine Duncan says
I just made your Zimtsterne and they are very good but also very different from the ones I used to make (I lost the recipe). I think next time I will double the cinnamon and cut the vanilla sugar in half.