Among the most popular and beloved traditional German Christmas cookies, the holidays simply aren’t the same without these Zimtsterne!
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. 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: Zimtsterne. Have you tried these before? 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. And of course, as with most things, homemade is the best.
These German “cinnamon star” cookies are made almost entirely of ground nuts – traditionally almonds but also commonly combined with hazelnuts. 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. (You can find them here on Amazon.)
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. And once you’ve tried them you’ll see why.
Happy baking and may you enjoy this Most Wonderful Time of the Year!
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). 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. Beat until the mixture is combined and 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.
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). 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. Knead the scraps back into a ball, roll it out again and cut more stars.
Transfer the cookies to a non-stick or lined cookie sheet. Use a pastry brush to brush on the egg white mixture all the way to the edges of the cookies.
Bake on the bottom rack in an oven preheated to 300 degrees F for 15-20 minutes. Let the cookies cool completely.
Can be stored in a dry, airtight container in a cool place for at least 2 weeks.
Enjoy!
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Zimtsterne (German Cinnamon Star Cookies)
Ingredients
- 3 large egg whites
- 2 cups powdered sugar sifted
- 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
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300 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 peaks form (be careful not to over-beat the egg whites or the frosting/glaze won't turn out right). Stir in the powdered sugar 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 pastry brush to brush on the reserved egg white mixture in a thin layer reserving enough for all of the cookies and extending the glaze out to the edges of the cookies.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes. Let the cookies cool completely.
- The cookies can be stored in a dry, airtight container in a cool place for at least 2 weeks.
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Toni says
These are so pretty and festive for the season!
Erin says
These would disappear in our house!
Ceilidh McPhee says
Baking Zimtsterne is a tradition in our household at Christmas. This year we will be trying your recipe.
We’d like to make half the batch “adult” versions and add a splash of kirsche liquor.
Do you think this would work? Would it be a matter of also adding more nuts/powdered sugar to get the correct consistency afterwards?
Thank you in advance
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Ceilidh, you bet. As long as it’s just a splash that shouldn’t alter the texture enough to make a difference. But if you find the dough seems a little too wet then yes, just add a few more nuts. Happy baking!
Ceilidh McPhee says
Thank you so much!
This year we are also making your Marzipan & Fleischsalat! Its a Daring Gourmet Christmas in our household!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
LOL, Ceilidh! :) Merry Christmas!
Kitten says
So I just finished making these and they are amazing! This recipe works perfectly. I admit I was a bit intimidated by the idea of these and they were somewhat challenging, but the rewards (getting to eat them) are totally worth it. I made a double recipe, one traditional and one with a little orange zest. Love them both. Thanks Kimberly, I have a new cookie tradition!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Awesome, I’m so glad you enjoyed them and really appreciate the feedback, thank you!
Kristeena says
I’ve made two separate batches of these this year but both came out (baked) a different texture than my husband and sister-in-law remember their mom’s being. The flavor and texture are perfect for my taste (although I do tend to frost mine a little heavier because I like the meringue) but I’m curious, never having had them before, what exactly the texture should be. Mine are crispy/chewy but hubby remembers them being more delicate and crumbly like “melt in your mouth”. Am I doing something wrong or is it just a lapse in his memory, LOL????
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Kristeena, it sounds like yours came out exactly the way they’re supposed to. Zimsterne are supposed to be chewy and crispy (the meringue), never crumbly (and I’m not even sure how it would be possible for them have a melt-in-your-mouth texture with all the gritty ground nuts). So yes, I’d chalk it up to a memory lapse, lol, because you did it exactly right! :)
Allison says
I’ve made these cookies twice now, and both have turned out wonderfully. Your instructions are really helpful, and for anyone reading this I recommend reading the entire recipe thoroughly before starting. Both times the dough came together really well for me, and rolling it out was pretty easy. I followed your recommendation to use the bottom rack of the oven and baked mine for 12 minutes, and the egg whites did not brown and the cookies have a lovely chewy consistency. I love this recipe and these cookies!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, Allison, I’m thrilled to hear that and appreciate your feedback, thank you!
Janice says
HOLY COW THESE ARE AWESOME!!! After a diagnosis of Celiac last year I had pretty much given up on cookies but then I wanted to make cut-out cookies for our family Hanukkah party so off I went searching the internet and found these. They are AMAZING!! I didn’t have the vanilla sugar (will be ordering it now that I know how awesome this recipe is) so I used 1t of vanilla extract and upped my almond flour to 3.5c. I also used blanched almond flour because it’s what I keep on hand. Thank you so much for sharing this! A definite keeper for me.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m so glad you enjoyed them, Janice, thanks so much!
Nola Emery says
Can you freeze these?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Nola, without the egg frosting, yes. With the egg frosting I’m not sure how it will impact the texture – as the cookies thaw it may make the frosting soggy but I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure.
Andi says
I made these tonight and I’m not sure where I went wrong. My dough ended up very sticky and I could barely roll out the dough or cut out the cookies because the dough was clinging to everything. Anyone who’s a more experienced baker know where I may have gone wrong? I grew up in Germany and was so looking forward to this traditional cookie my mom made every Christmas growing up!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Andi, something definitely went wrong with the measurements. The only liquid in these cookies is 3 eggs and that’s combined with over 3 cups of nut flour and 2 cups of powdered sugar. In any case, if you experience that again you can simply add some more nut meal and also roll the dough out between two sheets of plastic wrap to prevent sticking.
Andi says
Thank you so much for responding so quickly! I’m wondering if it may have been the stiff peaks/egg whipping step that threw something off? Once I had the stiff peaks and stirred in the powdered sugar the mixture really sunk in and got weirdly flat. Is that normal? Otherwise I definitely got the measurements right. In any case..I’m going to give it another shot this week and keep my fingers crossed :)
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Andi, once you add all the heavy ground nuts the dough isn’t going to remain fluffy, so turning into a firm dough that you’ll then roll out is normal. The dough shouldn’t be overly dry, so be careful not to add too much extra nut flour if you think the dough is too sticky. Just add enough to where the dough is manageable and you can also try rolling it out between two sheets of plastic wrap. I hope you have better luck next time!
Andi says
Thank you! I meant more when the powdered sugar was added to the beaten egg whites, before I added in the other dry ingredients. The texture looked a little funny. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Ash says
Is it okay to use blanched almond flour? I accidentally bought the wrong kind and it’s not the cheapest stuff to buy, so I’d rather not have to buy it twice haha :)
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Ash, absolutely. The cookies will taste exactly the same, they’ll just be very light in color instead of dark.
Ash says
Cool!
Just to be clear, when beating the egg whites, should the peaks be soft or stiff?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Not stiff, just beat them until they stand up and then curl over.
Tamiko R says
I made these for a cookie exchange. They turned out great and I’ll be sharing the recipe! I made my own vanillazucker by adding the inside of one vanilla bean to 1 cup of sugar and mixing
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, Tamiko, thanks so much!
Deidre Bee says
My frosting puffed up and was bumpy not smooth and firm like the pictures, any advice? Still tasted yummy and was crispy!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Deidre, it has to do with beating the egg whites to just the right consistency and that only comes through practice and experience to know when it’s “just right.”
Farzad says
Is it possible to use peanut meal instead of the almond/hazelnut meal?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Farzad, yes, you can pretty much use any nut meal of your choice.