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    Home » Recipes » Recipes

    Cinnamon Cookies {Zimtsterne}

    Published: Oct 26, 2022 · Modified: Sep 11, 2023 by Nora · This post may contain affiliate links · 15 Comments

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    Ready to eat cinnamon stars.
    Ready to eat cinnamon stars.
    Ready to eat cinnamon stars.
    Ready to eat cinnamon stars.

    This article is also available in Deutsch.

    Cinnamon stars, also called Zimtsterne, are a gluten-free delicacy from the German region with a texture deliciously reminiscent of macaroons.

    Ready to eat cinnamon stars.
    Jump to Recipe - Print Recipe

    This cookie is particularly popular in the Advent season and delights both old and young.

    As a variation of the traditional star shape, we have created cinnamon stars in the form of a tree.

    You can use the yolks left over from this recipe to make delicious Linzer cookies with egg liqueur!

    Jump to:
    • 🥘 Ingredients
    • 🔪 Instructions
    • 🍽 Equipment
    • 🌡 Storage
    • 💭 Top tip
    • 🙋🏻 FAQ
    • 📖 Recipe
    • 🎄 Craving more European Christmas cookies?
    • ⛑️ Food Safety
    • 💬 Comments

    🥘 Ingredients

    Five ingredients for making delicious cinnamon star cookies.
    • Egg white
    • Vanilla sugar - homemade or store bought
    • Confectioner's sugar
    • Ground almonds 
    • Cinnamon
    • Sugar - for dusting the work surface

    See the recipe card for quantities.

    🔪 Instructions

    Step 1

    First of all, separate the eggs into two separate bowls.

    Either freeze the leftover yolks to use them up later or keep them in the refrigerator for up to one day. This way, you can prepare other delicacies with them!

    Preheat the oven to 302 °F (150 °C) top and bottom heat.

    In a large mixing bowl, whip the egg whites and vanilla sugar. Gradually sprinkle in the confectioners sugar and beat until stiff.

    Take four tablespoons of the stiffly beaten mixture and put it in the fridge. You will need it to coat the cookies.

    Step 2

    With the help of a wooden spoon, fold the grated almonds and the cinnamon into the beaten egg mixture and knead the cookie dough again briefly with your hands.

    Add cinnamon to the mixture.

    Add cinnamon to the mixture.

    Add cinnamon to the mixture.

    Combine everything with the help of a wooden spoon.

    We recommend wearing gloves here if you don't want the sticky mixture on your hands.

    Step 3

    Now cover two baking sheets with baking paper and set them aside. Sprinkle some icing sugar on the work surface and roll out the sticky dough (approx. 5 mm // 0.2 inch).

    Place the dough on top of the icing sugar covered working surface.

    Place the dough on top of the icing sugar covered working surface.

    Cinnamon star cookie dough getting cut out with a tree shaped cookie cutter.

    Cut out the cookies with a tree shaped cookie cutter.

    Now, little by little, cut out little fir trees (or if you decide to go for the stars, stars) and lift them onto the prepared baking sheet lined with baking paper.

    Cutting out those little cuties is a very sticky endeavor, so we recommend keeping the gloves.

    To make cutting easier, regularly dip the cookie cutter in cold water before cutting. This water coating will prevent the dough from sticking.

    Step 4

    Knead the dough left over from cutting with two tablespoons of grated almonds and roll it out again to cut out the remaining cookies.

    Now you need the whipped egg whites from before. Brush it thinly on the cutout cookies before you put the tray on the middle rack in the oven.

    Brush the cut out trees with the sugar egg white mixture.

    Brush the cut-out trees with the sugar egg white mixture.

    Cinnamon tree cookies after baking.

    Let them cool after baking.

    Bake for about 20 minutes and repeat with the remaining cinnamon stars.

    Don't be put off by the consistency of the cinnamon fir trees. They will still be a bit sticky after the baking time is up and will harden as they cool. This "slow consolidation" after baking gives them their distinctive texture!

    Let the baked cookies cool on the baking sheet, and once cooled, store them in an airtight container lined with parchment paper or a cookie tin that seals tightly.

    Enjoy those little delicacies with a lovely homemade beverage like a hot chocolate with rum, a delicious caramel milk or a yummy snowball cocktail!

    Happy baking!

    Ready to eat cinnamon stars.

    Check out this cute gingerbread man cookies to increase your Christmas mood!

    🍽 Equipment

    • Baking tray
    • Baking paper
    • Cookie cutter - Christmas tree shape or the classic star cookie cutter
    • Mixing bowls
    • Rolling pin
    • Wooden spoon
    • Electric mixer

    🌡 Storage

    Zimtsterne will keep in an airtight cookie jar for about a month if they have not already been nibbled before.

    💭 Top tip

    To prevent the beautiful white egg white sugar glaze from getting too dark during baking, we recommend placing an empty baking sheet on the rack above the cookies.

    Place this "shield" as soon as the icing starts to color. This extra baking sheet will slightly block the top heat, leaving the glaze in its beautiful light color that reminds you of snow!

    🙋🏻 FAQ

    Where does the cinnamon star originate?

    Although most varieties of Plätzchen appeared in the 19th century to decorate the Christmas tree, cinnamon stars were not originally associated with Christmas and date back to the 16th century at the latest. There are mentions that in 1536 the Emperor of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V was served "delicious" cinnamon stars when visiting Cardinal Lorenzo Campeggio. Cinnamon in those days was an extremely expensive spice: in 1530 the Augsburg merchant Anton Fugger decided to demonstrate his wealth to the emperor by burning Charles V's promissory notes on a fire made of cinnamon sticks.
    Source: Wikipedia

    More gorgeous cookie recipes for you to try:

    • M and M Cookies
    • Chocolate Dipped Butter Cookies
    • Egg Yolk Cookies
    • Sour Cream Cookies
    • Chocolate Chip Cookies with Chestnut Flour
    • Chocolate Espresso Crinkle Cookies
    • Walnut Meringue Cookies
    • Linzer Cookies with Egg Liqueur Ganache
    • Walnut Cookies
    • Coconut Cookies

    If you make this recipe, let me know how you liked it by ★★★★★ star rating it and leaving a comment below. This would be awesome! You can also sign up for our Newsletter or follow me on Pinterest or Instagram and share your creation with me. Just tag me @combinegoodflavors and hashtag #combinegoodflavors, so I don't miss it.

    📖 Recipe

    Ready to eat cinnamon stars.

    Zimtsterne - Cinnamon Cookies

    Nora
    Cinnamon stars, also called Zimtsterne, are a gluten-free delicacy from the German region with a texture deliciously reminiscent of macaroons.
    4.98 from 49 votes
    Prevent your screen from going dark
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 10 minutes mins
    Baking Time 20 minutes mins
    Total Time 30 minutes mins
    Course Christmas Cookies, Cookies, Snack
    Cuisine Austrian, German
    Servings 50 Cookies
    Calories 61 kcal

    Equipment

    • 2 Baking tray
    • 2 Baking Paper
    • 1 Tree shaped Cookie-cutter or the classic star cookie cutter
    • Mixing bowls
    • Rolling Pin
    • Wooden spoon
    • Electric Mixer
    • Instructions

    Ingredients
     
     

    • 3 Egg white
    • 2 teaspoon Vanilla sugar
    • 2 ¼ cups Confectioners sugar
    • 3 ¼ g Ground almonds
    • 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
    • Icing sugar for dusting the work surface

    Instructions
     

    • First of all, separate the eggs into two separate bowls.
    • Preheat the oven to 302 °F (150 °C) top and bottom heat.
    • In a large mixing bowl, whip the egg whites and vanilla sugar. Gradually sprinkle in the sugar and beat until stiff.
      3 Egg white, 2 teaspoon Vanilla sugar, 2 ¼ cups Confectioners sugar
    • Take four tablespoons of the stiffly beaten mixture and put it in the fridge. You will need it to coat the cookies.
    • With the help of a wooden spoon, fold the grated almonds and the cinnamon into the beaten egg mixture and knead the cookie dough again briefly with your hands.
      3 ¼ g Ground almonds, 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
    • Now cover two baking sheets with baking paper and set them aside.
    • Sprinkle some icing sugar on the work surface and roll out the sticky dough (approx. 5 mm // 0.2 inch).
      Icing sugar for dusting the work surface
    • Now, little by little, cut out little fir trees (or if you decide to go for the stars, stars) and lift them onto the prepared baking sheet lined with baking paper.
    • To make cutting easier, regularly dip the cookie cutter in cold water before cutting. This water coating will prevent the dough from sticking.
    • Knead the dough left over from cutting with two tablespoons of grated almonds and roll it out again to cut out the remaining cookies.
    • Brush the leftover whipped egg white thinly on the cutout cookies before you put the tray on the middle rack in the oven.
    • Bake for about 20 minutes and repeat with the remaining cinnamon stars.
    • Let the baked cookies cool on the baking sheet, and once cooled, store them in an airtight container lined with parchment paper or a cookie tin that seals tightly.
    Never miss a recipe!Sign up and let me spoil you weekly with a delicious homemade recipe!
    Keyword Christmas Cookies, Cinnamon cookie, Cinnamon star, gluten-free cookie, star shaped cookies, Zimtstern
    Like this recipe?Mention @combinegoodflavors or tag #combinegoodflavors!
    Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data.
    Serving: 1Cookie | Calories: 61kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 0.3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.001g | Sodium: 3mg | Potassium: 55mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 0.2IU | Vitamin C: 0.002mg | Calcium: 19mg | Iron: 0.3mg
    Enjoy creating delicious food all year round! Truffles, eggnog, chocolates, Christmas cookies, cakes, boozy drinks, and divine Austrian delicacies!

    🎄 Craving more European Christmas cookies?

    • Grannies coconut "busserl" cookie
      Austrian Coconut "Busserl" cookies - like from granny
    • Austrian Spritz cookies, aka Spritzgebäck, filled with a delicious chocolate ganache.
      Austrian spritz cookies with chocolate filling
    • Advocaat Bites - a delicious, slightly alcoholic delicacy for Advent. Combined with chocolate sprinkles, this cookie is a delight during Advent and tastes especially good with coffee or tea.
      Advocaat Egg Liqueur Bites
    • How to bake cookies from leftover egg yolks

    ⛑️ Food Safety

    • Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
    • Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
    • Wash hands after touching raw meat
    • Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
    • Never leave cooking food unattended
    • Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
    • Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove

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    1. Genevieve

      October 27, 2022 at 11:04 am

      5 stars
      These Christmas cookies look amazing and so fun to make! What a delicious recipe!

      Reply
    2. amy liu dong

      October 27, 2022 at 8:49 pm

      5 stars
      A new treat to make for my kids, and I am sure they will love this

      Reply
    3. Zhen

      October 28, 2022 at 6:33 am

      5 stars
      These look delish and are getting me in the Christmas mood!

      Reply
      • Nora

        November 04, 2022 at 10:05 am

        I am so happy to hear that! Thank you, Zhen!

        Reply
    4. Nancy

      October 29, 2022 at 8:51 am

      5 stars
      I’ve been really enjoying these cinnamon flavoured cookies. They are super addicting

      Reply
      • Nora

        November 04, 2022 at 9:41 am

        Thank you, Nancy! Yea it's hard to stop snacking them!

        Reply
    5. Stephanie

      November 02, 2022 at 4:22 am

      5 stars
      Love almost anything with almonds - and these cookies are no exception. Such a yummy cookie and will look great on our Christmas dessert table.

      Reply
      • Nora

        November 04, 2022 at 9:39 am

        Thank you, Stephanie! I am happy you love them!

        Reply
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    Hi, it's me, Nora! I love good food, especially when it's homemade. I am a home chef with a passion for baking and mixing drinks.

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