Zimsterne (German Cinnamon Stars)

Whip up a batch of German cinnamon stars - Zimsterne cookies - that make a great edible Christmas gift. Flavored with cinnamon and covered with a snowy white royal icing, these cookies bring the German holiday tradition to your home!

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These sweet almond and cinnamon cookies - Zimsterne (aka cinnamon stars) - are classic German Christmas cookies.

The Advent and Christmas seasons are not the same without these crisp, spicy treats.

It is a quintessential German tradition for almost every family to make a batch of this kind of holiday cookies at home. Those are counted as the 20 best German Christmas cookies.

As per Betty Brossi,

A biscuit bag without cinnamon stars is like Advent without Santa Claus. 

You can find star cookies in grocery stores and outdoor Christmas markets throughout Germany and other German-speaking countries like Austria and Switzerland.

But why not bring this tradition to our home? And why not enjoy these cookies all year round?

What are Zimsterne?

Zimsterne or German cinnamon star cookies are spicy iced star cookies flavored with cinnamon and topped with a sweet meringue glaze. Their well-known "Zimsterne texture" is crispy and chewy.

Zimtsterne translates as "cinnamon stars," where "zimt" means cinnamon and "sterne" means stars in German.

If you wonder about Zimsterne pronunciation, it sounds like "tseemt-shtair-nuh."

An authentic recipe for cinnamon stars calls for almonds, but with the occasional addition of ground hazelnuts. It means cookies are naturally gluten-free, but different recipes exist today.

People usually buy packaged cookies, but nothing beats homemade Zimtsterne cookies filled with a sweet-spicy flavor of cinnamon.

No matter where you are, you can start a unique holiday tradition by baking a batch of star-shaped gourmet Christmas cookies at home.

Zimtsterne history

The origin of Zimtsterne cookies (aka cinnamon star cookies) is relatively unknown, but the first mention dates back to 1538.

It took about two hundred years for star cookies to appear in German cookbooks. Do you wonder why?

Cinnamon was an expensive and rare spice at that time. Imported almonds were food for only royalty.

That is why both ingredients were associated with once-a-year baking around Christmas time.

How to cut cinnamon stars

Have you noticed how neat these star cookies are? The dough is not difficult to work with, but cutting out cookies requires some patience, and it is worth it.

Sharp and accurate star points of cookies are due to cutting cookies after the royal icing is spread out.

The Spruce Eats and The Splendid Table recommend cutting stars first and then coating them with the meringue.

While cutting cookies, dip a cookie-cutter in hot water between cutouts to facilitate the release of the cookie from the cutter.

Then recipes call for a condiment bottle, a small spoon, a pastry brush, a little butter knife, a small offset spatula, or even a toothpick to spread the meringue icing on top of each cookie.

I find that using the above technique, the icing slightly drips over the cookies' sides and does not coat cookies evenly.

Indeed, you can choose this way of cutting cookies if you are short on time.

So, to make cookies beautifully neat, I recommend spreading the icing first and then cut the cookies.

In this case, it is necessary to wash and dry a cookie-cutter often between cutting the shapes.

The rolled cookie dough is quite sticky and stiff. So there is a question: how to remove cookies from a cookie-cutter?

If you use an authentic Zimsterne cookie cutter, you will not have a problem. It consists of two cutting parts and a couple of handles for the easy release of cookies.

Thanks to the unique folding mechanism, the finished cinnamon star comes easily to a cookie sheet and keeps its shape without smearing the egg whites.

If you use a regular star cookie cutter, you should remove stars from the cutter by pushing them from underneath. It is a bit tricky, but it works!

If you find the cookie dough is too soft while cutting, bring it back to the fridge for a few minutes and continue.

Both cinnamon star cookies recipes offered by The Spruce Eats and The Splendid Table let the iced cookies dry for about 12 to 24 hours. Then, the cookies are baked the next day.

The recipe below allows you to bake and enjoy cookies on the same day!

Why you should try this recipe

1. German Christmas cookies always are a hit during the holiday season and at the Christmas cookie exchange. 
2. They are a great opportunity to get together with your family or friends around Christmas time and bake these traditional holiday cookies.
3. Flavored with lots of cinnamon, German cookies bring a festive mood and get a fabulous smell in your home.
4. Packed in a box, they become one of the best edible gifts during the holiday. They will put a smile on your friends' faces when they open their gift boxes.
5. This cinnamon stars recipe is customizable if you replace ground cinnamon with other powder of your choice. Please have a look at these Heart-Shaped Raspberry Cookies, where I used the same recipe as a base.

Ingredients

Here is a quick overview of what ingredients you will need. Follow the full recipe below for exact amounts and instructions. I recommend making this recipe as written for the best results. 

Butter: use unsalted softened butter for this recipe. Take it out of the fridge two hours before you start.

Sugar: use granulated sugar or caster sugar.

Ground cinnamon: it is a star-ingredient of cookies. You cannot substitute it with another spice.

Egg: use one large whole egg and one egg white from the medium-sized chicken egg.

Hazelnut flour: use a store-bought hazelnut flour, hazelnut meal, or make ground nuts yourself using a food processor.

Use toasted nuts with their skins on for better color and flavor. Be careful, don't over-grind hazelnuts; otherwise, you will get nut butter.

Almond flour: use blanched finely ground almond flour and avoid a coarse almond meal. You can use ground almonds too.

Make sure to spoon almond flour from a container gently into a measuring cup to keep the measurement precision.

Flour: all-purpose flour is used to make this variation of star cookies.

Icing sugar: make it with a coffee grinder or use store-bought powdered sugar.

Lemon juice: a few drops of lemon juice are used to make the meringue.

How to make Zimsterne cookies

To make the cookie dough, place softened butter, granulated sugar, and ground cinnamon in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix (photo 1).

Add the egg, hazelnut, and almond flour and mix again. Finally, add all-purpose flour (use a flour sifter) and mix to combine (photo 2).

Transfer the cookie dough from the bowl to a work surface and form a ball.

Sprinkle a sheet of paper with a small amount of icing (powdered) sugar. Place the dough, cover it with the top sheet of paper.

Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out between parchment to the thickness of 0.4 inch/1 cm. Refrigerate for 1 hour (photo 3).

To make the white royal icing, place the egg white with icing sugar and 3 - 4 drops of lemon juice in a small bowl.

Using an electric mixer, whisk the white mixture at high speed. (photo 4).

Take the cookie dough out of the fridge and spread a thin layer of royal icing with a bent spatula (photo 5).

Chill the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes or in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Heat oven to 300 degrees F/150 degrees C. Cut out cookie stars with a 2-inch/5 cm cookie star cutter (I used the smallest five-point star cookie cutter).

Remove cookies by pushing them underneath and arrange them on the prepared baking sheets covered with parchment in advance (photo 6).

Bake cookies and dough scraps in the middle of the preheated oven (not the bottom rack of the oven) for 12 to 15 minutes (photo 7).

They must be baked, but the royal icing must not color. Remove cookies from the oven and let them cool down on a wire rack (photo 8).

Recipe variations

To make these cookies, I adapted the cinnamon star recipe created by the French chef Christophe Felder. It calls for all-purpose flour in comparison with other Zimsterne recipes.

As for vanilla flavor, some recipes call for Vanillezucker translated as vanilla sugar from German to English; others omit this ingredient.

You can easily modify the cinnamon stars recipe. For example, add one tablespoon of soluble espresso powder to bring a coffee nuance to the original recipe.

Or decorate cookies with coarsely crushed espresso beans, chopped walnuts, or chopped dried cranberries after brushing them with egg whites.  

Authentic German star cookies are made into 6-pointed star shapes using a Zimsterne cookie cutter, but you can use a five-star cookie cutter instead of the six-point star cookie cutter.

Instead of stars, you can also cut out Christmas trees, Santa Clauses, angels, and other favorite motifs.

And if you struggle with star cookie cutters, you can make diamond-shaped cookies instead.

Just use a sharp knife and cut criss-cross lines into the cookie dough to make diamond shapes. Yes, diamond shapes work well.

You can also make triangle-shaped cookies. To do so, cut regular strips 1 3/16 inches/3 cm wide and bevel them to form about 1 inch/2 - 2.5 cm triangles.

You can use non-traditional shapes, such as round ones too. Just be creative.

Next, what is the oven temperature used to bake cookies? Mr. Felder recommends baking cookies at 355 degrees F/180 degrees C for 20 minutes.

But the white icing gets light golden brown while baking. So you want the meringue top to stay as white as possible.

After multiple trials, I suggest baking cookies at a relatively low temperature: 300 degrees F/150 degrees C for 12 to 15 minutes to get the snowy white glaze on top.

The texture of the baked cookies should be quite soft; they will harden over time.

Storage

You can keep cinnamon stars for a long time, from 2 weeks up to one month. Interestingly, they get chewier as time advances.

Store cookies in a dry, airtight container, a sealed container, or better in a cookie tin, for up to a month in a cool place.

Please, remember to keep different types of cookies separate from each other for shelf life.

Extra tip: if you place a piece of an apple in a cookie jar, the star cookies will stay soft and retain their flavor. But don't forget to replace the apple wedge each two 2 days.

You can freeze unglazed cinnamon stars. To thaw, let the cookies rest for 1 to 2 hours at room temperature.

Can you freeze glazed cookies? Some authors recommend freezing; others don't.

According to Bettina Bernhardsgrütter-Preisig, culinary advisor of the Betty Bossi, you can freeze star cookies if you spread the egg white glaze onto the baked stars after baking.

Expert tips

1. Choose a six-point star cookie cutter or a five-point star cookie cutter to make these cookies.
2. Wash and dry a star cookie cutter (if necessary) before cutting the next cookie. It makes cookies neat!
3. If you do not have a star-shaped cookie cutter, make them diamond or triangle-shaped. Feel free to use your favorite but simple cookie cutter.
4. Test and adjust your oven. Do not over bake cookies; otherwise, the royal icing turns brown. You strive to get the icing as white as possible, but a little brown tint can look beautiful, too.
5. The remaining cookie scraps (offcuts) are not as pretty as cinnamon stars, but you could bake them as well. They are delicious!

Frequently asked questions

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The nutritional information has been calculated using an online recipe nutrition calculator such as Verywellfit.com and is intended for informational purposes only. These figures should be used as a general guideline and not be construed as a guarantee. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should independently verify it using your preferred tool. Under no circumstances will Baking Like a Chef be responsible for any loss or damage resulting from your reliance on the nutritional information. You are solely responsible for all decisions about your health and ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate. Please, read the disclaimers in our Privacy Policy.

The recipe was adapted from http://www.elle.fr. It was originally published on December 28, 2018. The recipe has been revised to include improved content and photos. All posted pictures are mine.