One of the simplest and most popular German Christmas cookies are these “cinnamon stars” made from ground almonds, egg whites and sugar, like Ellsenlebkuchen and Springerle.
The dough is made by whipping the egg whites and powdered (icing) sugar into a thick meringue glaze, setting aside some for the glaze and adding almonds and cinnamon to the rest, so you get two components for the work of one.
The dough is then rolled thin and cut into stars. Many recipes call for dipping the cutter in cold water between cuts to keep the dough from sticking, but others use kirsch, which has the added benefit of adding flavour to the cookies.
Although you can bake the cookies right away, letting them dry overnight before baking is what gives the cookies their desired set-outside/chewy-inside texture.
Older recipes include lemon juice and zest, but modern ones do not. This recipe adds it back but you can omit it if you want.
Zimtpitten, or “cinnamon pie,” is a more casual Swiss version shaped as a rectangle, covered with meringue, almonds and pearl sugar, then cut into diamonds or bars after baking.
CINNAMON STAR COOKIES
Preparation time: 55 minutes, plus at least 2 hours chilling time, 30 minutes standing time, and at least 24 hours drying time
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Makes: About 12 cookies
Ingredients
10 oz (285 g) blanched whole or slivered almonds
½ cup (100 g) white US granulated (UK caster) sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
3 egg whites
1½ cups (205 g) powdered (icing) sugar
¼ cup (2 fl oz/60 ml) chilled kirsch (cherry eau-de-vie) or water
Method
In a food processor, pulse the almonds until finely ground. Add the white US granulated (UK caster) sugar, cinnamon, salt and lemon zest and pulse until the almonds are ground into a fine meal.
In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk, beat the egg whites on medium speed until foamy and starting to form soft peaks, about 1 minute.
Slowly add the powdered (icing) sugar, then increase the speed to medium-high and continue beating the mixture until it holds stiff peaks when the whisk is lifted from the meringue, 2–3 minutes more.
Scoop a heaping ½ cup (4 fl oz/120 ml) of the meringue out and place it in a small bowl; cover with plastic wrap (cling film) and set aside until ready to use.
Add the spiced ground almonds to the meringue in the mixer bowl along with the lemon juice and use a silicone spatula to fold everything together until a dough forms and there are no dry patches of almonds remaining in the bowl.
Shape the dough into a ball, cut in half, then shape each half into a disc. Wrap the discs separately in plastic wrap (cling film) and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Unwrap one dough disc and place it on a sheet of parchment paper. Cover with another sheet of parchment paper and roll out the dough with a rolling pin to ¼ inch (6 mm) thick.
Remove the top sheet of parchment. Use a pastry brush to spread half the reserved meringue over the sheet of dough. Let stand until the meringue is dry, about 30 minutes. Repeat with the other half of the dough and meringue glaze.
Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Pour the kirsch or water into a small plate. Using a 1¾ – to 2-inch (4.5 to 5 cm) star-shaped cutter, dip the cutter in the kirsch and then cut out stars of dough, re-dipping the cutter in the kirsch between the cuts.
Position the cutter as close to the last one as best as possible to avoid any wasted dough since you won’t be able to reroll the scraps.
Arrange the cut shapes on the prepared baking sheets, spaced 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart. Let the cookies stand until dry to the touch, at least 24 hours.
Position racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C/Gas Mark 8).
Bake just until the outside of the cookies are dry but the glaze isn’t browned, 4–5 minutes, switching racks and rotating the baking sheets front to back halfway through.
Transfer the baking sheets to wire racks and let the cookies cool completely on the pans.
Crumbs: Cookies and Sweets from Around the World
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