Zimtsterne Cinnamon Stars Food

ZIMTSTERNE (CINNAMON STARS)

Steps:

• Heat oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2 and line a large baking tray (or 2 smaller) with baking parchment. Place the egg whites in a large bowl and use an electric mixer to whisk until foamy. Add the lemon juice and whisk again until they hold soft peaks.
• Slowly mix in the icing sugar and continue whisking until the mixture is stiff. Remove about a quarter of the meringue mixture and set aside to use for the topping. Put the almonds, cinnamon, ginger and lemon zest in the bowl with the meringue and mix to form a stiff, slightly sticky dough.
• To form the stars, put the dough on a piece of baking parchment lightly dusted with icing sugar and dust the top of the dough with sugar, too. Place a second sheet of parchment on top of the dough and roll out to about 0.5cm thick (the dough is a little sticky, so the parchment makes it easier to roll). Peel off the top sheet of parchment and use a 5cm star-shaped cutter to cut out as many cookies as possible. Place them on your prepared baking tray.
• Using the reserved meringue mixture, spread a small amount onto the top of each cookie, covering the entire top - you may need to add a few drops of water to make the meringue a little easier to spread. Put the tray in the oven and bake for 12-15 mins until meringue is set but not browned. Allow to cool fully before storing in a sealed container for up to 2 weeks.

ZIMTSTERNE (GERMAN CINNAMON STAR COOKIES) RECIPE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form.
• Add the confectioners' sugar 1/2 cup at a time, beating for 1 minute between each addition. Continue beating for 5 minutes after the last addition. The mixture should be very stiff, like the icing used to hold a gingerbread house together.
• Remove 1/2 cup of this meringue mixture and set aside for icing.
• Fold the raw almond meal and cinnamon into the larger portion of meringue. Add the Kirschwasser, if you are using it, and incorporate. Chill the dough for about 1 hour.
• Using ample confectioners' sugar on your baking board or clean countertop, pat the dough into a square and roll out to 1/2-inch thick (or 1 centimeter).
• Cut out stars with a cookie cutter that has been dusted with confectioners' sugar. Dust the cookie cutter between each cut.
• Place stars on a nonstick cookie sheet or a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
• Brush or spread the reserved meringue icing on each star, working it out to all the points.
• Let the stars dry overnight (about 24 hours, if you can). An oven is a good place if you don't forget they are there and heat for something else.
• The next day, heat the oven to 325 F. Bake each tray for 10 to 15 minutes. This is to dry out the cookies a little more and bake the egg whites. Try to remove the cookies before the icing turns brown, although a little brown tint can look nice.
• Remove the cookies from the baking sheet and let them cool completely on a wire rack before storing in a covered container in a dry place at room temperature.

CINNAMON STARS (ZIMTSTERNE)

Steps:

• In a food processor, pulse almonds with 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar until finely ground, about 1 minute (do not grind into a paste). Add cinnamon and zest, and pulse twice.
• In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites and salt with an electric mixer at medium speed until stiff peaks form. Gradually whisk in remaining 1 cup confectioners' sugar. Continue to whisk until meringue is glossy and stiff, but not dry, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer 1/3 cup meringue to a small bowl. Add remaining meringue to mixture in processor, and pulse just until dough comes together. Place dough on parchment lightly dusted with confectioners' sugar; pat into a disk, and chill 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 300 degrees, with racks in middle and upper thirds. Dust top of dough lightly with confectioners' sugar, top with parchment, and roll to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut dough using a 1 1/2-inch star-shaped cutter, and transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets. Dip cutter into confectioners' sugar frequently to prevent dough from sticking. Reroll scraps, and cut more shapes.
• Stir the water into reserved meringue; brush mixture generously over tops of stars using a small paintbrush. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until firm when gently pressed, but not hard and dry, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cookies cool completely on sheets on wire racks. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

ZIMTSTERNE, CINNAMON STARS

Steps:

• Beat egg whites with salt until stiff.
• Add the powdered sugar and mix.
• Keep 1 dl of the mixture as frosting.
• Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
• Roll the dough out in a ziploc bag, that's cut open (cut the two side seams so the two parts are held together only at the bottom) Cut out stars or whatever other shapes you want.
• Bake for 3-5 minutes in a preheated oven at 450°F.
• When cookies are still warm, dip one side of cookies in frosting.

ZIMTSTERNE (CINNAMON STAR COOKIES)

Steps:

• Mix butter, sugar, 2 whole eggs, 1 egg yolk, and lemon juice until fluffy.
• Stir dry ingredients together; blend into sugar mixture; stir in optional nuts.
• Divide dough into 3 pieces, and roll 1 piece at a time to 1/16 inch thick on lightly floured board; cut with a star cookie cutter.
• Brush the tops of the cookies with the remaining egg white, beaten until frothy.
• Bake cookies on a lighty greased baking sheet 6-8 minutes until golden brown at 375°F.
• Makes 6-9 dozen cookies depending on the size of your cookie cutter.

ZIMTSTERNE (CINNAMON STAR COOKIES)

Steps:

• In a bowl mix dry ingredients for dough.
• Add egg whites and knead until a still sticky dough is formed.
• Wrap into cling film and put into the fridge for at least one hour. I always leave it in the fridge for 2 - 4 hours.
• Near the end of cooling time preaheat oven (170 C) and make meringue glaze.
• For meringue glaze beat egg white with salt until stiff. While still beating add caster sugar by and by to make meringue.
• The meringue should have a consistency that you can spread it with a brush onto the dough later. It should have a more creamy consistency, so that it will stick on the dough and not running down.
• Add just a little milk to get the right consistency. Depending on the egg white you may need about 1 to 3 tablespoons.
• Line out baking trays with parchment paper.
• Get the dough out of the fridge and roll it out between two layers of parchment papers or cling film. The dough sould be a bout 1 cm thick.
• Method ONE for making cinnamon stars (easy way): Using a star cutter cut out the stars and place them on the baking tray. With a brush spread meringue glaze on the cookies.
• Method TWO for making cinnamon stars (tricky way): After you have rolled out the dough spread a thin layer of the meringue glaze on the dough. Now you need a star cutter which can be opened. These are available in Germany. When you can open the cookie cutter you avoid touching the glaze, because the dough has the tendency to stick to the cutter. Put the stars on the tray. Knead the rest of the dough again and add some grounded almonds, so that the dough is not too sticky. Repeat the steps of making the stars.
• Bake the cookies for about 10 - 12 minutes. Watch them carefully, because the meringue should not be browned.
• Take them out and let cool completely. Store them in airtight container. The cookies get better and better, because the flavours blended over time, but I you have to find a good hidout.
• NOTE on egg size: egg size is important here, because it determines the stickyness. My recipe is based on an egg size of 54 - 63 g per egg.
• Custom yield is a guess.
• Time to make does NOT include cooling time.

CINNAMON STARS (ZIMTSTERNE)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
• Butter one or two large cookie sheets.
• Beat egg whites and as they begin to foam and stiffen, gradually beat in sugar. Continue beating until whites form stiff peaks that retain the mark of a knife blade. Set aside half a cup of the whites.
• Sprinkle remaining whites with cinnamon, one and a half cups of almonds and vanilla extract or brandy.
• Stir together gently but thoroughly. Mixture should be thick and fairly solid. Add more almonds if dough is too sticky to be rolled.
• Sprinkle pastry board with sugar and roll out dough to onefourth inch thickness. Cut into star shapes with a small cookie cutter.
• Arrange on buttered baking sheet and brush top of each cookie with a little of the reserved egg whites. Bake in preheated oven about 20 minutes or until golden brown.

CINNAMON STARS (ZIMTSTERNE) GERMAN CHRISTMAS COOKIES

Steps:

• Separate egg yolks from whites and beat whites until stiff peaks form.
• Slowly sift in the sugar and lemon juice, then beat some more for about 8 minutes.
• Put aside 4 heaped tablespoons of the meringue - this will be used to top the cookies later on.
• Add ground almonds and cinnamon to the remaining meringue and mix well. You might want to add a dash of rum or Amaretto.
• Cover the dough and let it rest in the fridge for about an hour.
• Sit down, relax and have a cup of tea.
• After an hour fetch the dough from the fridge.
• Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 3/160C/320°F.
• Sprinkle a surface with confectioners' or regular white sugar and roll the dough to approximately 5 mm.
• Cut the stars with a star shaped (yes, indeed!) cookie cutter.
• Put the stars on the lined baking sheet.
• Now get the reserved meringue from earlier. You might have to stir it a bit so it becomes a smooth mix. You also might want to add some more lemon juice. It's a matter of taste.
• Now brush the cookies with the topping and bake them for about 8 minutes.
• Cool on the baking sheet.
• Store in an air-tight tin.
• The cookies should keep for about two weeks.

GERMAN CINNAMON STARS (ZIMTSTERNE)

Steps:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
• 2. Combine the nuts, cinnamon, and zest. Beat the egg whites on low speed until foamy, about 30 seconds. Add the salt, increase the speed to medium-high, and beat until soft peaks form, 1 to 2 minutes. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar and beat until stiff and glossy, 5 to 8 minutes. Reserve one-third of the meringue (about 1/3 cup) and fold the nut mixture into the remaining meringue.
• 3. Place a large piece of waxed paper on a flat surface and sprinkle with additional confectioners' sugar. Place the nut mixture on the sugar, lightly sprinkle with more confectioners' sugar, top with a second piece of waxed paper, and roll out 1/4 inch thick. Remove the top piece of waxed paper. Using a cookie cutter dipped in water, cut into 2-inch star shapes or use a sharp knife to cut into diamonds. Reroll and cut any scraps. Place on the prepared baking sheet.
• 4. Bake until set, 10 to 12 minutes. Spread the reserved meringue over the top of the cookies and bake until the tops are lightly colored, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool. Zimtsternen taste best if allowed to stand for 24 hours. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 weeks.