Cinnamon Stars (Zimtsterne)

Germans love to bake, especially around Christmas. I wanted to provide you with an abundance of recipes so that you do not just have to nibble on that one cookie whilst everyone else enjoys 3 – 4. These recipes are a bit different from my usual blog posts. Shorter, with no educational parts, but a section to give you hints and tips so that they all turn out perfect. One photoshoot, 8 recipes over the next two weeks. Enjoy!

This is possibly one of the most traditional recipes Germans bake. These Cinnamon Stars (Zimtsterne) are the real deal. They are soft in the middle, yet firm and crispy on the outside. They are simply divine and I was surprised at how easy this recipe came together and how nicely they turned out!

Tips for Baking these Cinnamon Stars (Zimtsterne)

1. Gluten-free baking is a bit different than normal baking. As there is no “gluten”, which basically binds the dough, we are adding psyllium husk to the mix, which acts as the binding agent. The dry dough has to be mixed very thoroughly in order to ensure that the psyllium husk is everywhere and can “bind”.
2. Do ensure that the oven is sufficiently hot – gluten-free baking requires your oven to be at the optimal temperature before putting something into it.
3. When you take the cinnamon stars (Zimtsterne) out, they will still be soft and you will think they are not done – do not bake them longer!! You have to wait until the cookies are cold. They will firm up and become crispy on the outside.
4. For this recipe, my roasted almond butter is awesome.

These Cinnamon stars (Zimtsterne) are gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and vegan. Enjoy this traditional German cookie.

Cinnamon Stars (Zimtsterne)

Recipe by Ann Robejsek

0.0 from 0 votes

Course: CookiesCuisine: Gluten-free baking, veganDifficulty: Easy

Servings

40

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

17

minutes

These cinnamon stars (Zimtsterne) are soft in the middle and crunchy on the outside and burst with the flavor of cinnamon. Perfect for Christmas!

Ingredients

• Dry ingredients

• 1.5 cups (200 gr.) almonds

• 1/3 cup (50 gr.) hazelnuts

• 4 tbsp coconut sugar

• 1 tbsp psyllium husk

• 3 tsp cinnamon

• Wet ingredients

• 2 tbsp dark coconut blossom nectar

• 2 tbsp (35 gr.) almond butter

• 2 tbsp almond milk

How to

• Start by pre-heating the oven to 150 degrees Celsius (300 Fahrenheit)
• Grind the almonds, hazelnuts, and coconut sugar into a flour and add to a bowl together with the other dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly (this step is really important so that the psyllium husk is evenly dispersed amongst the other ingredients)
• Now, add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until the dough is a ball (I used my hands). If it appears too dry add a tiny (really tiny, you do not want it to become too wet) bit more almond milk. The dough might crumble a bit but principally is ok to be rolled
• Roll out the dough to a bout a 5 mm height and start cutting stars with a cookie cutter. Transfer onto a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 17 minutes. Once you take them out, let completely cool before digging in and enjoying!! Recipes makes about 40 cinnamon stars (Zimtsterne).