Christmas Cookies from Switzerland - Cinnamon Stars
Cinnamon star cookies are a very traditional European Christmas cookie. Those sweet stars do not only look very pretty but are also super tasty. I personally bake the cinnamon star cookies without icing because baking might give the icing a yellowish color which I do not like. I love my icing snow-white. For the stars baked without icing, separate
2 eggs
and just beat the egg whites with a whisk or a fork until some bubbles appear. Add
1 pinch of salt
250 g sugar
350 g ground almond
1 ½ tbsp cinnamon
optional: ½ tbsp Kirsch
and knead into a dough. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin on a clean but slightly sugared surface to a thickness of about 1 cm. Cut out the stars by using a cookie cutter. Dip the cookie cutter into water: it will be easier to get the dough out of the cookie cutter. Place the stars on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Dry the cinnamon stars at room temperature for about five to six hours or overnight.
Bake them in the middle of the preheated oven at 250° C for about 3 to 5 minutes.
For the icing beat
1 egg white
1 pinch of salt
until stiff. Add
100 g powdered sugar
and mix well. I spread the icing with a butterknife on the stars. You might use a pastry brush but for me personally, I think it is easier to use a butterknife. Let the icing dry and then enjoy the sweet cinnamon stars!
Here you can find the recipe as a short video.
This recipe leaves you with a lot of leftover yolk. I usually bake cinnamon stars in combination with “Mailänderli” – another traditional Swiss Christmas cookie. Mailänderli are perfect to use leftover yolk. The dough gets so much better when done with yolks instead of whole eggs. I will soon share the recipe here!
Fancy some more Christmas cookies?
Did you already try my vanilla crescent cookie recipe?
Did you already try my Mailänderli recipe?
Did you already try my Chocolate Cookie Balls recipe?