The thing I love most about these chewy, crisp, star-shaped, cinnamon-and-almond Christmas biscuits from Germany is that they date back to the 1500s. Which, much like spotting Mars in the night sky or visiting the pyramids of Egypt, makes me feel hugely insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but simultaneously awe-inspired by the power of a simple biscuit to provide joy and underpin celebrations across centuries. This particular recipe belongs to my friend Friede’s grandma, Hadmuth, and is worth continuing, I think, for at least another 500 years.
Friede’s grandma’s zimtsterne
You’ll need an electric whisk and a star cookie cutter that’s about 6cm in diameter (other shapes could be used). In this recipe, you ice the biscuits before baking rather than after. Don’t bin the leftover egg yolks; use them in another recipe.
Prep 5 min
Chill 2 hr+
Cook 1 hr 20 min
Makes 40
For the biscuits
2 large egg whites
150g icing sugar, sieved
1½ tsp ground cinnamon
325g ground almonds
For the icing
1 large egg white
100g icing sugar, plus extra for cutting
Put the egg whites for the biscuits in a large bowl and whisk until stiff. Gently whisk in the sugar spoon by spoon, until the mixture takes on the look of a glossy meringue, then add the cinnamon and whisk again. Remove the beaters, rinse them and keep to one side.
Fold the almonds into the egg white bowl until they’re evenly mixed through, then, using clean hands, roughly knead the dough until it comes together into a smooth ball; it should be firm but slightly sticky. Wrap in a large sheet of greaseproof paper and refrigerate for two hours (or longer).
Meanwhile, make the icing. In a second large bowl, whisk the remaining egg white until stiff, then gently work in the icing sugar, whisking until smooth and well combined. Refrigerate until needed.
Once the dough has chilled, lay a 40cm- to 50cm-wide sheet of greaseproof paper on a worktop. Unwrap the dough, put it on the sheet of paper on the worktop, then lay the unwrapped paper on top, to sandwich it. Roll out into a roughly 30cm x 30cm square that’s ¾cm-thick, then peel off the top sheet of paper.
Line two large oven trays with baking paper. Use a star-shaped cutter to cut out the cookies and arrange them on the trays about 1cm apart; dip the cutter in icing sugar every so often, to keep the dough from sticking. Re-roll all the dough offcuts and cut out into more stars, until all the dough is used up.
Heat the oven to 150C (130C fan)/300F/gas 2. To put the icing on the cookies, with a small spoon, gently place a bit on top of each cookie and rub with the back of the spoon so it’s evenly spread out – not too much, or it’ll run; too little and it will turn translucent. When all the biscuits are iced, bake for 18 minutes, or until the icing is turning from white to pale gold and the biscuits are soft-firm to the touch.
Leave the biscuits in their trays to cool completely, then transfer to a suitable container; I like to put 10-12 in a small box and wrap it up with a ribbon. They’ll keep for at least two weeks.
