The 4-ingredient Zimtsterne (cinnamon stars), also known as German Christmas cookies, is lightly spiced, chewy, and perfect for the holidays. Plus, the recipe is naturally dairy-free, gluten-free, and now egg-free, too!

Preparation time 30 minutes
Cooking time: 8 minutes
Total time 38 minutes
Servings 40 cookies
ingredients
biscuit:
• 2 cups (200 g) ground almonds (*see notes)
• 1/2 cup (70g) full of icing sugar or erythritol/xylitol powder (*see notes)
• 1 tablespoon of cinnamon
• Pinch of cardamom optional
• 2 tablespoons orange juice + more if needed
• 1/2 tablespoon of orange zest
Glaze:
• 7-8 tablespoons (70 g) of powdered sugar or xylitol powder (*see notes)
• 1 tablespoon of water
instructions
Mix the dry ingredients
1. Add the ground almonds, icing sugar (or erythritol or xylitol powder), cinnamon and cardamom to a food processor and blend for a few seconds. If you don't have a food processor, simply add the ingredients to a medium bowl and stir with a spoon.
Add wet ingredients and mix
1. Now add the orange juice and orange peel and mix again until the dough comes apart and sticks together when pressed between your fingers. If it is too dry, add a little orange juice.
Forming and cooling the dough
1. Take the dough out of the food processor and shape it into a ball. Wrap it in foil and let it cool in the fridge for 30-60 minutes.
2. Place the cooled dough between two layers of cling film (or parchment paper) and roll with a nail. It should be about 0.5-0.7 cm (1/4 inch) thick.
Cut and bake cookies
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
2. Use a star-shaped cookie cutter to cut out the cookies. You can dip the slicer into a bowl of powdered sugar between slicing the cookies. This will help prevent the dough from sticking to the cut.
3. Depending on the size of the cookie cutter, the recipe will make 30-40 cookies. Transfer to the prepared baking tray and bake in the oven for 8 minutes. Depending on the thickness of your cookies, the baking time may vary by 1-2 minutes. Let them cool down completely.
biscuit glaze
1. Meanwhile, make the glaze by mixing powdered sugar (or xylitol powder) and water in a small bowl until it becomes a creamy paste. If it is too thick add a little water and if it is too light add more powdered sugar.
2. Brush the glaze on the cooled cakes and let it dry. Enjoy! Store cookies in a cookie jar in a cool place for up to 2-3 weeks.

Notes
 
• I recommend using a kitchen scale and measuring ingredients in grams.
• If you find the dough too sticky, add a little almond powder/powdered sugar.
Icing sugar: You can use erythritol powder for a keto version or xylitol powder for a low-carb version. In fact, the glaze works better with powdered xylitol than with regular powdered sugar. Please note that dogs should not consume anything made with xylitol.
Almonds: You can replace half of the quantity with ground hazelnuts or your favorite ground nuts.
• Orange: I like the flavor of fresh orange juice and peel. Alternatively, you can use lemon instead.
• Check out the step-by-step photos in the blog post.
• Total time does not include cold time.
• You may also like this botanical.
Nutrition Facts
zimsttern
Amount per serving (1 cookie)
Calories 51 calories from fat 27
% Daily Value*
Fat 3 g 5%
Saturated fat 1 g 5%
6g carbohydrates 2%
Fiber 1 g 4%
sugar 5 g 6%
1 g protein 2%