Be a star at your cookie swap or family gathering and bring these Alsatian Holiday Cookies called "Zimsterne." Remember that Alsace, the smallest region of France, has the most culinary stars! Almond and cinnamon make them irresistable.
Traditional Holiday Cinnamon Stars “Zimtsterne”
from The French Pastry School (see my interview with Chef Joshua Johnson, here.)
The Zimtsterne is a traditional holiday cookie from the region of Alsace in France, where Chef Jacquy Pfeiffer calls home. Chef Pfeiffer recalls baking hundreds upon hundreds of these cookies at Christmastime alongside his father in his shop. The Zimtsterne evokes memories of Edith Piaf’s music playing on loudspeakers throughout his village during the holiday season, while he was busy in his father’s kitchen. Chef Pfeiffer has passed this recipe on to his students at The French Pastry School who also learn how to make the cinnamon stars for the holidays.
Representing the star in the nativity story, you will still find this festive cookie in pastry shops all across Alsace, such as Chef Pierre Zimmermann’s Boulangerie-Pâtisserie in Schnersheim, a small town outside of Strasbourg.
Ingredients:
(Listed in grams, cups, ounces)
- American Almond Almond Powder 550 g (or 5 cups or 19.5 oz) (see note below)
- Granulated Sugar 300 g (or 1 ½ cup or 10.5 oz)
- Confectionery Sugar (sifted) 200g (1 cup, 7 oz)
- Fresh Egg Whites 170 g (½ cup, 6 oz)
- Spice House Ceylon Cinnamon 30 g (4 Tsp, 1 oz)
- Fresh Lemon Juice 50 g (4 Tsp, 1 ¾ oz)
Royal Icing Ingredients
- Confectionary Sugar (sifted) 250 g (1 ¼ cup, 8 ¾ oz)
- Fresh Egg Whites 50 g (4 Tsp, 1 ¾ oz)
- Fresh Lemon Juice 5 g (1 tsp, 1 tsp)
Method:
- Using a KitchenAid mixer with the paddle attachment, mix all the ingredients together delicately until they come together into a firm dough. It should be firm enough to be rolled easily with a rolling pin. If the dough is too soft, adjust by adding a little almond flour, and if the dough is too hard, adjust by adding a little egg white.
- Roll between two sheets of parchment paper to a thickness of 1cm/ ½ inch.
- Remove the upper parchment paper.
- Make the royal icing by mixing the 3 ingredients with a spatula until it comes together.
- Using a metal offset spatula, spread a 1/16” layer of royal icing on the dough.
- Using a cutter, cut star shaped cookies and place them on a greased cookie sheet or a cookie sheet lined with a Silpat silicone mat.
- Dip the cookie cutter in water for a second before cutting shapes. This will prevent the cookie from sticking to the cutter.
- The leftover dough can be remixed with some additional almond flour and cut again in star cookies.
- Place the cookies in the freezer for 30 minutes.
- Bake at 190°C/ 375°F for approximately 10 minutes until the royal icing is golden brown.
- Let cool completely.
Notes:
Store these cookies in an airtight container. They will stay moist in the center for weeks.
Almond flour (or almond meal) can be made by grinding whole almonds with or without skin in a food processor until it turns into a powder.
Use a kitchen scale for best results. See Weighing In for tips on which to buy.
Jacqueline Church - Award-winning writer, speaker, teacher on topics at the intersection of gourmet and sustainable food issues.
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