This Christmas, you can bring a taste of history to your table with a traditional German biscuit that has been cherished for generations. Food writer Meera Sodha has shared a special recipe for zimtsterne, a chewy, star-shaped treat flavoured with cinnamon and almonds, which dates back to the 1500s.
A Sweet Link to Centuries Past
The recipe is a personal heirloom, passed down from the grandmother of Sodha's friend, Friede. The baker's grandmother, Hadmuth, perfected this version, and Sodha believes it is a tradition worth continuing for another 500 years. The enduring appeal of these biscuits, much like ancient monuments, offers a humbling yet awe-inspiring connection to centuries of festive celebration.
How to Make Friede's Grandma's Zimtsterne
The recipe requires an electric whisk and a star-shaped cookie cutter roughly 6cm in diameter, though other shapes can be used. A unique step in this method is that the biscuits are iced before baking, not after. The preparation takes just five minutes, but the dough needs to chill for at least two hours, with a total cooking time of around one hour and twenty minutes. This yields approximately 40 biscuits.
The biscuit dough itself is a simple yet precise combination of two large egg whites, 150g of sieved icing sugar, 1½ tsp of ground cinnamon, and 325g of ground almonds. The icing is made from a separate large egg white and 100g of icing sugar.
The Method: Chilling, Cutting, and Baking
Begin by whisking the egg whites for the biscuits until stiff, then gently incorporating the sugar to form a glossy meringue. Add the cinnamon, then fold in the ground almonds. Knead the slightly sticky dough into a smooth ball, wrap it in greaseproof paper, and refrigerate.
While the dough chills, make the icing by whisking the remaining egg white and sugar until smooth, then refrigerate it as well. Once ready, roll out the dough between sheets of greaseproof paper to a ¾cm thickness. Use the star cutter, dipped in icing sugar to prevent sticking, to cut out the shapes.
Preheat the oven to 150C (130C fan)/300F/gas 2. Apply a thin, even layer of icing to each biscuit with the back of a spoon. Bake for 18 minutes, until the icing turns a pale gold and the biscuits are soft-firm to the touch. Allow them to cool completely on the tray.
These festive treats will keep for at least two weeks, making them perfect for gifting. Sodha suggests placing 10-12 in a small box and tying it with a ribbon for a delightful homemade present.
