German Cinnamon Stars (Zimtsterne)

This was my first ever recipe that involved meringue, so chances are high I lack some knowledge here, but this recipe seems really incomplete. I didn’t even try to roll this dough. It was wet and sticky even after an extra 1/3 cup of sugar (or so). I let it rest in the fridge for about an hour, which may or may not have been the right thing to do. Then we rolled them with more powdered sugar and make little drop cookies, topped with the extra meringue. I baked the daylights out of them and even after more than 30 minutes I was still pulling meringue shells off the baking sheet, leaving lumps of raw dough underneath. They taste fantastic. I would have never put lemon and cinnamon together but it works beautifully. I will not make these again. At least not until I have more experience with meringues. I suspect there are some major gaps in my knowledge that an experienced baker would probably just know intuitively. Alas, this recipe is not for the meringue novice.

• angela9183

• Rogers, Minnesota

• 12/16/2018

Rolling: I rolled and kneaded the dough between two sheets of plastic, and had no problems at all. Meringue: Put a little dot in the middle of each cookie and spread it finely with a small knife or brush. It does not melt and even out, but keeps whatever texture you leave it with. The meringue is a sort of meringue and cooking it with the cookie for the whole cooking time made it deliciously crispy. Dough: I found it lacked liquid to keep together so I added a spoon or so of eggwhite. Cooking: Don't overcook. They need to be a bit chewy. I overcooked one batch and though it tastes amazing, its too hard and doesn't have the right feel.

• solveigmalvik

• Denmark

• 12/14/2017

四叉因为这些饼干是惊人的(我我们ed to eat them as a child!) but not a perfect recipe. As far as I can tell from other sources, the dough is supposed to be VERY sticky with these cookies, so I didn't lose heart when I had gotten my ball of sticky dough together. I popped it in the fridge for 20 minutes while I cleaned up a bit, then rolled it between cling film with not too much extra sugar. I found dipping the cutter in water much more helpful than dipping in sugar. This is definitely not a recipe for a baking newbie, but it's really not too hard as long as you expect very sticky dough-- it's supposed to be like that! Do NOT over-bake. My oven is a piece of crap (and every oven is different) but I found 12 minutes too long. Some people even say they should be raw in the middle when you take them out-- they definitely shouldn't be crispy. I would also suggest not cooking the icing on for 5 extra minutes in the oven, the cookies will burn and the icing won't be white. Just put the icing on while they're cooling on the rack. This icing is not really meringue, it's what the British call "Royal Icing" and it doesn't need to be cooked-- it will just dry slowly over 24 hours. You can even put a wet cloth over the bowl with the icing in it, put it in the fridge and use it the next day to ice-- just add a bit of water if it's too thick. Before the icing sets, you can add pieces of slivered almond/hazelnut on top to make them pretty. I make them with hazelnuts, I think they're better that way, but the almond ones are very nice, too.

• garbanzorita

• Toronto, Canada

• 12/31/2015

These modifications are from authentic German recipes .

• mlynch1958

• Upper Black Eddy, PA

• 12/10/2014

Some flaws in this recipe. Resting and drying dough is very important. Increase Cinnamon to 11/2 lsp, Add 1 oz Kirschwasser to dough when folding in Almonds. Let dough rest 1 hour after mixing before rolling out.This will make the dough much less sticky. Use alot of powdered sugar on board, not wax paper. press out by hand, then roll to even dough out. After cutting out, let cookies dry overnight or 24 hours in cold oven.

• mlynch1958

• Upper Black Eddy, PA

• 12/10/2014

Four forks delicious! Forget cutting them out with the star cutter - I put mine in a pastry bag with a huge tip and made "drop" cookies, so to say. My whites didn't beat up quite as stiff as they should have, so this worked just fine. They were so good that I only put a few on the cookie trays to share and wound up eating the rest myself...yes, they are THAT good!

• Anonymous

• Las Vegas, NV

• 12/23/2012

Zimtsterne? More like Zimtsupernovae! Whoever heard of cooking meringues at 350°F? They tend to explode and ooze all over the cookie sheet. They tasted fine, but after looking at two other recipes, they called for baking them at 300°F for 20 minutes and glazing them before baking. Easier and cuts out a step. If the glaze is too thick to brush easily just add a few drops of water. I did the last sheet that way and they turned out much better. Adding more sugar to the dough made them very sweet, so I would incorporate the extra 1/2 cup called for but no more than 1 cup. Also the dough is so tender it is better to pat it out than roll it. I'll make them again, but with a different recipe.

• krausbrew

• Santa Fe, NM

• 12/25/2005

I live in Austria where these Cinnamon stars are tradtionally made every Christmas. I haven't tried this particular version, but I have a tip as to how to handle the dough. When all is mixed, place the dough between 2 layers of clingfilm and then roll it. Dip the star cutter into icing sugar before each cut. Don't have the oven too hot or the icing will brown. Good luck!

• Anonymous

• Salzburg Austria.

• 12/6/2005

My son made this for a school project and found it to be one of the hardest things to make. They were good but horrible to cut and put on the baking sheet.

• Anonymous

• Bucks County, PA

• 1/12/2005

Delicious, yes, but easy to make? No! I am not a kitchen whiz, but none of the steps here seemed too difficult. The meringue was SO sticky, though, that after one attempt to roll it out (and a kitchen blanketed in powdered sugar, sticky waxed paper, and expletives) I put it back in the bowl, added about an additional 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar, and the next attempt went much better. I have no idea how much I may have altered the intended taste, though, with all that extra sugar -- they don't seem way too sweet, so maybe it was okay. I also don't recommend dipping the cutter in water -- it makes the dough very gooey. Finally, even though my cut-out dough stars looked impeccable, when they baked, because of the puffiness, they looked awfully sloppy, as did the meringue "icing". But they were a wonderful treat to eat!

• Anonymous

• Hummelstown, PA

• 7/9/2003

Yummy and easy to make. And they look nice, too.

• Anonymous

• 5/2/2002

It's impossible to explain how good they were.

• Anonymous

• Ithaca,NY

• 3/4/2002