By Victoria Walker
Business Manager

A traditional German recipe, zimtesterne (or cinnamon star) cookies have always been one of my favorites. They can be found in every grocery store in Germany and Switzerland during the winter, especially in the weeks leading up to and proceeding Christmas, and are definitely worth the short amount of time they take to bake. These cookies are sweet, chewy and when cut into shapes can make a cute desert dish to enjoy at home or share with friends!

Ingredients:

– 2 1/4 cups of confectioners’ (powdered) sugar, as well as some extra to sprinkle on finished cookies

– 15 ounces of sliced almonds with skin

– 1 1/4 teaspoons of ground cinnamon (as well as some extra if you like it sprinkled on your cookies)

– 3 large egg whites

– 2 teaspoons of lemon zest, finely grated

Recipe:

– Pre-heat oven to 250*F.

– Sift sugar. Mix 1/2 cup of it in a bowl with 10 ounces of finely chopped onions and 1 1/4 teaspoons of cinnamon. Ground together until mixture is fine, with only a few larger chunks, use a food processor.

– In a separate bowl, which the egg whites with an electric mixer for about a minute. Continue for about two more minutes, gradually adding the rest of the sugar to create a creamy, stiff meringue.

– Add half of this meringue to the original nut mixture, then add lemon zest and mix into a thick dough. Since the cookie base is nuts, it will not be as smooth as regular cookie dough.

– Cut dough into stars with a cookie cutter (or any other shape!), then place on a baking sheet. They will not rise as much as cookies usually do, so not much space is needed between the cookies. If it is too sticky to work with, flatten out the dough then coat with a layer of powdered sugar before cutting.

– Bake cookies for 30-40 minutes, until the bottoms are firm and light brown. Leave to cool for fifteen minutes, during which they should become firm.

– Decorate with the remainder of the meringue, sugar, cinnamon or nuts and enjoy!

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