Cinnamon Cookies Recipe

Cristian Broglia says: “The name of these sweet cookies, Zimsterne, means ‘cinnamon stars’. They are mostly served at Christmas and are sold in the annual Christmas markets of Switzerland (as well as those in Austria and Germany). To give the cookies their traditional rustic appearance, the almond flour must be coarse. This texture contrasts beautifully with the smooth sugar glaze.”

Preparation time:

30 minutes, plus 1 hour chilling time and 20 minutes’ cooling time

Cooking time:

15 minutes

Makes:

About 30 cookies

Ingredients

For the dough

2 egg whites
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 cup (130 g) confectioners’ (icing) sugar
2¼ cups (250 g) coarse almond flour (coarsely ground almonds)
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground or grated fresh ginger
Pinch of sea salt
1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise
2 tablespoons rice flour, for dusting

For the glaze

1 egg white
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1½ cups (170 g) confectioners’ (icing) sugar

Method

1. Make the dough. In a bowl, with an electric mixer, whip the egg whites and lemon juice to stiff peaks. Whisking constantly, add the confectioners’ (icing) sugar a little at a time until the mixture is glossy.

2. In a bowl, combine the almond flour, cinnamon, ginger and salt. Scrape in the vanilla seeds and mix thoroughly. Add the beaten egg whites and stir well. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap (cling film) and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

3. Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C/gas mark 3). Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. On a surface dusted with rice flour, roll out the dough to ½ inch (1.25cm) thick. Cut out cookies with a 2-inch (5cm) star-shaped cutter.

4. Set the cookies on the lined sheet pan and bake until lightly browned, about 15 minutes; start checking at 8 minutes. Let the cookies cool completely on a wire rack, about 20 minutes.

5. Make the glaze. In a small bowl, stir together the confectioners’ (icing) sugar, egg white, and lemon juice until the mixture is homogeneous and silky.

6. Drizzle the glaze over each cookie (about 1 tablespoon per cookie), letting it drip down the sides to cover the whole surface, and spreading it out with the help of a toothpick (cocktail stick). Let the glaze dry.

Recipe extracted from The Gluten- Free Cookbook by Cristian Broglia, which is published by Phaidon.

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