Directions: |
Directions:Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
Sift the ½ cup of confectioners’ sugar. Mix the sifted sugar, cinnamon and 3 ½ cups of the almonds in a food processor. Process until the nuts are finely ground.
Sift the 1 ¾ cup of confectioners’ sugar and set aside. Whip the egg whites in a large bowl with an electric mixer for one minute on high speed until they hold soft peaks. Gradually add the remaining sifted confectioners’ sugar while whipping, until the whites are thick, creamy and somewhat stiff. (Approximately 2 minutes) Set aside 2/3 cup of this meringue to use as topping on the cookies.
Fold the ground almond mixture and the lemon zest into the remaining meringue to make a stiff dough.
Lay a sheet of waxed paper on the work surface and lightly dust with confectioners’ sugar. Place the dough onto the dusted paper, flatten and dust with more sugar as needed, and then lay another sheet of wax paper on top. Roll the dough between the papers until a ¼ inch thick. Flip the dough over and gently peel off a sheet of the paper. Cut cookies with a 3” star cutter and place about 2 inches apart on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. (Excess dough can be rerolled.) Use a pastry brush or small spatula to spread the reserved meringue over the top of each cookie, taking care not to let the meringue drip over the sides. Use the remaining almonds to decorate the top of the cookie – a sliced almond for each star point.
Bake cookies until bottoms are light golden brown and meringue is set and crisp, about 30 minutes. Turn off the oven and open the oven door to release heat and dry cookies out in the oven for 10 more minutes. Stored baked cookies in an airtight container for up to ten days.
Yield: 2 dozen |
This recipe for German Cinnamon Stars (Zimtsterne) is from