It's time for some very special keto Christmas cookies! Cinnamon Stars AKA Zimtsterne are traditional gluten free German Christmas cookies. This version is low carb, sugar free and diabetic-friendly.
This recipe has been on my website for many years. I've updated it in December 2020 with new images and step by step instructions!
That time of year has arrived again.
The festive spirit has been going strong in the shop windows since Halloween's been over, so I should have seen it coming. But I have to admit, December always creeps up on me.
I admire the people that have a Christmas spreadsheet and schedule all tasks so it's done by the first of December (yes, they exist!).
When I fight my way through the crowds on Oxford Street and queue for the last turkey at the butchers', they can sit back, admire their beautifully decorated Christmas tree and sip mulled wine.
There's one thing though I never forget about. Cinnamon Stars, my favourite out of all German Christmas cookies.
We used to eat them every year when I grew up in Germany. And even though I have now lived in the UK for over 25 years, Christmas wouldn't be the same without "Zimtsterne" (which simply means "cinnamon stars").
Sugar Free Christmas cookies
"Zimtsterne" are perhaps the most traditional Christmas cookies in Germany. They are the Mince Pies of Deutschland; the ultimate festive baked good. Plus, they taste absolutely delicious.
The original recipe requires ground almonds (that's almond flour in the US), which makes these German Christmas cookies gluten free. So far, so good.
Unfortunately though, regular cinnamon stars are packed with icing sugar, which erases all the benefits of using nuts as opposed to wheat flour.
I remade our favourite family recipe using powdered erythritol and turned them into rather delicious sugar free Christmas cookies.
Some people like to bake these until they're crunchy, but I actually prefer them when the inside is still moist and they taste almost like marzipan.
The thicker you roll them out, the softer the inside will be!
How to make keto cinnamon stars
Start by beating the egg whites until they hold soft peaks. Slowly mix in the powdered sweetener until the mixture is stiff.
Add the almond flour and spices and stir until combined.
Form a dough ball and roll it out around ½ to 1 centimetre thick between 2 sheets of baking paper.
Place in the freezer to chill for around 15 minutes. This is an important step - it makes cutting out the dough much easier.
Remove from the freezer, lift the top baking paper sheet and use a cookie cutter to cut out shapes. Place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
Bake at 150 Celsius / 300 Fahrenheit for about 12-15 minutes.
Let cool completely, then ice with sugar free icing - ½ cup powdered sweetener mixed with 1 tbsp water.
You can use an icing bag with a tiny nozzle for a "professional" finish. Alternatively, simply use a brush.
Recipe Notes
Nut flour
I'm using ground almonds (regular almond flour) for my keto christmas cookies. For a more rustic cookie, almond meal (ground almonds with the skins) would work well.
For a flavour variation, replace half the almond flour with hazelnut flour. You can grind this at home from roasted hazelnuts.
Sugar free sweetener
I used powdered erythritol for this recipe. You could use powdered xylitol or powdered allulose as well.
If you only have granulated sweetener to hand, powder it at home in a food processor. I do that all the time. Just wait a minute or 2 before you open the lid of the food processor so the mini snowstorm inside can settle.
Sugar free icing
Traditional cinnamon stars are topped with a meringue that is baked rather than icing. Basically, you hold back some of the egg white and sugar mix, which you then brush over the cookies before baking.
In my original recipe this is what I did using the egg white and sweetener.
I have made super yummy sugar free meringues using sugar free sweetener. However, I found it tricky though to keep the meringue topping from separating from the cookies after baking. Erythritol just does not have the same sticking power as sugar!
That's why I have now changed the recipe to sugar free icing, which I'm adding after the cookies are baked.
Flavour variations
Cinnamon is a must for these sugar free Christmas cookies. Add a 3rd teaspoon if you LOVE the taste - there's room for it!
I used proper ground filter coffee for this recipe, but a sprinkle of powdered instant coffee granules should also work.
Some traditional recipes add lemon zest, so that's an option. I'm also a huge fan of nutmeg (¼ tsp) and cardamom (¼ tsp), so if you're up for a different flavour, those would work too!
Storage
My cookies never last longer than 1 week. However, I think they should be fine for a minimum of 2 weeks at room temperature in a cookie jar.
You can even freeze them! I recently remade this recipe because I added it to my Keto Cookies Cookbook, and we did freeze them after our taste test.
We're a family of 4, so you can imagine that we cannot eat 35 cookie batches one after the other, keto or not!
A great edible gift
These Keto Christmas cookies make a lovely homemade gift. So make a bumper portion and share the sugar free love 🙂
And here is one of the original images I used for this blog post:
More sugar free Christmas recipes:
- Low Carb Christmas Pudding
- Low Carb Gingerbread Cupcakes (Sugar Free)
- Sugar Free Dried Cranberries
- Keto Sugar Free Mince Pies
- Keto Biscotti
- Keto Sugar Cookies (Low Carb, Sugar Free)
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Keto Cinnamon Stars (German Christmas Cookies)
Note: The servings slider only changes the first amount in each line and not any subsequent amounts. Please make your own calculations where necessary. ***As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Ingredients
- 2.5 cups / 250g almond flour or ground almonds
- ½ cup / 90g powdered sweetener (So Nourished)
- 2 egg whites large
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground coffee (optional)
Sugar Free Icing
- ½ cup / 90g powdered sweetener (So Nourished) plus 1 tbsp water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 150 Celsius / 300 Fahrenheit.
- Beat the egg whites until they hold soft peaks. Slowly mix in the powdered sweetener until the mixture is stiff.
- Add the almond flour and spices and stir until combined.
- Form a dough ball and roll it out around ½ to 1 centimetre thick between 2 sheets of baking paper.
- Place in the freezer to chill for around 15 minutes. This is an important step - it makes cutting out the dough much easier.
- Remove from the freezer, lift the top baking paper sheet and use a cookie cutter to cut out shapes. Place on a baking tray line with parchment paper.
- Bake for about 12-15 minutes.
- Let cool completely, then ice with sugar free icing - ½ cup powdered sweetener mixed with 1 tbsp water.
Notes
Nutrition
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Kay says
Fröhliche Weihnachten Katrin! I just made these cookies and they were delicious! I saved the majority of the batch to enjoy for tomorrow - Weihnachtstag.
Anna Funnell says
Made these as a keto version of gingerbreadmen for my son to decorate a few for me for his Christmas gift (a longstanding tradition now) and they are yummy without icing but absolutely delicious with! Okay, that's real sugar icing but hey, it's Christmas so what the hell for a few days and 4 biscuits! The rest will be iced with Erythritol later. Anyway, just wanted to say they taste to me exactly like the proper German biscuits a friend used to get us every year - really takes me back to my childhood. 🙂
Katrin Nürnberger says
I'm so glad you like the cookies Anne! For me, there's no Christmas without them 🙂
lucy says
Do you have a substitute for almond flour as we have a nut allergy. Could I use coconut flour or buckwheat?
Thanks
Katrin Nürnberger says
You can try replacing with a 50/50 mix of sesame flour and sunflower seed flour. Those 2 work well as a 1: substitution for almond flour. Using 1/3 the amount of coconut flour may also work (I have not tried it though) - the result may be more brittle.
Tricia Evans says
How many sevings does this make? Imsending Christmas cookie gifts fir a family if 3 and a family of 2?
Katrin Nürnberger says
Depends on how hungry you are! I calculated the nutrition per 1 cookie. For a gift, I would make 2 batches and give one each to each family, so you can put them in a pretty bag.
Sarah says
Holy cow! You've created a cookie that everyone in my family likes! Even the selective eaters
Katrin Nürnberger says
That's amazing news! So glad they've made it into your Christmas cookie faves 🙂
Katrin Nürnberger says
My mix made 50 cookies 🙂
Greg Wallace says
Tried recipe for the first time last night and they came out good. However, the icing wasn’t enough to cover all the cookies. I’m thinking about making some extra egg whites and sweetener. Trying to get my son with autism to try these and i need some more “visible” icing to get him to try them. Thanks for the recipe.
Katrin Nürnberger says
Glad you like the cookies! If you have already baked them, you can also make a simple icing with only powdered sweetener and a splash of water. Just brush over and let dry!
Ivka says
Hello. How would you store this cookies and how long they can be stored for? I would love to make them for Christmas but I am not sure if they will last that long.
Katrin Nürnberger says
Mine have never lasted long But I'd say they would probably be good for 2 weeks?
Heather says
Can I leave out the coffee? Any suggestion on a substitute? Thanks !
Katrin Nürnberger says
Of course you can leave out. Any Christmas spices such as ground cardamom or a pinch of nutmeg and cloves would work, too
Katrin Nürnberger says
Hi Marlayna, it's a typo - so glad you spotted it! It's supposed to be cm, not cam - as in centimetres. The cookies should be around 1/2 cm thick 🙂
Katrin Nürnberger says
Sorry this is confusing. You whip up the egg whites and the sweetener. You reserve 3 tbsp from this mix to use later for the icing. The rest you work into a cookie dough with the nut flour.
Octavia says
loooove the cookies, i find the icing too sweet for me ... i’m going to try just with less on top of the cookie may e even leave it off completely
thanks for sharing
Katrin says
You're welcome!!! Icing is not for everyone... I'm more of a "just the cookie" person myself 🙂
Ursula Metselaar says
I'm so glad I found you. I've been under doctor's orders since July, as I have complex health problems, and I've been so good and lost fifteen kilos.
I'll have a go at these, as I just discovered the sugary kind in the supermarket.
I would be so grateful for more ideas.
Thank you and Merry Christmas!
Katrin says
Hi Ursula, I'm sorry to hear about your health problems - but how amazing that you've lost all that weight. 15 kilos, that is A LOT! I solved my health issues by cutting sugar out of my diet and while that is surely not the answer to all illness it certainly can make a difference to your overall wellbeing. I'm glad you are enjoying my recipes and really hope you'll like the cookies. Merry Christmas!
Lesia says
Hello,
Thank you for the recipe, these taste quite good:)
I followed the recipe to a T and I had to alter it to make it work.
It says 3 cups ground almonds. I assumed you meant actual but ground. That is what I did: ground up some raw almonds enough to make three cups. It is not clear in the recipe what kind to use.
I used liquid egg whites 9 tablespoons which equals 3 eggs.
Katrin says
Hi Lesia, thank you for your comment. Here in the UK supermarkets sell ground almonds in every baking section, they are blanched almonds which are ground. I think elsewhere in the world this is often called almond meal or even almond flour. I'll mention this in the recipe to clarify. Glad you liked your cookies though! 🙂
Toni says
At least in the US, almond meal is ground almonds with the skins left on, giving it a brown color; almond flour doesn't have the skins so it looks almost white. Plus I think the flour is ground a little more finely.
Katrin Nürnberger says
Hi Toni, that's true. I believe that regular almond flour in the US is similar to ground almonds in the UK. Then there is super-fine almond flour, which is often fat-reduced as well and then resembles wheat flour in consistency.
Donna says
Could I leave the frosting off ? I would love to make them in lots of shapes for the children to decorate.
Katrin says
Of course you can! Happy baking 🙂
Bakhta says
I’m eating them as I write and omg ... I LOVE THEM SO MUCH! I don’t know how the high carb ones taste (which is weird since I’m german ) but I think the recipe isn’t that different from the low carb ones. I encourage everyone to make them! They’re easy and my whole (high carb eating) family loves them too
Katrin says
Awesome! Glad to get an approval from a real German 🙂
Gill says
I knew that I would find something deliciously authentic and German from you! I have been in Germany now for 11 eleven years & this will be my second attempt at making German Plaetzchen! I am off to bake now! Hope you and your family are well! Gill x
Katrin says
Hi Gill, so happy you are trying them! All is well over here, and let me know when you are over in London next
Taryn says
These are beautiful! I've been on a baking kick. Need to add these to the list for Christmas 🙂
Sarah says
December is always one of the busiest months for me - and I am not a list maker either! Living in the Western US, I have never heard of these cookies, but they look delicious!
Maya | Wholesome Yum says
I love how these are already gluten-free and the only changes you needed to make was in the frosting! The star shapes are super cute too!
GiGi says
I NEED to check out that frosting!!!
Kim | Low Carb Maven says
Oh, I am caught by surprise every time December rolls around. I am woefully behind in everything! At least our Christmas tree is going up this weekend - but the shopping! I guess I'd better get cracking, but not until I've tried these cookies! I love the addition of the coffee. They sound delicious.
Katrin says
Thank you Kim! They are selling Christmas trees outside my house, so I have no excuse to be late with that one. Next week, for sure... 🙂
Nicoletta @sugarlovespices says
We don't plan ahead either, we still have to start decorating outside and indoor, buy presents...so behind 🙂 . Love your cookies, beautiful shape and wonderful flavors. You're so right, too much eating and a lot of extremely sweet stuff going on this time of the year.
Georgina says
Oh these look wonderful! Would make great gifts, too.
Katrin says
Absolutely! I love getting little bags with homemade stuff. The hardest thing would be making sure not to eat them all before you give them away!
Katrin says
Wendy, I knew there was something I had forgotten! You are right, the glaze goes on before baking. I'll add it in the recipe. Thanks for the reminder!
STACEY says
These have coffee, cinnamon and icing, so I'm 100 % in! The German in me will love these!
Katrin says
LOL! A recipe with coffee always gets the thumbs up over here, too!
Mary says
Can the coffee be left out or replaced with something?
[No coffee-cookie fans here 🙂 ]
Katrin Nürnberger says
Of course! You can leave it out or add other Christmas spices such as cardamom, a pinch of cloves or nutmeg.
Nina Holland says
These look great. I will definitely be trying these this weekend.
And at last, someone posting recipes from a UK perpective, which will enable me to ask: where do you get your 'powdered' sweetener or Sukrin Icing from? I've never seen it in any health food shops locally and have yet to find it online without it being prohibitively expensive. Would be useful to know your supplier and how much you consider a reasonable price for it?
Katrin says
Hi Nina, Sukrin has a tool on their website where you can input your postcode to find your nearest retailer. Mine is Planet Organic. Or you can buy direct from their website or amazon. If you buy another erythritol brand (from amazon or your health food shop), I would make sure it's organic, non GMO and not from China. You can just blend it at home to powder it. It's useful to have powdered sweetener for recipes like this or when you want to sweeten liquids. Erythritol does not dissolve as easily as sugar does, and you don't want crunch where you don't need it.
These sweeteners will always be more expensive than table sugar. I have made peace with it because I know that they are better for me than sugar and after all, I don't eat dessert every day, even when it's sugar free. This recipe does need quite a bit, though most of my recipe use far less erythritol. Normally, a pack goes a long way.
Hope this helps. Let me know how your cookies turned out!