It's time for some very special sugar free Christmas cookies! Cinnamon Stars are traditional gluten-free German Christmas cookies. This version is low in carbs and diabetic-friendly.
The holiday season is here and with it all the wonderful food I look forward to all year: Turkey, my keto stollen, this low carb panettone and keto gingerbread cookies.
There's one recipe though that is right on top of the to-bake list: Cinnamon Stars. They are German most traditional Christmas cookies. You could call them the Mince Pies of Deutschland; the ultimate festive cookie recipe.
We used to eat them every year when I grew up. And even though I have now lived in the UK for more than half my life, Christmas wouldn't be the same without "Zimtsterne".
To turn the original recipe into sugar free Christmas cookies, all I had to do is replace the icing sugar with a powdered sweetener. Easy-peasy.
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🌟 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Easy recipe - 4 main ingredients
- Fun to make - A lovely family activity. Get the kids involved!
- Soft and moist texture - You can bake these until crunchy, but I prefer them when the inside is still moist. This way, they taste like marzipan.
- The flavor! Nutty and sweet, with lots of cinnamon
- Naturally gluten-free
- Sugar free, suitable for diabetics and keto friendly. Just 1.2 grams of net carbs per portion.
- Low in fat - These cookies do not require butter. Only 76 calories per cookie.
Ingredients
- Almond flour. I used ground almonds, which is the same as regular almond flour in the US. Almond meal (ground almonds with skins on) would give a more rustic finish. If you're using super-fine almond flour you may need to reduce the amount by ¼ cup.
- Powdered sugar substitute. This is what we add instead of icing sugar. I used powdered erythritol. You could use powdered Swerve, monk fruit sweetener, Bocha Sweet, xylitol or powdered allulose as well.
- Egg whites. Make sure your eggs are very fresh.
- Cinnamon
- Ground coffee. This is ground filter coffee. A sprinkle of powdered instant coffee granules should also work.
Instructions
(This section contains step by step instructions and photos that show how to make this recipe. Find the recipe card with ingredient amounts and nutritional information at the bottom of the post.)
Step 1: Start by beating the egg whites in a mixing bowl until they hold soft peaks. Slowly mix in the powdered sweetener until the mixture is stiff.
Step 2: Add the almond flour and spices and stir until combined.
Step 3: Form a cookie dough ball and roll it out between 2 sheets of baking paper. Place in the freezer to chill.
Step 4: 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.
Step 5: Bake in the oven until golden.
Step 6: Let cool completely, then ice with sugar free icing - ½ cup powdered sweetener mixed with 1 tablespoon water.
Top tips
Give them room. Leave 1 inch of space around each cookie. Use 2 baking sheets if necessary.
Use a piping bag with a tiny nozzle for a "professional" finish when icing. Alternatively, simply use a brush to ice your cookies.
FAQ
No. But you can powder it at home in a food processor. Just wait a minute or 2 before you open the lid of the food processor so the mini snowstorm inside can settle.
Roll them out thinner and bake them longer. Also, for crispy cookies use erythritol over any other sweetener.
Roll the dough out thick and bake for a shorter time.
Absolutely! Make a number portion and share the sugar free love.
No. You would have to change the flour amount and probably also add a fat such as butter or coconut oil.
Variations
No icing. These sugar free Christmas cookies taste just as good solo.
More spices. Add a 3rd teaspoon of cinnamon. Some traditional recipes add lemon zest, so that's an option. I'm also a huge fan of nutmeg (¼ teaspoon) and cardamom (¼ teaspoon). Option to also add a pinch of salt.
Hazelnut flour. This is an option if you can't have almonds.
Traditional "Zimtsterne" icing: Instead of icing, traditional cinnamon stars are topped with a meringue that is baked. Basically, you hold back some of the egg white and sugar mix, which is brushed over the cookies before baking. This is what I did in my original recipe using egg white and sweetener.
However, I found the meringue topping separates from the cookies after baking. That's why I have changed the recipe to sugar free icing, which I'm adding after the cookies are baked.
I have successfully made sugar free meringue cookies though - head over to the post to check them out.
Storage
Kitchen counter: My cookies never last longer than 1 week. However, they should be fine for a minimum of 2 weeks at room temperature in an airtight container. There is no need to store them in the fridge.
Freezer: I recently remade this recipe because I added it to my Keto Cookies Cookbook, and we did freeze them after our taste test. They are good for up to 3 months.
And here is one of the original images I used for this blog post:
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Recipe
Sugar Free Christmas Cookies(German Cinnamon Stars)
from Sugar Free LondonerNote: 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
- 2 egg whites large
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground coffee (optional)
Sugar Free Icing
- ½ cup / 90g powdered sweetener plus 1 tablespoon 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 tablespoon water.
Notes
Nutrition
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Tina
Hallo liebe Katrin,
Ich freue mich schon jetzt auf meine Keto Zimtsterne. Aber mir wird die Eiweissmasse immer sofort flüssig wenn ich den sweetener dazugebe.
Hast du mir dazu vielleicht einen Tip?
Viele liebe Grüße
Katrin Nürnberger
Ich hatte mit erythritol keine Probleme. Which sweetener are you using? Vielleicht liegt es auch daran, dass der Eischnee nicht ultra-steif ist? Versuche, das Eiweiß schön lange zu schlagen, damit die Luftblasen ganz klein und stabil werden.
Tina
Ich habe Monkfruit mit Erythrol benutzt…. Das Eiweiß war mega steif aber sobald ich den sweetener dazu gebe fällt wie gesagt alles zusammen
Ich werde es mal mit reinem Erythrol probieren.
Vielen Dank für deine Antwort und dir vielen tollen Rezepte :-)))
Tina
Liebe Katrin,
Es hat geklappt und die Sterne sind der Hammer! So yummy!!
Fröhliche Weihnachten
Katrin Nürnberger
So glad the recipe worked out in the end! Happy Christmas - Frohe Weihnachten!
Nola GREEN
I shall try these. My husband loves Stollen and since starting Keto we have rationed ourselves. Do you have a recipe for this delicious Christmas delight. Husband was born in Austria but lives in Australia. We follow many of your recipes sometimes hard to find some ingredients. Son lives in UK and can't wait to stroll through your supermarkets when we are visiting next.
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi Mola, I'm posting a Stollen recipe this weekend. I've just eaten a slice, in fact! Please join my newsletter so I can let you know when it's published.
Kay
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
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
I'm so glad you like the cookies Anne! For me, there's no Christmas without them 🙂
lucy
Do you have a substitute for almond flour as we have a nut allergy. Could I use coconut flour or buckwheat?
Thanks
Katrin Nürnberger
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
How many sevings does this make? Imsending Christmas cookie gifts fir a family if 3 and a family of 2?
Katrin Nürnberger
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
Holy cow! You've created a cookie that everyone in my family likes! Even the selective eaters
Katrin Nürnberger
That's amazing news! So glad they've made it into your Christmas cookie faves 🙂
Katrin Nürnberger
My mix made 50 cookies 🙂
Greg Wallace
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
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
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
Mine have never lasted long But I'd say they would probably be good for 2 weeks?
Heather
Can I leave out the coffee? Any suggestion on a substitute? Thanks !
Katrin Nürnberger
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
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
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
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
You're welcome!!! Icing is not for everyone... I'm more of a "just the cookie" person myself 🙂
Ursula Metselaar
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
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
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
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
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
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
Could I leave the frosting off ? I would love to make them in lots of shapes for the children to decorate.
Katrin
Of course you can! Happy baking 🙂
Bakhta
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
Awesome! Glad to get an approval from a real German 🙂
Gill
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
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
These are beautiful! I've been on a baking kick. Need to add these to the list for Christmas 🙂
Sarah
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
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
I NEED to check out that frosting!!!
Kim | Low Carb Maven
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
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
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
Oh these look wonderful! Would make great gifts, too.
Katrin
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
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
These have coffee, cinnamon and icing, so I'm 100 % in! The German in me will love these!
Katrin
LOL! A recipe with coffee always gets the thumbs up over here, too!
Mary
Can the coffee be left out or replaced with something?
[No coffee-cookie fans here 🙂 ]
Katrin Nürnberger
Of course! You can leave it out or add other Christmas spices such as cardamom, a pinch of cloves or nutmeg.
Nina Holland
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
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!