It’s time to get festive the healthy way: Keto Cinnamon Stars AKA Zimtsterne are traditional gluten free German Christmas cookies. This version is low carb, sugar free and diabetic-friendly.
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. Shock horror! I have not got any presents sorted! Where did I put the lights for the Christmas tree? What, only 3 weeks to go?
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.
“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, which makes these German Christmas cookies gluten free. 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.
Keto Cinnamon Stars are
- soft
- chewy
- delicately spiced with cinnamon and ground coffee
- sweet and nutty
- gluten free
- sugar free
- low carb and keto
- diabetic-friendly
- tasting of Christmas with every bite.
These Keto Christmas cookies make a great homemade gift. So make a bumper portion and share the sugar free love 🙂
Try my other Christmas recipes:
- Low Carb Christmas Pudding
- Low Carb Gingerbread Cupcakes (Sugar Free)
- Spiced Chocolate Christmas Cake
- Low Carb Cranberry Sauce Recipe (Sugar Free)
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Keto Cinnamon Stars (German Christmas Cookies)
Deliciously spiced almond flour Keto cookies - possibly my favourite sugar free Christmas treat! Cinnamon Stars (Zimtsterne) are traditional German Christmas cookies, adapted to suit a low carb, Keto diet.
Ingredients
- 300 g / 3 cups almond flour ground almonds work well here too
- 100 g / 1 cup powdered sweetener
- 3 egg whites
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground coffee
Instructions
- Separate the eggs and whip the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Use a glass or ceramic bowl for this and make sure it's totally dry and squeaky-clean. A stick blender with plastic does not give a brilliant result - best is an old-fashioned mixer with 2 steel attachments.
- Fold in the sweetener.
- Reserve 3 tablespoons of the egg white and sugar mix for the glaze
- Add the almond flour/ground almonds and spices and stir until combined.
- Form a dough ball and roll it out around 1/2 cam thick between 2 sheets of baking paper
- Place in the freezer 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 (just rename the recipe if you prefer hearts instead of stars!)
- Brush on the egg white mix we set aside earlier.
- Bake in an pre-heated oven at 120 Celsius for 25 minutes.
Recipe Notes
For a variation replace 100g/1 cup of ground almonds with ground hazelnuts.
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Octavia says
November 27, 2018 at 7:53 pmloooove 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
November 28, 2018 at 7:55 pmYou’re welcome!!! Icing is not for everyone… I’m more of a “just the cookie” person myself 🙂
Ursula Metselaar says
December 18, 2017 at 10:35 pmI’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
December 19, 2017 at 9:20 amHi 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
December 14, 2017 at 8:46 pmHello,
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
December 15, 2017 at 8:52 amHi 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! 🙂
Donna says
December 3, 2017 at 12:41 pmCould I leave the frosting off ? I would love to make them in lots of shapes for the children to decorate.
Katrin says
December 3, 2017 at 12:55 pmOf course you can! Happy baking 🙂
Bakhta says
November 3, 2017 at 11:24 amI’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
November 3, 2017 at 6:10 pmAwesome! Glad to get an approval from a real German 🙂
Gill says
December 16, 2016 at 1:15 pmI 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
December 16, 2016 at 3:36 pmHi 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
December 11, 2016 at 3:14 amThese are beautiful! I’ve been on a baking kick. Need to add these to the list for Christmas 🙂
Sarah says
December 11, 2016 at 12:20 amDecember 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!
Katrin says
December 12, 2016 at 11:16 amA German could not imagine Christmas without them.:)
Maya | Wholesome Yum says
December 9, 2016 at 3:17 pmI 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!
Katrin says
December 12, 2016 at 11:19 amBy making these cookies sugar free they actually become healthy – that’s my favourite bit
GiGi says
December 7, 2016 at 4:27 amI NEED to check out that frosting!!!
Kim | Low Carb Maven says
December 6, 2016 at 7:03 pmOh, 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
December 6, 2016 at 8:12 pmThank 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
December 6, 2016 at 4:37 pmWe 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.
Katrin says
December 6, 2016 at 8:11 pmThank you Nicoletta! BTW, did you see my previous post? You guys got a honourable mention 🙂
Georgina says
December 5, 2016 at 8:29 pmOh these look wonderful! Would make great gifts, too.
Katrin says
December 6, 2016 at 1:46 pmAbsolutely! 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!
STACEY says
December 5, 2016 at 5:33 pmThese have coffee, cinnamon and icing, so I’m 100 % in! The German in me will love these!
Katrin says
December 6, 2016 at 1:48 pmLOL! A recipe with coffee always gets the thumbs up over here, too!
Wendy says
December 5, 2016 at 5:04 pmI’m wondering about the glaze – I’m assuming that it’s put on after the cookies are cooled, but I thought I should ask to make sure. I’ve always been told that egg whites need to be cooked to be safe, so I was wondering if the glaze is supposed to go on before baking. I’m looking forward to trying these cookies!
Katrin says
December 5, 2016 at 6:04 pmWendy, 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!
Nina Holland says
December 5, 2016 at 1:40 pmThese 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
December 6, 2016 at 2:00 pmHi 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!