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. See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities
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.
Expert 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.
Recipe FAQs
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 keto 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.
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.
Helliem
Made these today
I didn't want to miss out at Christmas
We used to make these stars every year when I grew up in Switzerland
Been living here in the UK for 48 years
I have made the original ones a few times
But now being diabetic it's going to be a lovely treat
Thank you for all the lovely recipes
NB have made your pudding and mince pies
All in the freezer
Have a love Christmas xxx
Katrin Nürnberger
Have a great Christmas! So happy you are enjoying my festive recipes.
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