Zimtsterne & Pfeffernüsse (German Christmas Cookies)
Hello everyone, welcome back to another delicious lactose free recipe. This recipe marks the start of this year’s holiday recipe extravaganza. Todays recipe features not one but two delicious German cookie recipes. Being of half German descent my family always ate these cookies during the holiday season, so the recipes are very nostalgic. Pfeffernüsse is a heavily spiced cookie covered in a sweet icing whereas zimtsterne is a hazelnut cinnamon cookie. Both are equally delicious and easy to make. The recipe you see is entirely lactose free, providing you use the right products of course.    
Servings: 1 yield(s)
Ingredients
    Lebkuchengewurz (German gingerbread spice mix)
  • 2 & 1/2 tbsp Ground cinnamon
  • 2 tsp Ground cloves
  • 1/2 tsp Ground allspice
  • 1/2 tsp Ground coriander
  • 1/2 tsp Ground green cardamom
  • 1/2 tsp Ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp Ground star anise
  • 1/2 tsp Ground nutmeg
  • Mortar and pestle
  • 2 Bowls
  • Sieve
  • Airtight contain & ziplock bag
    • Pfeffernüsse
  • 2 & 1/4 cup Plain flour
  • 1/2 tsp Baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp Salt
  • 3 tsp German gingerbread spice mix
  • 1/4 cup Almond meal
  • 1/2 cup Brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup Honey
  • 5 tbsp Lactose free margarine (Brand used - Nuttelex original )
  • 3 tbsp Lactose free cream (brand used - Pauls )
  • 1 Egg
  • 2 cup Icing sugar
  • 3 tbsp Hot water
    • Zimtsterne
  • 3 Egg whites
  • 2 cup Icing sugar
  • 3 & 1/4 Hazelnut meal
  • 2 tsp Ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp Vanilla sugar
  • 1/8 tsp Salt
  • Star cookie cutter
  • Baking trays
  • Baking paper
Instructions
    Lebkuchengewurz
  1. In a small bowl combine all the cinnamon, coriander, all spice, ginger and nutmeg.
  2. I had to grind the cloves, green cardamom and star anise myself. To grind the spices, place a handful of cloves in the bowl.
  3. Grind down the cloves until it becomes fine.
  4. Place a sieve over a separate bowl and sift. Measure out the appropriate amount of spice from the fine part in the bowl. Repeat until you have the correct amount.
  5. Repeat this with the remaining spices until all of the spices are in the bowl. Remember to discard the actual green cardamon pod exterior part when you go to grind them.
  6. Mix them all together.
  7. Spoon the spice mix into the Ziplock bag and place into the airtight container. I find that the smell can become overwhelming even in the bag. The extra container helps to counteract this.
    8. Pfeffernüsse
  8. In a large bowl add the flour, baking soda, salt, almond meal and the 3 teaspoons of German spice mix. Stir until combined.
  9. In a small saucepan add the brown sugar, honey, margarine and cream.
  10. Stir over a medium heat until the sugar dissolves and everything is well combined. Remove from the heat and set aside for a few minutes until it cools down.
  11. Pour the sugar mixture into the flour mixture.
  12. Stir well until a rough dough forms.
  13. Add the egg and mix. The dough will be very sticky, do not worry it will look like an actual dough after it chills in the fridge.
  14. Wrap the dough up in clingwrap and leave to chill in the fridge overnight. A good 8 hours will suffice. It can be left for 2 to 3 days if necessary.
  15. Preheat your oven to 180 Celsius and line two baking trays with baking paper. Measure the dough out in 20g portions, roll into a ball and place on the baking tray. Make sure to leave a gap in between them as they will spread out.
  16. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Move the cookies aside to cool down completely.
  17. In a bowl add the icing sugar and water. Stir well. Dip each cookie into the icing, wait a little bit for the excess to drip off then set aside to set and dry. Feel free to add some sprinkles if you wish.
    18. Zimtsterne
  18. Preheat your oven to 130 Celsius and line two baking trays with baking paper.
  19. Add the egg whites to a clean bowl. Use a electric mixer to beat the eggs until it just starts to form a soft peak.
  20. Add the icing sugar and mix.
  21. Move two tablespoons of the mixture to a separate bowl to use later.
  22. Add the hazelnut meal, cinnamon, vanilla sugar and salt.
  23. Mix until it becomes a sticky dough.
  24. Place a large piece of baking paper on your work surface. Place the dough on top. Place another piece of baking paper on top of the dough and roll the dough out until it is about 1/3 of an inch thick. Remove the top piece of paper. Press the cookie cutter into the dough and cut out as many stars as you can. Place the stars on the baking trays. Continue this until all the dough has been used up.
  25. Grab a teaspoon. Use the back of the spoon to scoop out a small amount of the egg white mixture
  26. Cover the surface of the stars.
  27. Repeat until all the cookies have been iced.
  28. Bake the cookies one tray at a time for 15 minutes or until set. Move aside to cool down.
  29. Serve, devour and enjoy. Happy holidays.