This recipe is such a delight. These sweet little stars have a soft, nutty texture and taste of everything Christmas.
What you need:
3 Egg whites
250g Icing sugar
1-2 drops Vanilla Essence
1 tsp Cinnamon
275-325g ground Almonds or Hazelnuts or a combination of both
Extra Icing sugar
How to make the Stars:
1) Beat the egg whites with a hand or stand mixer until soft peaks form. Slowly add the icing sugar. Put 2 heaped table spoons of this mix aside to use for the glazing of the stars.
2) Now add the Vanilla, cinnamon and half of the nuts carefully to the remaining egg white and sugar mix. Keep adding the rest of the ground nuts until the dough is not sticky any more.
3) Dust your work surface with icing sugar. Layer baking trays with baking paper and heat up your oven to 140°C (Upper/Lower heat) or 120°C fan forced.
4) Roll out the dough to about 1/2cm thickness. Cut out the stars with the cookie cutter (it may need to be dipped in Icing sugar to stop it from sticking). Glace the stars with the remaining egg white/icing sugar mix using a knife (this needs to be spreadable to create a smooth look, if too dray add a drop of water carefully).
5) Bake for 20-30 minutes. The cookies should still feel soft-ish when coming out of the oven. Let them cool completely before storing them in airtight containers.
(Recipe Dr Oetker files)