Vegan Cinnamon Stars
If you could only eat three kinds of cookies for the rest of your life, which would they be? For me, the answer is simple: gingerbread, vanilla crescents, and cinnamon stars. Now, take a few minutes to think about which cookies you would choose. If your answer is "cinnamon stars," then you can simply continue reading.
- For the cinnamon stars:
- 100 g icing sugar
- 10 g cinnamon
- 150 g ground almonds
- 200 g ground hazelnuts
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 50 ml cold water
- Topping Option 1 – Icing:
- 100 g icing sugar
- 3–4 tablespoons of plant-based milk
- Topping-Option 2 – Royal Icing:
- 50 ml Aquafaba
- 200 g icing sugar
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (convection). For the dough, sift the powdered sugar into a bowl. Add the cinnamon, ground almonds, and hazelnuts and mix well. Add the fresh lemon juice and cold water and knead with your hands.
- Place the dough on a sheet of parchment paper and cover it with another sheet. Roll out the dough between the two sheets of parchment paper to a thickness of approximately 0.5 centimeters. Cut out about 25 cinnamon stars using a star-shaped cookie cutter.
- Place the cinnamon stars on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (convection) for approximately 6–8 minutes. The stars should barely brown and definitely not be crispy. Then remove them from the oven and let them cool.
- In the meantime, prepare one of the topping options:
- For the icing, sift the icing sugar into a small bowl and gradually stir in the plant-based milk until a thick icing forms.
- Or you can choose option 2: royal icing. For this, put the aquafaba in a bowl and sift in the powdered sugar. Whisk for about 8–10 minutes – it's best to use a stand mixer. You should end up with a glossy, very thick icing. If you want it even firmer, add more powdered sugar.
- Spread the icing or royal icing onto the cooled cinnamon stars using a spoon. Once the topping has dried, store the cookies in an airtight container and eat them within 3–5 days.
But what exactly are cinnamon stars? The base of cinnamon stars isn't a classic shortcrust pastry made with flour, butter, and eggs, but rather a mixture of whipped egg whites and ground nuts. If you're already guessing we're about to whip up some aquafaba – think again! In our recipe, we replace the eggs with a little water and lemon juice (and that's almost it). But you can still get that can of chickpeas out of the cupboard! Traditionally, cinnamon stars are coated with an egg white glaze, and we've prepared two options for you – one of them using aquafaba.
For the dough, you only need a few basic ingredients that you probably already have lying around in your kitchen: ground nuts (feel free to vary these), powdered sugar, water, lemon juice, and of course, cinnamon. This also makes our cinnamon stars gluten-free, which will surely make them a party hit. And maybe you'll even get the conversation flowing with, "If you could only eat three kinds of cookies for the rest of your life..."
