12 Days of Christmas Cookies. Day 8.

Alsatian Christmas Stars.   Ahhhhh, France.  In my past visits to Alsace, I can safely say that (yikes!) I never once had a cookie.  Much less such an iconic one as the Cinnamon Star. Too focused on cheese and foie gras to concern myself with sweets; my how times have changed. One of my baking mentors, Tish Boyle, features the Alsatian Christmas Stars in her grand book, The Good Cookie.   These cinnamon stars, or Zimtsterne,  are THE traditional holiday cookie from the Alsace region of France.  The cinnamon spiced star-shaped almond meal cookie, is usually glazed with royal icing, but Tish uses an egg glaze with sugar.  These are hugely popular in France and Germany.  The cookie cutter traditionally used is much smaller than the only one I had.
  
This is a wonderfully soft, almost chewy cinnamon cookie.  (It does look like a hard cookie in my photos--its not).  Its a simple melange of flour, sugar, cinnamon, almonds; but is a sticky dough.  Works better when rolled thicker.  Also, working quickly while dough is still firm helps.  The scent of cinnamon and almonds while these are baking, will leave you weak in the knees, it is so wonderful.


There are quite a few variations on these cookies, but I can't imagine any improvement on Tish's recipe.  Merci beaucoup, Tish - these are "fantastique"!  Joyeux Noël, tout le monde!

Alsatian Christmas Stars
From Tish Boyle's The Good Cookie
Makes about 60 cookies


Cinnamon Cookies
1 1/2 cup blanches almonds
2 3/4 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) plus 1 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg


Glaze
1 large egg
pinch of salt
3 tablespoons coarse or granulated sugar


3-inch star shaped cookie cutter


Make the Dough
1.  Place the almonds, cake flour, cinnamon, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and proccess until the nuts are finely ground, about 30 seconds. Set aside.


2.  In an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar at medium speed until well blended, about 2 min. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat in the egg.  At low speed, add the dry ingredients, one-third at a time and mix just until blended.  Scrape the dough out onto a work surface and shape into two disks. Wrap each one in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, until chilled (or up to 3 days).


Roll and Cut Cookies
3.  Position two racks near the center of the oven and preheat oven to 300F. Lightly grease two baking sheets.


4.  Lightly flour a work surface.  Remove one of the disks of dough from the refrigerator.  It will be very firm. Pound it a few times with a rolling pin to soften it, then roll it out to a thickness of 1/8 inch.  Using a 3-inch star shaped cutter, cut out as many cookies as possible.  Space them 1 inch apart.  Gather scraps, flatten them into disk and wrap in plastic and refrigerate until firm enough to roll out.  Reroll the scraps one time only to make more cookies.  Repeat for second disk.


Glaze and Bake Cookies
5.  In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and salt, until blended. Using a pastry brush, brush the cookies with glaze and sprinkle with sugar. 


6.  Bake the cookies, two sheets at a time, for 17 to 22 minutes, or until they are set and their bottoms are evenly golden brown; switch the positions of the baking sheets halfway through for even baking. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets on wire racks for 5 minutes, then transfer to racks and cool completely.


Store in airtight container for up to 2 weeks.