Almond cinnamon stars for kids to bake

This recipe is based on traditional German Zimtsterne.  As with all family traditions, our love for these fragrant little biscuits developed completely by accident after I tested them for a Christmas magazine article.  We loved them and have been baking them over Christmas ever since.  The original recipe didn't contain flour but that makes cutting out the stars very messy and sticky.  This is a slightly easier recipe, which fills the house with the most amazing Christmassy scent.

Ingredients

For the stars:

2 egg whites

150g caster sugar

150g ground almonds

150g plain flour

1 tsp cinnamon

For the icing:

Juice of 1 clementine

2-3 tbsp icing sugar

Method

First, preheat your oven to 180C/gas mark 4.  In a food mixer or with an electric hand beater, whisk the egg whites until stiff.  Gradually add the sugar, a tablespoon at a time until the sugar is all gone and the mixture is glossy. You can check if the sugar is incorporated by rubbing the mixture between your fingers - if it feels gritty, keep whisking.

Now gently fold in the almonds, flour and the cinnamon.  The mixture should come together into a soft dough.  Tip the dough out onto a well-floured work surface.  Bear in mind that a lot can depend on the size of your eggs, type of flour, etc, so if you find your dough is still too sticky, add a little flour until it becomes a workable consistency.

Roll out the dough to about 1cm thickness, then cut out stars (or whatever cutter you have) and place on a well-greased baking tray (don't use greaseproof paper as it will stick to the biscuits).  Bake for 10 minutes, then allow to cool (they should be slightly soft in the middle).

For the icing, spoon the icing sugar into a bowl and slowly add the clementine (or orange) juice until it is a nice spreading consistency (too runny and it won't stay on your stars). Ice the biscuits and decorate them if you wish. Allow to set, then serve with a flourish.

Happy Christmas!