Weihnachtsplätzchen 2008 Orangenstern (Alter Fritz) 04

A (German for 'cinnamon star'; pl.: ) is a

Christmas cookie Christmas cookies or Christmas biscuits are traditionally sugar cookies or biscuits (though other flavours may be used based on family traditions and individual preferences) cut into various shapes related to Christmas. History Modern Christm ...

, originally from

Swabia Swabia ; german: Schwaben , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of ...

in Southwest Germany, made from foam of whipped

egg white Egg white is the clear liquid (also called the albumen or the glair/glaire) contained within an egg. In chickens it is formed from the layers of secretions of the anterior section of the hen's oviduct during the passage of the egg. It forms arou ...

, sugar, at least 25%

almond The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries, including the Levant. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree. Within the genus ...

cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, breakfa ...

and a maximum of 10% flour. It is most popular in Germany and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. Cookies of this kind are called or ('Christmas cookies') in German. The ingredients are used to make a compact dough that is easy to roll out. After drying, an egg white glaze is applied and the stars are cut out. These are baked on baking trays over low heat, whereby the egg white glaze only coagulates and does not take on any darker color. According to old

cookbook A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes. Cookbooks may be general, or may specialize in a particular cuisine or category of food. Recipes in cookbooks are organized in various ways: by course (appetizer, first cour ...

s, the egg white is whipped to loosen it and lifted under the dough. The egg white and sugar (meringue) glaze is also whipped. This procedure is no longer in widespread use today. Although most varieties of ' appeared in the 19th century to decorate the

Christmas tree A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, or an artificial tree of similar appearance, associated with the celebration of Christmas. The custom was further developed in early modern ...

, cinnamon stars were not originally associated with Christmas and date back to the 16th century at the latest. There are mentions that in 1536 the Emperor of

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...

Charles V was served "delicious" cinnamon stars when visiting Cardinal Lorenzo Campeggio. Cinnamon in those days was an extremely expensive spice: in 1530 the

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...

merchant

Anton Fugger Anton Fugger (10 June 1493 – 14 September 1560) was a German merchant and member of the Fugger family. He was a nephew of Jakob Fugger. Biography Anton was the third and youngest son of George Fugger and Regina Imhof. He was born in Augsburg o ...

decided to demonstrate his wealth to the emperor by burning Charles V's promissory notes on a fire made of cinnamon sticks.''Der Duft der Weihnacht'' (The scent of Christmas)
in

Die Welt ''Die Welt'' ("The World") is a German national daily newspaper, published as a broadsheet by Axel Springer SE. ''Die Welt'' is the flagship newspaper of the Axel Springer publishing group. Its leading competitors are the ''Frankfurter Allg ...

, 11 December 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zimtstern Christmas food Christmas in Germany German cuisine German desserts Christmas in Switzerland Swiss cuisine Cookies