I normally don’t post on Mondays, but today is different because tomorrow is the first December, and I wanted you to have a healthy Christmas cookie recipe in case you wanted to bake some this week. In Germany we have a wonderful Christmas tradition called “Christmas calendars” where you open a door every day from December 1st until December 24th. Christmas calendars are traditionally filled with chocolate, but over time, people have made a very big deal out of them, so now they are usually stuffed with little gifts, baked goods, pictures or whatever else comes to your mind. It’s a wonderful tradition and I wanted to share a nice Christmas calendar filling idea for the very late ones of you: Healthy Almond and Cinnamon Christmas Stars. These traditional German Christmas cookies not only make your kitchen smell incredibly Christmassy, they are also really good for you! I’ve conducted my usual healthy kitchen swaps: I used coconut sugar for normal, white sugar, chia eggs instead of eggs, and powdered them with a little xylit instead of powdered sugar.
Coconut sugar has gotten a lot of attention lately, and I have become more and more of a fan. Coconut sugar is proven to be a lot healthier than white sugar, because it has a very low glycemic index, which prevents the blood sugar level from spiking. Thus, its energy is released slowly and steadily into our blood, allowing us to feel satisfied and energized for a longer period of time. Therefore coconut sugar is a great sugar alternative especially for diabetics, because it prevents sugar spikes and lows. Coconut sugar is are also filled with many minerals such as potassium, iron, magnesium or zinc, that you won’t find in normal white sugar.
The combination of freshly ground almonds, Chia seeds, coconut sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon and vanilla is simply divine! Your going to love these cookies this Christmas, I promise!
- 1¾ cups of freshly ground almonds (250g)
- ¾ cup of coconut sugar (100g)
- 1 tablespoon of ground chia seeds
- 2 tablespoons of cold water
- 2 tablespoons of maple syrup
- 3 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
- a pinch of vanilla powder
- a pinch of powered xylit for decoration
- Start by grinding the almonds into a flour if you are using whole almonds.
- Place the ground chia seeds and the water into a small bowl. Whisk together with a fork and set aside to thicken for about 10 minutes.
- Place the coconut sugar, ground almonds, cinnamon and vanilla powder into a food processor or big bowl. If you are using a food processor, then mix it shortly. If you are using a hand mixer, just quickly mix everything.
- Add the chia-mix and maple syrup and combine everything for about 30 seconds until a sticky dough forms. If the dough is crumbly, and not sticky, add a teaspoon of cold water.
- Pre-heat the oven to 160°C (320°F).
- Roll the dough out between two pieces of baking paper. Make sure not to roll it out too thin - it should be around 5 mm thick. Using star shaped cutters, cut out about 30 stars.
- Place the cinnamon stars on a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake for 8-10 minutes until golden brown. Let the cookies cool for a few minutes until transferring them to a cooling rack.
- Tip: Store the Almond and Cinnamon Christmas Cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for the best result.
If you don't have ground chia seeds, you can grind them in your food processor or use whole chia seeds.
If you don't have a food processor you can use store-bought ground almonds.
Enjoy!
Adore these! Pinned 🙂
Hi, i wanto to make it..but in brazil maple syrup is dificult to find. Can i use honey or date syrup instead? Many thanks!!!!!
Hi Daniela, yes, you could definitely use honey or date syrup. I’m sure it tastes just as delicious.
Greetings to Brazil from Germany!
xx Lynn
Das klingt so gut, das muss ich umbedingt mal ausprobieren!
xx, Sofie
http://sofiecharlotte.com
Hallo Sofie, das freut mich!
Ganz liebe Grüße,
Lynn
Instead of ground almonds could I use coconut flour or a gluten free baking flour?
Hi Laura, if you’re allergic, then you could probably substitute the ground almonds with coconut flour. I don’t think they would taste good with gluten free flour unfortunately. I’ve only tried making them with ground almonds, and I am not sure how they will turn out if you use flour instead of almonds…I can’t promise that they will taste good or turn out well. If you’ll try it with coconut flour, I’d love to hear how they turned out.
xx Lynn
Wow…maybe my almond meal was too grainy but mine were a total failure. Texture was like sand so I couldn’t get a dough to form. Decided to just make them into balls and flatten them like a cookie and they never really baked well…my kids called them sand cookies…:(
Hi Krisy, I am so sorry to hear this! I’ve had several people try these, and I made several batches myself this Christmas and I never had this problem. In fact, some people said that they were too moist. Did you use any liquid sweetener such as maple syrup? That’s what holds everything together so well. Again, I am so sorry that they were such a disappointment. I hope I didn’t ruin your Christmas. And thank you so much for taking the time to get back to me. I will bake another batch this weekend and see what could have gone wrong.
Still, I am wishing you Happy Holidays (without sand cookies…)
xx Lynn
I made several substitutions due to ingredients on hand: almond flour instead of freshly ground almonds, ground flax seed ‘eggs’ instead of the ground chia seeds, honey instead of maple syrup, and a few teaspoons of vanilla extract rather than powdered vanilla. I couldn’t find my cookie cutters so I flattened rounded balls, and did not decorate with powder. Though they weren’t the prettiest cookies I’ve ever made, they were delicious. My husband ate almost the entire batch on Christmas day. I love that they taste great, yet have a low glycemic index, are vegan and are gluten free.
Hi Melissa, that sounds fantastic! So glad they turned out well even with all the substitutions!
Have a great start into the new year!
xx Lynn
What a fantastic recipe. Delicious and so easy and quick. My son loves these! I didn’t have vanilla power so substituted with 1 tsp vanilla essence and the consistency was perfect. Love the chewy almond texture.
Hi Niki,
I’m so excited to hear that you liked the stars. I’m thrilled that they also appealed to your sons. What a great compliment!
Thank you for the lovely comment. I really appreciate it.
xx
Lynn
I will try these this year, I have gluten and some tree nut allergies in my house (not almonds). They look and sound amazing.
Hi Tamara,
I really hope your gluten and nut allergie people will love them! And you too, of course!
xx
Lynn
This was a terrible recipe and did not workout….
I’m very sorry you feel this way. I’ve had lots of great feedback for this recipe so it would really help if you could tell me what went wrong. Maybe I can help.
Best,
Lynn
Do you think I could use molasses instead of maple syrup? Also, did you chill the dough at all?
Hi Anna,
absolutely, I think that will work just fine.
No, I did not chill the dough at all, but I believe it could help if the dough was too wet to be rolled out.
Let me know how it worked out!
xx
Lynn
Hi there, do you know roughly how long you can leave these stored for? Planning on making them for Christmas goody gift bags, but don’t want to be whipping them up the day before!
Hello,
I just made a batch of these and they are in the oven. I also had the problem of having really crumbly dough so i just added a splash of almond milk for extra moisture and they were really sticky in the end. Dough tasted great 🙂
These are amazing! There were thumb fights in the shop for the last star. And we made them for a Harry Potter themed Christmas party as owls and Hogwarts Crest cookies, adding a drop of orange to the icing on top. They hold their shape beautifully and hold any outline that is stamped into them. Amazing recipe! Thank you!
Wow, what a wonderful compliment, Ian! Thank you! Especially since I am the biggest Harry Potter Fan!
Can I buy ground almond, as i am doing this as a class and am planning it out early .. If not how long does it take to grind them ..roasted or raw almonds
Hi Jessica,
yes, you can buy ground almonds! It does not take long to grind them. Maybe a few seconds 🙂
Best,
Lynn
What is powdered xytil and where can you get it? Do you mean xylitol? I’ve never used that, please share what it is and where to find. I wanted to make these this week for a party at the end of the week but if you have to order I guess I’ll just skip it. Thanks!
Hi Rose,
Oh yes, I’m sorry. Being German, sometimes I make mistakes in the English language. I meant to say xylitol. But it’s definitely not necessary for the recipe to work.
My apologies and lots of love,
Lynn