Zimtsterne

These gluten-free stars are a staple of German Christmas markets. Present yours as a gift in a pretty jar.

Hands-on time 40min, plus cooling and setting. Cooking time about 10min. Makes about 45 ✺ 100g blanched hazelnuts (use ready-ground, if you can find them) ✺ 2 medium egg whites ✺ 200g icing sugar, sifted, plus extra to dust ✺ 150g ground almonds ✺ 2tsp ground cinnamon ✺ 1tsp ground ginger (check GF status of spices) ✺ Finely grated zest ½ lemon

1 Preheat oven to 130°C conventional heat (no fan, as this will cause the glaze to brown too quickly) mark ½. Line 2 large baking sheets with baking parchment. Whizz hazelnuts in a food processor until finely ground (don’t overwork them or they will become greasy). Set aside.

2 Beat egg whites in a large bowl with a handheld electric whisk until they hold soft peaks. Add icing sugar and beat on low speed until incorporated, then on full power for 2min. Spoon out 50g of mixture to use as glaze.

3 Using a large spoon, mix nuts, spices and zest into remaining mixture to make a stiff, slightly sticky dough. Lightly dust a sheet of baking parchment with icing sugar and place dough on top. Lightly dust dough with icing sugar and cover with another sheet of baking parchment (this makes rolling out easier).

4 Roll out to 5mm thick. Remove top parchment and stamp out stars using a 4cm cutter (dip cutter in icing sugar if it sticks).

5 Transfer stars to prepared sheets (they don’t spread much on baking). Paint reserved glaze on each star in an even, thin layer.

6 Bake for 10min in lower half of oven or until biscuits feel firmer and glaze is set but not browning. Cool on trays before serving. PER BISCUIT 55cals, 1g protein, 3g fat (0g saturates), 5g carbs (5g total sugars), <1g fibre