- 3 large egg whites
- 2 cups sifted powdered sugar
- 3¼ cups ground almond or hazelnut meal
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest
- Pinch of salt
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, beat egg whites on a high speed until stiff peaks form. Slowly add confectioner’s sugar and continue to beat until combined. The whipped (stiff peaks) texture may become creamier, and that’s fine. Reserve 1/3 of the meringue mixture for the glaze.
Add the almond meal, cinnamon, lemon zest and salt to the meringue mixture. Mix until the dough becomes stiff. If it's still too soft and sticky, add a bit more of the ground almonds. Place the dough in the fridge for an hour, so it will be less sticky to work with later.
Between two sheets of parchment paper, press (with hands) and then roll dough to a thickness of about ¼ inch. Using a star cookie cutter, cut out the cookies and transfer to a parchment-lined cookie sheet. You may have to gently push the star shapes out of the cookie cutter onto the cookie sheet. Re-roll scraps of dough and repeat process.
Bake for 15 minutes or until cookies are set. Do not overbake, since the meringue glaze will start to brown. Remove from oven and let cookies harden and cool on cookie sheet. These can be stored in a dry, airtight container throughout the Advent and Christmas seasons!