Zimtsterne/ Cinnamon Stars

Today I am sharing our family recipe for Zimtsterne, a classic German Christmas cookie, that has been one of my favourite festive cookies since I was a child. I got the recipe when I was about 11 from our neighbour, a lovely old German lady, and we have made them since then. Chewy and soft with a lovely almond and cinnamon flavor, with a meringue topping, so if you have not tried them, you  definitely should, these cookies are one of the best cookies I have eaten so far!

For about 40 cookies you will need:

• 250 grams almonds, finely grounded
• 150 grams powder/icing sugar
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 egg white

For the meringue topping:

• 80 grams icing sugar

• 1 egg white

Method:

Preheat oven to 150 ° C.

Sift icing sugar (150 g), combine with finely grounded almonds, cinnamon. 

Whisk together with honey, egg white, then knead dough with your hands until well combined.

Let dough rest for 1/2  hour. Meanwhile prepare the meringue topping by beating the egg white until it forms firm peaks. Then beat in 80 grams of icing sugar and continue beating for about 2-3 minutes until it becomes  thick and shiny. Set aside. 

Place dough on a large piece of parchment paper and roll out the dough until  about 1 cm thick. If the dough sticks just put another parchemnt paper on top and then roll the dough, this makes it a lot easier. 

Cut with star shaped cookie cutter and place on a pan (on parchment paper). 

Spread the eggwhite-sugar mixture over ever cookie. 

Bake at 150° C for 8-10 minutes. The cookies need to be chewie and very light brown, the meringue topping should be white, watch out as they tend to get too brown quickly! When you take them out from the oven they are soft but they firm up quickly.

Let cool on a wire rack, then place them in airtight container.

Zimtsterne before they go into the oven

Već sam prošle godine pred blagdane htjela objaviti recept za "Zimtsterne", koji smo dobili od naše susjetke Njemice, jedne divne stare dame, kad mi je bilo otprilike 11 godina. Nama su to najljepši  blagdanski keksi, bez maslaca, bez brašna, s mljevenim bademima, cimetom i meringue nadjevom. "Zimtsterne" su tradicionalni njemački božićni kolačići/ keksi, i s obzirom da sam odrasla u Njemačkoj nije prošao niti jedan Božić bez njih, davila sam se u njima kod prijatelja, školskih drugarica, i onda ih je i moja mama počela praviti... Ovi keksi nisu hrskavi, meki su, aroma badema i cimeta (meni omiljena kombinacija u kolačima) ne mogu ostaviti ravnodušnim. Mislim da još nisam upoznala nikog ko nije volio ove divotice. Važno je paziti da se ne prepeku, meni su ovi, koje sam jučer pekla malo previše potamnili jer sam pogrešno procijenila temperaturu (trebalo je biti 150°C) na mom gasnom šporetu, drugi put obavezno trebam smanjiti vrijeme pečenja s 10 minuta na 8 minuta. 

 Za 40 keksića (otprilike 1,5 pleh) će biti potrebno: 

• 250 g mljevenih badema
• 150 g šećera u prahu
• 1 žlica meda
• 1 žlica cimeta
• 1 bjelanjak

Za nadjev:

•  80 g šećera u prahu
• 1 bjelanjak

Priprema:

Zagrijati peć na 150°C.

Prosijati šećer u prahu, pomiješati s bademima i cimetom, sve promiješati.

Dodati med i bjelanjak, rukom zamijesiti tijesto.  Ostaviti otprilike pola sata da miruje (ond se tijesto manje lijepi). U međuvremenu pripremiti nadjev, tako što izmutite bjelanjak jedno 2-3 minute dok ne dobijete čvrstu masu, onda dodajte preostalih (prosijanih) 80 g šećera u prahu.  Na radnu površinu postavite papir za pečenje i na njega stavite tijesto pa ga razvucite na otprilike 1 cm debljine. Ako tijesto bude ljepljivo stavite još jedan papir za pečenje preko tijesta pa onda razvucite tijesto. Modlom u obliku zvijezde isjecite keksiće, svaki ravnomjerno premažite nadjevom. Peći na 150°C 8-10 minuta. Pripaziti da tijesto i nadjev ne potamne, tijesto treba ostati svijetlo a nadjev treba ostati bijel (brzo požuti).

Ostaviti da se ohlade. Čuvati u kutijama za kekse.

Pumpkin Apple Cinnamon Jam & Printable Jam Labels/ džem od bundeve, jabuke i cimeta & naljepnice za džem

I know, I know, I am posting only marmelade recipes lately, but that is what I have been doing mostly, preserving fruit! It is becoming my obsession,  and so I am sharing the recipes I like most with you :)  After Honey Apple Rum Jam and Hokkaido Pumpkin Coconut Jam now it is time to post the recipe for a delicious Pumpkin Apple Cinnamon Jam. If you love spices like cinnamon, you will love this jam! 

I have been creating some labels lately too, and as I have received emails from my readers asking me where I get them from, I got the idea that I could also share some of my designed printable labels with you! All you will need  is a colour lasered to print these labels. Hope you like them and maybe use them on your next batch of jam! I would be delighted! For download, please scroll down to the bottom of the page. Have fun!

 Znam, znam, ja u posljednje vijeme objavljujem samo recepte za marmelade i džemove, ali moram priznati da mi to ovih tmurnih, hladnih dana pričinjava takvo zadovoljstvo, jer opuštam se maksimalno dok stojim u kuhinji, miješajući voćkice i eksperimentirajući, smišljajući nove kombinacije... Ukrašavanje gotovih teglica se također razvija u novi hobi. :) Nakon mednog džema s jabukama, rumom i prženim sjemenkama suncokreta, marmelade od hokkaido bundeve i kokosa dijelim s vama recept za mirisni džem od bundeve, jabuka i cimeta. Spoj sastojaka je savršen, boja mu je intenzivno narančasta, a miris cimeta će, svakog ko obožava ovaj divni začin, oduševiti! 

S obzirom da sam dobila već nekoliko upita putem e-maila kako nabaviti etikete za džem,  pomislila sam da vam poklonim nekoliko naljepnica koje sam u posljednje vrijeme za sebe pravila, možda nekog "pekmezoljupca" obradujem ovim uljepšivačima staklenki, to bi mi bilo jako drago! :) Sve što vam je potrebno je printer, ljepilo, škare i malo deblji papir!

 PRINTABLE JAM LABELS 

Just right-click and save the image. All are in png Format.

Note: These designs are copyright of Tanja's Cooking Corner.  Please don’t use these for commercial purposes, don’t alter the designs and don’t offer them for download on your own site – link to this page instead. Thank you!

Apple Crumble

Für Rezept in Deutsch bitte scrollen

In the Food Encyclopedia, Alan Davidson, a food historian and food writer, defines crumble as the name of a simple topping spread instead of pastry on fruit pies of the dish type with no bottom crust, such as are popular in Britain. Recipes for crumble do not appear in old books of English recipes, nor is it recorded until the 20th century. Crumble is much quicker and easier to make than pastry and it seems probable that it developed during the Second World War. It is like a sweet pastry made without water. The ingredients of a modern crumble are flour, butter, and sugar; a little spice is sometimes added. (The original wartime type used some other fat—whatever was available.) The butter is cut into the dry ingredients, and the mixture spooned onto the pie filling without further preparation, after which the pie is baked. The butter melts and binds the solid ingredients into large grains, but they do not form a solid layer like a true pastry. The texture can only be described as crumbly. Apple crumble is probably the best-known form. But other fruits are often used. Numerous variations are permissible, for example the addition of coconut to the crumble mixture in Australia. Crumble may have been inspired by a similar cinnamon-flavoured topping traditional in Austria and C. Europe for a rich tea bread or cake. The topping is called Streusel, and the cake Streuselkuchen . Streusel contains much less flour in proportion to sugar than British crumble, so that when baked it has a crisp and granular rather than crumbly texture, and remains firmly attached to the top of the cake. It is spread over a coating of melted butter on the raw cake, which helps it to adhere.

To find out more about the origin and usage of crumble, click here.

I am a big fan of fruit crumble: apple, peach, rhubarb, cherries, all fruity variations are highly welcome in my kitchen. It is so easy to make, the variations are endless, and it is absolutely an irresistible dessert. I was inspired by Tamara's and Jelena's variations of apple crumble, adapted it to my taste and added candied walnuts to my apple crumble, and the result was overwhelming. The pimped version is too delicious to describe... :)

This is my entry for the baking event ‘Goldener Herbst‘ (Golden Fall) which was initiated by Katie of  Sweet Trolley.

Apple crumble

~serves 2~

5 apples (sour, eg. Granny Smith)
............................................................................
400 ml of water
............................................................................
3 teaspoons brown sugar (Demerara)
...........................................................................
1 tablespoon honey
.............................................................................
1 teaspoon cinnamon
.............................................................................
2 tablespoons lemon juice
.............................................................................
Nutmeg *optional
.............................................................................
Ginger (grated fresh or powder) *optional

Crumble
............................................................................
100 g flour
............................................................................
3 teaspoons brown sugar (Demerara)
.........................................................................
60 g butter, cold, cubed
............................................................................
1 teaspoon water

Topping

40 g walnuts, roughly chopped
..........................................................................
3 teaspoons brown sugar (Demerara)
............................................................................


Method:

1. Place diced apples, sugar cinnamon, lemon juice, honey, ginger and nutmeg (up to your taste) in a pot and cook for about 30 minutes until the water evaporates and the apples are soft.

2. For the crumble topping mix all ingredients by rubbing the butter into the flour, with your fingertips, until you get a crumbly mass. Add 1 teaspoon water. Place the crumbly dough briefly in the refrigerator or freezer, place (until the apples are done).

3. Preheat oven to 180 ° Celsius.

4. Fill the cooked apples (they should be soft but not mushy) into greased ramekins or ovenproof dish.

5 Sprinkle the crumble mixture over the apples. Bake for about 30 min at 180 ° C until golden brown.

6. About 5 minutes before the apple crumble is baked, it is time to make the candied walnuts. These are very easy to make. Heat some sugar in a nonstick pan, then add chopped walnuts. Stir briefly with a wooden spoon, then quickly sprinkle the candied walnuts over the apple crumble.

The trick is to work very fast once the sugar starts melting, because once it gets on the walnuts it cools quickly and the walnuts will stick together. You have about 30 seconds to separate them before they are forever bonded by glassy, cooked sugar.

7. Serve warm or cold. Enjoy!

~o~o~o~o~

 

 

 

Die liebe Katie von Sweet Trolley hat einen Backwettbewerb  zum Thema "Goldener Herbst" gestartet, und da mache ich natürlich gerne mit! Hier ist mein Beitrag zu diesem tollen Wettbewerb: Apfel-Honig Crumble mit Zimt und karamelisierten Walnüssen.

 

Inspiriert haben mich Jelena und Tamara mit ihren leckeren Crumble- Kreationen...Ich habe einfach ein bisschen "herumgebastelt" und herausgekommen ist dieses leckere Dessert :)

 

 

Apfel-Honig Crumble mit Zimt und karamelisierten Walnüssen

~2 Portionen~

Zutaten

5 Äpfel (säuerlich, zb. Granny Smith)
.............................................................................
400 ml Wasser
............................................................................
3 TL Zucker, braun (Demerara)
.............................................................................
1 EL Honig
..............................................................................
1 TL Zimt
..............................................................................
2 EL Zitronensaft
.............................................................................
Muskatnuss, n. Belieben
..............................................................................
Ingwer (Pulver oder frisch gerieben), n. Belieben

Crumble
............................................................................
100 g Mehl
.............................................................................
3 TL Zucker, braun (Demerara)
..........................................................................
60 g Butter, kalt, gewürfelt
.............................................................................
1 TL Wasser


Topping

40 g Walnüsse, grob gehackt
............................................................................
3 TL Zucker, braun (Demerara)
............................................................................

Zubereitung

1. In einem Topf Wasser, gewürfelte Äpfel, Zimt, Zitronensaft, Honig, Ingwer und Muskatnuss erhitzen. Ca. 30 Min. köcheln lassen bis das Wasser verdampft und die Äpfel weich sind.

2. In der Zwischenzeit die Butter zum Mehl hinzufügen und mit Fingerspitzen zu einer krümeligen Masse kneten. 1 TL Wasser beimischen. Die krümelige Teigmasse kurz in den Kühlschrank oder Gefrierschrank stellen (bis die Äpfel fertig sind).

3. Herd auf 180°C vorheizen.

4. Die gekochten Äpfel (sie sollen weich sein, aber nicht zu weich) in leicht mit Butter eingefettete Keramikformen füllen.

5. Auf die Äpfel die gekühlte Crumble-Masse verteilen. Ca. 30 Min. bei 180°C goldbraun backen

6. 5 Minuten bevor der Apfel Crumble fertig gebacken ist, in einer antihaft beschichteten Pfanne Zucker karameliseren, anschließend die gehackten Walnüsse hinzugeben. Kurz mit Holzlöffel umrühren und dann rasch auf den Crumble verteilen (wird schnell hart!)

7. Warm oder kalt servieren. Genießen!


 

~o~o~o~o~

Već duže vrijeme se spremam da napravim crumble od jabuka, koji jednostavno obožavam ali vrlo rijetko pravim jer kad pođem jesti ne mogu da stanem dok sve ne pojedem. O mom nedostatku discipline, o mojim neuspjesima da se suzdržim po tom pitanju bi mogla knjigu napisati, knjigu -zasada- bez Happy Enda... Zato je najbolje da neke deserte uopšte ne pravim, jer onog čega nema ne mogu ni popapati :( Ali, ipak ponekad me tako želja za nečim slatkim uhvati da moram sama sebi da udovoljim, i tako je to bio slučaj sa kramblom od jabuka. Jelenine kao i Tamarine delicije su me "gledale" već duže vrijeme, i jučer sam se bacila na posao i napokon napravila ovu slasticu. Brzo i lako se pravi, a predivnog okusa. Imam nekoliko varijanti koje rado pravim, i s drugim voćem, u raznim kombinacijama. ali sam se ovog puta prilično držala Jeleninog recepta, s nekoliko adaptacija. Umjesto kristal šećera sam koristila Demerara šećer, nisam stavila gustin u jabuke (nije bilo potrebno), nisam stavila orahe u krambl već sam orahe karamelizirala i na kraju stavila na krambl. Odlično je i hladno i toplo. Čisti užitak!

Crumble s jabukama, cimetom, medom i karameliziranim orasima

~za 2 osobe~

5 većih jabuka (kiselkaste, kao npr. Granny Smith)
.............................................................................
400 ml vode
.............................................................................
3 žlice smeđeg (Demerara) šećera
.............................................................................
1 žlica meda
..............................................................................
1 žličica cimeta
..............................................................................
2 žlice limunovog soka
..............................................................................
Muskatni oraščić, po želji
..............................................................................
Đumbir, po želji

Crumble
.............................................................................
100 g brašna
.............................................................................
3 žlice smeđeg (Demerara) šećera
.............................................................................
60 g maslaca, hladnog, isjeckanog na kockice
.............................................................................
1 žličica vode

Topping

40 g grubo isjeckanih oraha
............................................................................
3 žlice smeđeg (Demerara) šećera
...........................................................................

Priprema

1. U lonac s vodom staviti isjeckane jabuke , cimet, med, đumbir, limunov sok I muskatni oraščić, I kuhati otprilike 30 minuta dok voda ne ispari i jabuke ne omekšaju.

2. U međuvremenu umrvite maslac prstima u brašno pa umiješajte šećer i vodu. Dobit ćete mrvičastu smjesu koju ohladite kratko u zamrzivaču ili hladnjaku.

3. Pećnicu ugrijte na 180°C.

4. Ocijedite skuhane jabuke od vode i složite u lagano namašćene vatrostalne posudice.

5. Posipajte ohlađenim posipom i zapecite 30-ak min.

6. U tavi karamelizirajte 3-4 žlice šećera , onda dodajte isjeckane orahe, te drvenom varjačom ih promiješajte u karamel. Brzo karamelizirane orahe rasporedite na crumble (prije nego što se karamel stvrdne. Imate otprilike 30-tak sekundi vremena!).

7. Servirajte toplo ili hladno.

Ovo je moja ulaznica za kulinarsku igricu "Goldener Herbst" koju organizira Katie s bloga Sweet Trolley.