Bahlsen Zimtsterne (Cinnamon Stars)

It's Christmas Eve -the big day is almost here! However, if like me you have been unfortunate enough to face the Supermarkets these past few days, you may have felt your Christmas spirit wane ever so slightly. If that's the case, and you'd like to be reminded that not everyone is like the crazy trolley bargers that take it upon themselves to be even more rude in the run up to Christmas, then I'd like to tell you about a little bit of festive food kindness I experienced this week.

On a quest to educate myself about as many of the continental traditional festive biscuits as I could*, I saw on Waitrose's website a few weeks ago that they stock 'Zimtsterne' which translates to 'Cinnamon Stars'. As a huge fan of anything even remotely cinnamon-y, I hot-footed it down to my local store to pick some up, but alas, they didn't have any. Nevermind, I thought, I'll buy some in Cardiff when I visit my sister (they're bound to have some!) but yet again, my mission was unsuccessful. I returned to the local Waitrose, who told me the closest store to stock Zimtsterne was in mid-Wales, and at that point I gave up. Fortunately, the people at Bahlsen heard of my thwarted quest and offered to send me a pack in the post, "as it's Christmas". True to their word, and only 36 hours later, a parcel arrived at my door...

Not only had they sent me two packs of the Cinnamon Stars, but a Poppy Seed Stollen to boot! This was extremely welcome as I previously mentioned in the Toffee Apple Mulled Cider review that I hadn't managed to get any Stollen from Waitrose either! 

So Bahlsen's Zimtsterne are more accurately 'Star-shaped cinnamon spiced hazelnut biscuits.' They are soft, and more cakey than biscuit in texture with a powerful cinnamon and hazelnut aroma. The hazelnuts account for 38% of the total ingredients, so its not surprising that you can not only smell them but taste them too. They're quite rustic looking -and tasting- which gives the Zimtsterne a lovely homemade feel. The cinnamon is balanced nicely, and the icing adds an extra touch of sweetness- it is Christmas after all! 

I really love these Stars, and I think I'd even consider making the journey to mid-Wales next year to buy them again. A huge thank-you to Bahlsen for kindly sending me a German Christmas care-package. 

Merry Christmas!

9/10

* My other Continental biscuit reviews, If you're interested:
ASDA'S Lebkuchen Stars
Weiss Pfeffernüsse