Beat your egg whites in a clean and dry bowl of an electric mixer on high until stiff.

On low, slowly add your powdered sugar.

Your mass will be smooth and glossy.

At this point, remove about ¾ cup of the egg white mixture, cover and set aside.

Slowly fold in the almond, cinnamon and almond extract to the remaining egg white mixture.

Mix until completely incorporated.

The mass should be able to hold shape and begin to form a ball. If the mixture is too dry, borrow some of the egg white mixture from that bowl that you set aside, but only by increments of 1 tablespoon at a time.

Ideally, you want this dough to resemble sugar cookie dough when done mixing and right before rolling out.

Roll out dough relatively thick...about ¾ of an inch, between two pieces of wax paper. Refrigerate for one hour.

Once dough is cold cut out your star shapes and place them on your baking sheet.

If your cookie cutter begins to stick, wash and dry it then dip it into some powdered sugar.

When you are done cutting out all of the cookies, grab a basting brush and your reserved egg white/sugar mixture.

Paint a thin layer of egg white mix on the top of each cookie.

Allow the cookies to dry at room temperature for 3-8 hours.

Trust me these cookies are worth it.

Cookies drying before baking

Once the cookies have dried, bake them for 7 minutes at 340 degrees.