Vanilla Crescents

These crescent-shaped cookies originate from Vienna, Austria, where they are a much-loved, traditional Christmas cookie. They are also quite common throughout Europe, particularly in Germany, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic.

Legend has it that their shape was created to resemble the Turkish crescent moon, to celebrate one of the victories of the Hungarians and Austrians over the Turkish army.

Traditionally, Vanillekipferl are made with ground walnuts which result in a moister texture, but ground almonds or hazelnuts can also be used. Ground blanched almonds will result in a light-colored cookie whereas walnuts and hazelnuts will result in a darker, speckled cookie.

Vanillekipferl are considered a very special cookie because, unlike other baked goodies, they are somewhat difficult to bake. The batter becomes quite fragile once hardened, which is why it takes a professional baker with skilled hands to create this special Christmas biscuit. It takes a lot of practice to actually, be able to shape the dough without breaking the biscuit.

Vanilla sugar adds a distinct flavor to these cookies. Vanilla sugar is just sugar that has been flavored with vanilla. It is common in many European baking recipes and can be found in little packets in stores. However, if you cannot find them, it is easy to make vanilla sugar yourself.

And finally, really important, to let them cool completely before removing the from the baking sheet.

Ingredients

240g butter (soft)

80g granulated sugar

2 egg yolks

280g flour (all purpose)

100g almonds (roasted, finely ground)

1/2 tbs vanilla extract

Confectioners’ sugar mixed with vanilla sugar

Instructions

1. Stir the butter with the sugar and the egg yolks until fluffy

2. Add the flour and mix completely

3. Add ½ tbs vanilla extract and the ground almonds

4. Work everything together completely into a soft dough

5. Refrigerate the dough for a couple of hours to keep the butter firm

6. Roll the dough into a long sausage, about 4cm (1.5”), and cut it up into small slices of 1 cm (0.3”).

7. Create from each slice a small noodle and shape it into a crescent and lay them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet

8. Bake in a preheated oven of 350°F (180°C) for 15 minutes or until the crescent tips become golden-brown

9. Let them cool completely before removing from the baking sheet and cover the crescents with confectioners’/vanilla sugar