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Vanillekipferl (Almond Crescent Cookies)

@arecipe.bsky.social

Vanillekipferl are small almond biscuits shaped like a crescent moon. They are particularly popular in Austria and Germany, where they are part of the culinary delights of Christmas biscuits. In most Austrian homes, baking biscuits is an essential part of Christmas preparation, a family activity to be enjoyed on wintry days when it is snowing outside. Children love to knead dough and cut out biscuits. They enjoy creating the distinctive shape of Vanillekipferl, which is formed by rolling the dough between one's palms. What is more, no two Vanillekipferl are ever the same, since the size of palms and pressure applied vary. Although, at first, the Vanillekipferl appears to be a modest, little biscuit among all the colourful and sometimes elaborately decorated Christmas biscuits, it is a clear favourite.

Total 00:45
Yield 50 cookies

Ingredients

  • 350 g plain flour
  • 200 g cold unsalted butter
  • 100 g icing sugar
  • 100 g finely-ground almonds
  • 1 egg
  • 1 packet (8 g) vanilla sugar
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 60 g icing sugar
  • 2 packets (16 g) of vanilla sugar

Instructions

  1. 1
    Sift the flour into a bowl.
  2. 2
    Cut the cold butter into slices and mix it with the flour.
  3. 3
    Add icing sugar, salt, vanilla sugar, ground almonds, and egg to the mixture.
  4. 4
    Rinse hands in cold water, and knead the dough on a pastry board. Let the dough rest for half an hour.
  5. 5
    Grease a baking tray, or alternatively use a sheet of baking paper to prevent the kipferl from sticking.
  6. 6
    Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas 4 ).
  7. 7
    Form the dough to a cylinder with a diameter of approximately 5 cm, and cut off 0.5 cm thick slices. Roll them between your flat palms to form a sausage shape that is slightly tapered.
  8. 8
    Lay them in crescent shape on the baking tray, and bake them for 8–10 minutes until they are a light golden brown.
  9. 9
    Immediately after baking, dip the Kipferl into a mixture of icing sugar and vanilla sugar. Try some—they are delicious while still warm!
  10. 10
    Leave the rest out overnight, and then store them in an airtight tin.
Category
Desserts
Method
Baking

Recipe Attribution

Wikibooks Cookbook
en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cookbook:Vanillekipferl_(Almond_Crescent_Cookies)