Original Austrian recipe: Vanillekipferln or Kripferln (crescent) are traditional Austrian Christmas vanilla crescent cookies, also found in Germany and South Tyrol. They are made with flour, butter, almonds, vanilla, and once baked, they are dusted with powdered sugar, a real treat. They are a must for Christmas, I recommend making a nice tray of them and accompanying them with other traditional Christmas cookies like Chocolate crinkle cookies or the more classic gingerbread men (Gingerbread), you will make an amazing impression!
During a trip to Vienna, I stumbled upon these crumbly and fragrant cookies. I immediately bought a book of Austrian sweet and savory recipes, a booklet that has yellowed over the years but has brought me much satisfaction, one of which is undoubtedly the Vanillekipferln cookies. A butter and almond cookie that melts in your mouth, ideal at any time of the day. I’m sure you’ll love them!
In my Christmas recipes you will find many other sweet ideas to try for these holiday seasons, don’t miss out on:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Rest time: 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 40 cookies
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Winter
- Energy 510.32 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 41.82 (g) of which sugars 14.27 (g)
- Proteins 8.15 (g)
- Fat 34.93 (g) of which saturated 17.03 (g)of which unsaturated 9.51 (g)
- Fibers 2.37 (g)
- Sodium 4.66 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 100 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
Makes about 40 cookies.
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 0.88 cups butter
- 3/4 cup blanched almonds (chopped)
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 vanilla (pod, extract, or vanilla sugar)
- 1 tbsp powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla powdered sugar
Tools
- Pastry Board
- Baking Sheet
Recipe
On a pastry board, mix the flour with the sugar and chopped almonds. Add the butter cut into pieces, the vanilla (seeds from a pod or a packet of vanilla sugar or extract), and an egg yolk. Quickly work the dough until you form a ball, then let it rest in the fridge for 30 minutes, covered with plastic wrap.
After the resting time, take the dough and break off 1/2 oz balls (each about 0.5 oz). Roll each into a log approximately 4.5 inches long and curve them to form small croissants (the ends should be thinner than the middle of the cookie).
Place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake in a preheated oven at 350°F for 12-15 minutes depending on your oven, they should appear a light golden color.
Once the vanillekipferln are baked, let them cool and dust directly in the tray with powdered sugar mixed with vanilla powdered sugar.
Your vanillekipferln are ready, now you can enjoy these Austrian cookies throughout the Christmas holidays, a real delight to savor at any time of the day. Crumbly and vanilla-scented, they are a unique treat!
Storage and Tips
Storage: the vanillekipferln can be stored in a tin box for a week or more. It’s possible to freeze the dough ball or the prepared crescents before baking.
Tips: I preferred to reduce the sugar in the dough because I generously dusted them with powdered sugar mixed with vanilla sugar. If you prefer to dust them less, you can increase the sugar in the dough by about 10 grams.
You can also dust them with granulated sugar mixed with vanilla sugar.
When forming the crescents, try to give the ends a more pointed shape to replicate the classic croissant shape.
