VANILLEKIPFERL – GERMAN VANILLA ALMOND CRESCENT COOKIES
“Vanillekipferl” are delicate and buttery Christmas Cookies made with ground nuts, dusted in vanilla- scented icing sugar and shaped into little “Kipferl” which translates to “crescent” or “croissant” in English.
They are a German classic Christmas treat and my mom’s favourite one. My Oma (my German grandmother) bakes them not only for Christmas but also for her birthday every year. One cookie for each year of her life! Some things just get better with age;)
Making Christmas cookies or “Plätzchen”- what they are called in German is something very important to my Oma. Even in her eighties now, she still makes up to 20 different types of Christmas cookies over the weeks leading up to Christmas. My grandfather helps her devotedly by decorating and organizing them in beautiful cookie tins.
Getting “Plätzchen” from the hidden corner of the back room and going through all the tins is probably one my fondest childhood memories and felt like going on a treasure hunt following the irresistible smell of Christmas cookies.
TIPS TO MAKE THE PERFECT VANILLEKIPFERL
Use a kitchen scale if you can, to weigh your ingredients rather than measuring them in cups. This will ensure accurate ingredients and will result in a great end product.
Use high quality ingredients. These cookies have a high butter content. This gives them the irresistible melt-in-your-mouth consistency. I use organic grass-fed unsalted butter to ensure the best taste possible.
Make sure to get real Vanilla bean sugar instead of imitation vanilla sugar. Vanilla sugar is a staple in most German households. If you don’t have access to it, you can make homemade Vanilla sugar from scratch by following my blogpost.
For this recipe you can use almond, hazelnut or walnut flour.
If you don’t have access to almond flour, you can easily make your own by placing whole, shelled nuts in a food processor and grinding them into flour. I prefer using shelled almonds, but you can also use unshelled ones. It will make your cookies a little darker and changes the flavour slightly.
It does take some practice to shape the little crescents, but it will be so worth it. So don’t give up! No matter the shape they will still be delicious.
Try to make the cookies roughly the same size to ensure even baking.
Store Vanillekipferl in a cold and dry place, preferably a cookie tin and they will last several weeks.
“Vanillekipferl” are usually rather small cookies made for Christmas, but you can make big ones instead and enjoy them as year round treat.
INGREDIENTS
For the cookie dough:
280 g all-purpose flour
210 g unsalted butter, room temp.
100 g ground almonds
70 g icing sugar
To dust the cookies:
75 g icing sugar
25 g vanilla sugar
TOOLS YOU WILL NEED
kitchen scale
mixing bowl
fine mesh strainer or flour sifter
baking sheets
parchment paper
INSTRUCTIONS
Combine unsalted butter, flour, almond flour and icing sugar in your mixing bowl.
Knead all the ingredients into a smooth dough.
Wrap the dough with some Saran wrap and place in the fridge for at least an hour.
Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C) and line 1-2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Shape cookies from chilled dough by rolling a small piece of dough between your palms into a ball. Roll it into a log shape with tapered ends and bend them into a crescent. The warmth of your hands will help shape the dough into cookies, try to prevent the dough from getting too warm to avoid your cookies from melting.
Place Vanillekipferl 1 inch apart on your baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes until they are light golden brown in colour and smell delicious.
Mix icing sugar and Vanilla sugar in a small bowl.
Dust Vanillekipferl 5-7 minutes after they came out of the oven.
Store in a cookie tin for 3-4 weeks in a dry and cool place or enjoy right away with your loved ones!
VANILLEKIPFERL RECIPE – GERMAN VANILLA ALMOND CRESCENT COOKIES
by Julia
“Vanillekipferl” are delicate and buttery German Christmas Cookies made with ground almonds, dusted in vanilla- scented icing sugar and shaped into little “Kipferl” which translates to “crescent” or “croissant” in English. They are easy to make and a must have cookie for your selection of homemade Christmas cookies!
PREP : 20 minutes WAIT : 60 minutes BAKE : 12-15 minutes
YIELD : 40-50 cookies
INGREDIENTS
For the cookie dough:
280 g all-purpose flour
210 g unsalted butter, room temp.
100 g ground almonds
70 g icing sugar
To dust the cookies:
75 g icing sugar
25 g vanilla sugar
INSTRUCTIONS
Combine unsalted butter, flour, almond flour and icing sugar in your mixing bowl.
Knead all the ingredients into a smooth dough.
Wrap the dough with some Saran wrap and place in the fridge for at least an hour.
Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C) and line 1-2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Shape cookies from chilled dough by rolling a small piece of dough between your palms into a ball. Roll it into a log shape with tapered ends and bend them into a crescent. The warmth of your hands will help shape the dough into cookies, try to prevent the dough from getting too warm to avoid your cookies from melting.
Place Vanillekipferl 1 inch apart on your baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes until they are light golden brown in colour and smell delicious.
Mix icing sugar and homemade Vanilla sugar (or store bought) in a small bowl.
Dust “Vanillekipferl” 5-7 minutes after they came out of the oven.
Store in a cookie tin for 3-4 weeks in a dry and cool place or enjoy right away with your loved ones!