Vanillekipferl
Vanillekipferl: Viennese almond crescents rolled in vanilla sugar
No Austrian Christmas cookie tin is complete without Vanillekipferl, the pale little crescents that melt on the tongue; Viennese grandmothers bake them by the hundred in early December, and they are just as loved over the border in Bavaria. The dough is short and rich with butter and ground almonds, and the crescents are rolled in vanilla sugar while still warm so it sticks. The common mistake is overbaking: they should stay pale with only the tips turning golden, or they lose their tender, sandy texture. Chef's tip: chill the dough well and shape it with cool hands; warm dough cracks and the crescents spread in the oven.
- Total time
- 42 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 20
Ingredients
For the dough
For rolling
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Fresh ingredients (2)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Rub the 7 ½ oz plain flour, 2 ½ oz ground almonds, 1 ¾ oz icing sugar, 1 pinch salt and 6 oz cold unsalted butter together with your fingertips until like breadcrumbs. Add the 2 egg yolks and ½ vanilla pod seeds and knead quickly into a smooth dough. Wrap and chill for at least 1 hour.
10 minStep 2: Heat the oven to 350°F (325°F fan) and line two trays. Mix the 2 ⅞ oz icing sugar and 2 tbsp vanilla sugar in a wide bowl.
5 minStep 3: Pinch off 10 g pieces, roll each into a 6 cm sausage with slightly thinner ends and bend into a crescent on the tray.
15 minStep 4: Bake one tray at a time for 10–12 minutes until the tips are just turning golden but the crescents are still pale.
12 minStep 5: Leave 2 minutes, then while still warm and fragile roll them gently in the vanilla-sugar mixture. Cool completely and store in a tin for up to 3 weeks.
5 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 150 kcal
- Protein
- 2 g
- Carbs
- 14 g
- Fat
- 10 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does vanillekipferl take?
- About 42 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 12 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 20 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of ground almonds?
- Ground cashews, same amount.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Moist banana bread
The blacker the bananas, the better the loaf. This one is mixed in a single bowl with melted butter and a little brown sugar, so it's soft, deeply banana-y and keeps well for days.
American
Ma'amoul
Ma'amoul are delicate shortbread-like pastries made for Eid and Easter across the Middle East. A soft, rose-scented butter dough is wrapped around a filling of dates, walnuts, almonds and pistachios cooked with cinnamon, marked with a fork, baked pale and dusted with icing sugar. Makes 35; they keep well in a tin.
Tarte au sucre lilloise
In Lille and across the Nord, a sugar tart is not pastry at all but a flat round of soft brioche dough, dimpled and covered with brown cassonade sugar, butter and a little egg and cream, which bakes into a sticky, caramelised top over a fluffy base. Families buy it from the boulangerie for Sunday breakfast and goûter, or bake one when guests come for coffee. The Nord's own beet sugar, vergeoise, gives it a deep, almost molasses flavour; soft dark brown sugar is the closest swap. Chef's tip: press deep dimples into the risen dough with your fingertips before adding the topping; the sugar and cream collect in them and bake into little pools of caramel.
French