In case there is somebody asking me someday (whenever I am famous… haha) “What is your signature bake for Christmas” I guess I will have to say these Vanillekipferl aka. Vanilla Crescent Cookies are the ones! Definitely on top of my list. My cinnamon stars would make only second even though they are also really nice ;)
I am baking these Vanillekipferl aka. Vanilla Crescents for a quite a while now, though I’m still young of course ;) And so far they always turned out really nice – no disasters with the dough or anything else. Can’t say that for other bakes I make more often. There is always the chance of something going wrong, even though you are basically doing everything like usual… but these here – never failed. That’s why I like them a lot! And friends and family like them too – which makes it even better.
BUT be careful when baking them – the baked Kipferl break easily when taken out of the oven – so let them rest for some time, so you can touch them without turning them into vanilla cookie dust. But don’t wait too long, or the coating won’t stick well on the Kipferl… with the second batch you will probably have the perfect timing already – it’s easy.
Note: I am normally baking a big variety of cookies for Christmas – that’s why I prepare different doughs at the same time. Even though the recipe is asking for one hour to store it in the fridge, it is ok to store the dough longer if you don’t have the time to finish the cookies right away (even the next day is OK).
To get these two recipes simply click on the corresponding picture (or tap if you are on your mobile).
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
(about 50 pieces)
For the Kipferl:
1/2 cup (50g) ground almonds
1/2 cup (50g) ground hazelnuts
2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (175g) butter, softened
1/2 cup (100g) sugar
2 tbsp. vanilla sugar
1 egg yolk
For the sugar coating:
1/4 cup (50g) sugar
2 tbsp. confectioners’ sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla sugar
(ca.50 Stück)
Für die Kipferl:
50g gemahlene Mandeln
50g gemahlene Haselnüsse
250g Mehl (Type 405)
175g weiche Butter
100g Zucker
2 EL Vanillezucker
1 Eigelb
Zum Wälzen:
50g Zucker
2 EL Puderzucker
1 EL Vanillezucker
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. In a medium bowl mix ground almonds and hazelnuts together with the flour. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl beat butter with sugar, vanilla sugar and egg yolk until light and fluffy. Add the flour-nuts mix and knead until you get a nice smooth dough (best with your hands). Wrap in plastic wrap and let rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
3. Preheat the oven to 390°F (200°C). Line two baking sheets with baking parchment. Divide the dough into three pieces and form every piece of dough into a roll with a diameter of 0.8 inches (2cm). Cut the dough rolls into pieces with a length of 1.2 inches (3cm) and form little kipfel (croissants). Place them on the baking sheets, make sure to leave enough space in between the Kipferl – they tend to spread a bit. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 8-10 minutes. The Kipferl should not be too soft when you touch them, but make sure the tips are not too dark.
4. Mix the sugar with confectioners’ sugar and vanilla sugar. Roll the slightly cooled Kipferl carefully (they break easily) in the sugar mix – they should be covered completely. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Store in an airtight tin box without any other Christmas cookies.
1. In einer Schüssel die gemahlenen Mandeln mit den gemahlenen Haselnüssen (sollten sie nicht fein genug sein, noch einmal kurz im Mixer zermahlen) und dem Mehl vermischen. Zur Seite stellen.
2. Butter mit Zucker, Vanillezucker und dem Eigelb schaumig schlagen. Mehl-Nuss-Mischung zugeben und alles zu einem glatten Teig verkneten (am besten mit den Händen). In Klarsichtfolie wickeln und mindestens 1 Stunde im Kühlschrank ruhen lassen.
3. Den Ofen auf 200°C (390°F) Ober-/Unterhitze vorheizen. Zwei Backbleche mit Backpapier auslegen. Den Teig in drei Portionen teilen und jeweils zu einer Rolle mit einem Durchmesser von 2cm (0.8 inch) formen. Die Teigrollen in 3cm (1.2 inch) lange Stücke schneiden und diese zu Hörnchen biegen und mit etwas Abstand auf die Bleche legen, die Kipferl laufen beim Backen noch etwas auseinander. Auf der mittleren Schiene des Ofens etwa 8-10 Minuten backen. Die Kipferl dürfen nicht mehr allzu weich sein, die Enden sollten aber auch nicht zu dunkel werden.
4. Den Zucker mit Puderzucker und Vanillezucker mischen. Die nur leicht abgekühlten Kipferl vorsichtig darin wälzen und auf einem Gitter vollkommen abkühlen lassen. Die Kipferl in einer gut schließenden Blechdose aufbewahren. Nicht mit anderen Plätzchensorten zusammen lagern.
I know… you’re not supposed to play with your food, but for pictures, I sometimes try to do new stuff. That’s why some of my Christmas cookies here were transformed into a winter wonderland for some kids to play in the snow*. Normally you would use those little figures from Noch** for dioramas for small trains, but they also work as a decoration for food… as you can see ;)
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
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Vanillekipferl aka. Vanilla Crescent Cookies
- Prep Time: 40m
- Cook Time: 10m
- Total Time: 2h
- Yield: 50 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Cuisine: German
Description
Traditional Christmas Bake in Germany: Vanillekipferl. The dough is made with tasty nuts and everything is covered with a vanilla sugar coating. Delicious!
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
Enjoy baking!
Links marked with an asterisk (*) are affiliate links (advertising/Werbung) to Amazon Germany. If you click on one of those links and buy something via this link, I will get a commission for that sale. The price of whatever you buy is not affected in any way by this. Links marked with two asterisks (**) leads you to the website that produces the figures – that’s why this has to be declared as advertising/Werbung here in Germany.
They look great! Would it be possible to use other nuts? For example walnuts?
They look so delicious! I’ve never heard of this type of cookie before; I’ll have to test them out!
I just finished baking and mine did not come out very good. The dough was very crumbly and would not roll. I followed the recipe exactly and chilled longer than recommended. Not sure what went wrong. Any advice? So disappointed.
Hi Grace,
sorry to hear it did not work out for you.
Leaving the dough longer in the fridge will not make it easier to work with – that is just for keeping the dough from spreading too much while baking. The dough should be fine to work with, if you warm it a bit with your hands.
What else you can do – let it cool down a bit, then make the cookies while the dough is easier to handle, then chill again for the “not spreading in the oven”.
Cheers,
Marc
Hi Marc,
I made these cookies for Orthodox Christmas and they turned out perfect! I followed the recipe strictly. I usually tend to change things on the go every time I bake, but not this time. They melt in your mouth, they have a perfect amount of sugar, and my guests loved these the most, as there were 5 more other kinds of cookies.
Wishing you all the best in New Year!
P.S. I can send you the photo if you would like to see the cookies ;)
Mila :)
Hi Mila!
Would love to see how they turned out! Happy you liked them :)
Cheers and all the best!
Marc
Here’s the link: http://www.coolinarika.com/slika/2612211/
I also translated this recipe to Serbian language and mentioned your website, hope you don’t mind. They are sooo yummmy, that I had to share it
Hi Marc,
Vanille Kipferl are my favourite!!! :-)) One observation in the German recipe – there you have a typo – you say ..”roll it into 3m long…it should be 3 cm if I´m not totally mistaken. Unless of course you want to make a giant Kipferl ;-)) – then by all means give me a shout and I´ll help you eat it.
I really like you Blog and I totally agree with you – Baking mixtures are NOT for real bakers!
Keep up the good baking!
All the best !
Ange
haha… thx for telling me! 3m would be really a bit too big – even if you love the kipferl ;)
Corrected it. Thxs!
Cheers,
Marc