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Home » Disclosure » Vanillekipferl (Austrian Vanilla Crescent Cookies)

Vanillekipferl (Austrian Vanilla Crescent Cookies)

October 26, 2017 by Kimberly Killebrew · 86 Comments

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Buttery, vanilla-infused and delicately crumbly with a melt-in-your-mouth texture, these Austrian Vanillekipferl cookies will thoroughly win you over!

vanillekipferl recipe cookies austrian polish german vanilla christmas holidays nuts almonds walnuts hazelnuts traditional authentic shortbread

Popular throughout Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary, these cookies are a popular favorite, especially at Christmastime, though enjoyed year-round and found in virtually every Viennese coffee house.

Growing up in Germany, we made these every year at Christmas along with several other traditional German Christmas goodies.  Christmas without Vanillekipferl is practically unthinkable!

Vanillekipferl owe their melt-in-your-mouth texture to the high butter content and the absence of egg.  They’re a shortbread cookie made with the addition of nuts and a generous dusting of vanilla sugar, which you can either buy ready made or easily make it yourself (see further below).

Though popular throughout much of Europe, Vanillekipferl originated in Vienna, Austria around 400 years ago when, in celebration of a victory over the Ottoman Turks, the locals created this pastry in the shape of the crescent moon (“kipferl”) found on the Turkish banner.

In the ongoing wars with the Turks, the Austrians came up with additional crescent-shaped pastries, the most famous of which eventually made its way to France:  The croissant.  (Yes, we owe the croissant to none other than Austria!)

Traditionally Vanillekipferl are made with ground walnuts which result in a moister texture, but ground almonds or hazelnuts can also be used.  Ground blanched almonds will result in a light-colored cookie whereas walnuts and hazelnuts will result in a darker, speckled cookie.  They’re all delicious – choose according to your preference!

As already mentioned, these are shortbread cookies and though you’ll find some recipes that call for eggs, eggs are not traditionally included.  Though adding an egg will make the dough easier to work with (softer and more pliable), resist the temptation to do so because you’ll find that working through the drier, flakier shortbread dough is more than worth it in the end in order to experience that heavenly Vanillekipferl melting in your mouth!

vanillekipferl cookies recipe austrian polish german vanilla christmas holidays nuts almonds walnuts hazelnuts traditional authentic shortbread
© Gyuszko | Dreamstime

Let’s get started!

Place all of the ingredients in a large bowl and knead until thoroughly combined.  The dough will be fairly dry and flaky.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Shape the dough into a log and wrap with plastic wrap.  Chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

Cut off pieces of the dough to shape them into crescents.  It’s usually easiest to shape them into crescents on the cookie sheet but some people find it easier to shape them in their hands.  Do whichever works for you.

Place the cookies a non-stick or parchment-lined cookie sheet.  Bake on the middle rack for 12-15 minutes (depending on the size of the crescents) or until the edges begin to turn golden.

Let the cookies sit for one minute and then use a sifter to dust them with the vanilla-powdered sugar while they’re still hot.  Let the cookies cool completely and then give them a second dusting.

You can buy Vanilla Sugar HERE.

OR:

HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN VANILLA SUGAR:  Simply place vanilla beans in a container or ziploc bag of white granulated sugar.  Seal shut and let it sit a few weeks, shaking occasionally.  Discard the vanilla beans – your vanilla sugar is ready to use!  How many vanilla beans you use depends on how strong you want the flavor and how much sugar you’re making.  I make my own homemade vanilla extract and use those beans to make sugar – it’s a great way to make double use of the beans (I explain it further in the vanilla extract post).

vanillekipferl cookies recipe austrian polish german vanilla christmas holidays nuts almonds walnuts hazelnuts traditional authentic shortbread

Stored in an airtight container in a cool place, these cookies will keep for several weeks.

Enjoy!

vanillekipferl cookies recipe austrian polish german vanilla christmas holidays nuts almonds walnuts hazelnuts traditional authentic shortbread

Vanillekipferl (Austrian Vanilla Crescent Cookies)

Kimberly Killebrew
Popular throughout Europe, these shortbread cookies are of Austrian origin and their vanilla-infused flavor and melt-in-your-mouth texture are sure to win you over!
Print Recipe
4.94 from 29 votes
Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 12 mins
Total Time 27 mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine Austrian, German
Servings 40 cookies
Calories 94 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup unsalted butter , softened at room temperature
  • 2 large egg yolks (optional; it does make the otherwise dry/crumbly dough much easier to work with but the cookies won't have quite the same melt-in-your-mouth texture *see Note)
  • 4 ounces (about 1 cup) ground walnuts, almonds or hazelnuts (see blog post for more info)
  • 1 package (1 1/2 teaspoons) vanilla sugar
  • (see pictured instructions in post on how to make your own vanilla sugar)
  • 3/4 cup powdered sugar (aka confectioner sugar)
  • small pinch of salt
  • For Dusting:
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 packet (1 1/2 teaspoons) vanilla sugar

Instructions
 

  • Place all of the ingredients in a large bowl and knead until thoroughly combined.  Unless you're using the egg yolks the dough will be pretty dry and flaky, like shortbread cookie dough.  Shape the dough into a log and wrap with plastic wrap.  Chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Cut off small pieces of the dough and shape them into crescents.  Place the crescents onto a non-stick or parchment-lined cookie sheet. Bake on the middle rack for 12-15 minutes (depending on the size of the crescents) or until the edges begin to turn golden.
  • Combine the powdered sugar and vanilla sugar.  Let the cookies sit for one minute and then use a sifter to dust them with the vanilla-powdered sugar while they're still hot. Let the cookies cool completely and then give them a second dusting.
  • Stored in an airtight container in a cool place, these cookies will keep for several weeks.

Notes

Vanillekipferl are traditionally shortbread cookies, meaning they're made with a high butter content and generally without the addition of egg.  You'll find some recipes that call for eggs and as many or more that do not (especially ones in German).  It's up to personal preference.  Though adding an egg yolk or two will make the dough much easier to work with (softer and more pliable), I prefer the texture of Vanillekipferl made without eggs.  The dough is very challenging to work with but the result in my opinion is far superior - the crumb is lighter, looser and crumbly with a wonderful melt-in-your-moth texture.  

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 94kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 40mg | Potassium: 8mg | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 140IU | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 0.4mg
Keyword Vanillekipferl
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86 Comments →

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86 Responses

  1. Gigi Pravda says

    December 18, 2021 at 9:16 am

    Omg! I am so grateful to have the option to go metric!
    Even though I live in the US, I always bake by weight and through some unfortunate reshuffling, my Oma’s recipe is buried in the garage somewhere.
    I have all my doughs ready for bake day and then as I was organizing the mailing list, I realized Oh No, I don’t have Kipferl in my batch and my Austrian cousin in L.A. will not know it is Christmas without them. And the Linzers, of course!

    Thanks for saving the day!

    Reply
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kimberly killebrew the daring gourmet

Welcome!  I’m Kimberly and I share delicious originals, revitalized classics and authentic dishes from around the world.  Come travel the world through your taste buds!

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