Buttery, vanilla-infused and delicately crumbly with a melt-in-your-mouth texture, these Austrian Vanillekipferl cookies will thoroughly win you over!
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!
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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).
Stored in an airtight container in a cool place, these cookies will keep for several weeks.
Enjoy!
Vanillekipferl (Austrian Vanilla Crescent Cookies)
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.
Katie says
I was asked to make these for a baby shower on Saturday as it was something that my friends mum (who is no longer here) always made for special occasions. She and the new mum to be have tried to make them but had not succeeded so i was a bit nervous in trying to get them right.
Well it was a huge success! :) they were so happy that i was able to re-create them and have a piece of her mum there on this occasion.
my friend has already put in her order for Christmas as i did such a good job! :)
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, Katie, I’m so happy they were a hit! Thank you very much for the feedback!
Carol Jean Anderson says
Hi this is c Jean.I’ve made these cookies for years. My recipe is over 100 years old!! I’ve always used just vanilla not the Vanilla sugar. I didn’t know they had something called vanilla sugar. I’ve also never used eggs. For the first time I used my mixer to mix the dough and it was perfect.They are so delicious and my grandkids have always called them moon cookies. Thank you so much for the recipe!!!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you so much Carol Jean, I’m thrilled you enjoyed them!
Rochelle says
Thanks for this wonderful recipe. A family friend from Austria told me about these biscuits so I used your recipe to make them. My family loved them and my daughter wants me to make them for her birthday next month!
My question is that although I refrigerated for an hour, by the time I moulded them they had warmed slightly. Would it be helpful to refrigerate again once formed to reduce the mixture spreading whilst baking?
Thanks so very much ;)
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you, Rochelle, I’m so glad everyone enjoyed them! Yes, you can try that but they shouldn’t have spread a lot even so. If they spread a lot it sounds like maybe too much egg yolk was added.
Maria says
I’ve been baking these cookies for 5 years, I’ve tried many recipes, but they always spread a lot! They never look shaped and pretty as they are supposed to. Don’t know what I’m doing wrong :-(
Maria says
Dough has to be cold. I refrigerate my trays, cookies already placed a few minutes before baking and are most likely to preserve shape. It works for most cookies. Hope it helps.
Carol Rogers says
First time making these.
I’ve made Christmas cake, mince pies and cookies for our friends/neighbours for Christmas, saw this recipe through my email, and thought I would give them a try. Absolutely delicious. Hubby, who didn’t want me to make any more cookies, was the first to try, (he’s an old chef, we’re in our 80’s/78). I’ve had to hide them from him.
I didn’t add an egg, the shaping was just fine, I will definitely be making these again.
I would give them a 10++
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
That’s wonderful, Carol, thank you so much and Merry Christmas to your and your family!
Anonymous says
One word to describe this cookies: Delicious!
Rachael says
HI, I’m making these cookies at the moment and added roughly 240g butter (gram conversion) and followed all other ingredients, and the dough was quite soft and not dry and crumbly – I didn’t add the egg yolk. Just wondering if I’ve done something wrong or added too much butter? :/ i ground the walnuts myself to a cup.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
How did they turn out, Rachael?
Rayna Fisher says
Today was a snow day in CT. My 6 yr old daughter and I made these. They turned out prefect. The powdered sugar matched the weather outside.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Wonderful, Rayna, I’m so glad you both enjoyed them, thank you! Stay warm and Merry Christmas!
MB says
Always make sure the butter is cold. Work the dough fast so it doesn’t get to warm. Then wrap it and put it in fridge. Get already grounded nuts. If you ground them yourself you might have bigger pieces in between, that’s not good. When you take the dough out of the fridge, cut off a small piece for shaping some cookies and put the other dough back in the fridge until you are ready to shape more cookies. It’s important that the dough stays cold. I’m from Austria and I make these cookies since 30 years. They always turn out great. Enjoy 😄
Simone says
German here! Great and simple recipe. They taste even better after a few days (if there are any left).
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you so much, Simone! :)
Louise says
Thank you so much for writing/posting this recipe! My husband is Austrian – and these are his favorite Christmas cookies – so I wanted to make them for him as a surprise, but as an American and non-German speaker was struggling to locate an authentic recipe I could read. These were literally perfect – I used 1 egg for ease of working the dough, and the texture was still delicious. Really can’t thank you enough! This will be a recipe we turn to many times.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, Louise, I’m so glad you both enjoyed them, thank you!
Sandra says
Can you use a dough hook attachment to knead this dough, or is that not recommended?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Sandra, you can definitely give it a try.
Debbie says
I used my stand mixer with the paddle attachment and the dough was perfect.
MB says
Yes, you can. It’s even recommended because in that way the dough doesn’t get to warm while kneading.
Monique says
It was so interesting to discover the history of this cookie! I’ve been making something very similar for years (actually decades) but with pecans, no vanilla, and rolled in plain powdered sugar. They are definitely a family and friend favorite—a “must” for the holiday season! I had originally discovered the recipe in a collection called “Five-Star Favorites: Recipes From Friends of Mamie and Ike” (yes, the Eisenhowers) which has recipes by their celebrity friends of the mid-20th century. The recipe for Pecan Crescents was attributed to the ambassador to Belgium, but now I know the real story! The proportions are just slightly different–a lot more nuts and a lot less sugar in the cookie, but probably end up with more sugar on the outside so overall it’s probably about the same: 2-1/4 c. flour, 1 c. unsalted* butter, 1-1/2 c. finely chopped pecans (I start with whole or halves and then use food processor, as they have better flavor than pre-chopped), 1/4 c. sugar, 1/2 t. salt*, 1/4 t. baking powder, confectioner’s sugar (for rolling the cookies in after they have cooled, probably about half a bag; some people like it simply without the confectioner’s sugar, as a more savory option). Oven temp and cooking time–350 degrees for 12-15 min.–are the same as for Vanillekipferl recipe here. And no eggs. No vanilla either, but the flavor of the pecans is enough. Simply the best!!!
*I usually use salted butter and then cut back slightly on the salt. I’ve tried it with unsalted butter and then adding salt, but I must like extra salt because I prefer it with salted butter!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m glad you enjoyed the read, Monique! The cookbook you mentioned sounds super fun and I just ordered a copy – thank you! :)
Jyl says
This recipe worked wonderfully using one egg yolk. I measured/weighed the ingredients very carefully. I had the easiest time ever shaping pretzels. They were perfect, with no spreading during baking. I hope I am as successful in subsequent endeavors using this recipe.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, Jyl, thank you so much for the feedback!