Buttery, vanilla-infused and delicately crumbly with an almost melt-in-your-mouth texture, these Austrian vanilla crescent cookies will thoroughly win you over! A traditional Vanillekipferl recipe, the way my Oma and Mutti made them!
For more favorite Austrian and German Christmas cookies be sure to try our Pfeffernüsse, Zimtsterne, Springerle, and Speculoos!
What Are Vanillekipferl?
Vanillekipferl are vanilla-flavored crescent-shaped shortbread cookies made with ground nuts – traditionally walnuts but also hazelnuts or almonds – and generously dusted with vanilla sugar. They owe their delicately crumbly, melt-in-your-mouth texture to the high butter content and the absence of egg. Popular throughout Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary, these cookies are enjoyed year-round and can be found in virtually every Viennese coffee house. But these cookies are especially popular at Christmastime. I have fond memories of munching on these crumbly cookies while walking around the Vienna Christmas market as a child and then later on as an adult. The experience of savoring traditional Austrian pastries on location in that magical Christmas atmosphere is one that’s not to be missed if you ever get the chance.
Growing up in Germany, we made these every year at Christmas along with our other favorite traditional Christmas goodies. Christmas in Germany and Austria without Vanillekipferl is practically unthinkable! And I’ve kept that tradition going since moving to the United States.
Where Did They Originate?
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 where it was popularized. Any guesses? 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 ground walnuts and hazelnuts will result in a darker, speckled cookie. They’re all delicious – take your pick!
As already mentioned, these are shortbread cookies and as such no eggs are included (think traditional Scottish shortbread). And though you’ll find some Vanillekipferl recipes that call for eggs, eggs are not traditionally included. Yes, adding an egg will make the dough easier to work with (it’s softer and more pliable), but resist the temptation to do so because you’ll find that working through the drier, flakier shortbread dough is more than worth it in order to experience that heavenly, delicately crumbly, melt-in-your-mouth texture!
Tips for Making Vanillekipferl
- Almond meal comes both blanched and non-blanched and you can use either. If you prefer “white” vanillekipferl use the former, if you like them speckled, use the latter.
- Traditional Vanillekipferl are made without eggs. Similar to Heidesand and Scottish shortbread, Vanillekipferl are a shortbread-like cookie that should have a very delicate, crumbly, almost melt-in-your-mouth texture. Adding eggs will make the dough easier to work with (there is something of a learning curve to this kind of cookie dough), something to consider if you’re a beginning baker. Otherwise I strongly recommend omitting the eggs so you can enjoy the fabulous texture of these cookies.
- If you can splurge, use the best butter you can find. These cookies are made with few and simple ingredients and so quality is key.
- Don’t take out all of the dough from the refrigerator at once; depending on how quickly you work, take out half or a third of the dough at a time to form the crescents while the remaining dough stays cold in the fridge.
- Make sure the crescents are uniform in size so that they bake evenly.
- Avoid making the ends of the crescents too skinny or they may burn during baking.
- Some bakers roll the cooled crescents in a bowl of confectioner’s sugar while others lay them out and use a sifter to dust them. This is purely a matter of personal preference. While they’ll initially look prettier with a dusting, once they’re stacked in the storage tin it won’t matter.
- The flavor of Vanillekipferl improves with time. As good as they are fresh out of the oven, keep them stored in an airtight tin/container for a few days before eating them to experience the improvement in flavor. Stored properly, Vanillekipferl will keep for up to a month. However, if you use eggs they will only keep for up to one week.
Vanillekipferl Recipe
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.
Take some of the dough out of the fridge, leaving the remaining dough wrapped in the fridge to stay cold. Cut off small pieces of the dough and 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. Shape them into uniform sizes so they bake evenly.
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.
Combine the powdered sugar and the vanilla sugar. You can buy vanilla sugar here.
Or you can make your own vanilla sugar. To make vanilla sugar you 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 my homemade vanilla extract post).
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.
Enjoy!
For more traditional Austrian and German Christmas favorites be sure to try our:
- Gugelhupf
- Zimtsterne
- Pfeffernüsse
- Lebkuchen
- Stollen
- Apfelstrudel
- Springerle
- Kokosmakronen
- Printen
- Speculoos
- Magenbrot
- Bethmännchen
- Heidesand
- Marzipan
Vanillekipferl (Austrian Vanilla Crescent Cookies)
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup unsalted butter , softened at room temperature
- 2 large egg yolks (optional but not recommended) (egg is not traditional but for beginning bakers makes the dough easier to work with; see Note)
- 4 ounces (about 1 cup) ground walnuts, almonds or hazelnuts
- 1 packet vanilla sugar (about 1 1/2 teaspoons)
- (see pictured instructions in post on how to make your own vanilla sugar)
- 3/4 cup powdered/confectioner sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- For Dusting:
- 1/2 cup powdered/confectioner sugar
- 1 packet vanilla sugar (about 1 1/2 teaspoons)
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.Take some of the dough out of the fridge, leaving the remaining dough wrapped in the fridge to stay cold. Cut off small pieces of the dough and shape them into crescents. Shape them into uniform sizes so they bake evenly. 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.Store the cookies in an airtight container in a cool place (not the fridge) and these cookies will keep for 3-4 weeks (1 week if using egg).
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet October 26, 2017
Toby Williams says
Thank you very much for giving me the recipe that my mother did not leave me. I lived in Vienna most of my life before living in Africa for 20 years thereon. Looking at the Vanillekipferl, I can almost smell the vanilla;my mother used to place the Kipferl in jar with Vanilla sticks just to preserve the flavour. What a pleasure to be able to now hopefully bake these for the family.
Gertrude Singer says
Hi Toby, I have a similar experience, living in Florida since 25 years. Now I am 70. I cook daily but hardly ever bake. I found this recipe which is similar to my Donauland Kochbuch recipe. I will prepare some this week, for the first time since I am here. Should not have forgotten it.
Elaine Woolf says
Well I’m hoping that you’re still online to see my comments. I made the original recipe That you posted, without eggs It was perfect I had to use my hands to mix everything as it should be and I made sure everything was very well mixed before I made the logs of cookies to put into the refrigerator.
My husband is first generation here in United States
His family had to leave Vienna because of Hitler
The best memories that he had wiere his Tanta Elsa’s Kipferl
Success
Later when we found one of his grandmother’s sisters that did survive from Austria her recipe was very close to yours in fact perfectly so
and GuessWhat no eggs
The difference was how they ground the nuts sometimes there is a larger pieces but it was a perfect recipe I want to thank you again it made him very very happy and perfection I now make them all the time.
I am now I’m going to make my own vanilla extract thanks to you and my vanilla sugar which will only make them more perfect.
I am happy to send you a photo copy of the original recipe If my husband will allow 🤭😁 but from my understanding it was written down for the daughters of this woman to come before I believe the First World War
And that to me is even more amazing so again thank you for your patience to try to pass this on to us I’m writing this because I found you online to see how close his family‘s recipe came to yours amazing exactly
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you so much for your detailed feedback and kind words, Elaine, I really appreciate it :) Yes, a photo copy of that old family recipe would be great, thank you. You can email it to me at daringgourmet@yahoo.com. Thanks again and I’m happy you found my site!
Marta says
I’m wondering whether or not I can freeze the dough for a few days, as I want to make them ahead of time. Before baking should I defrost them and bake for the original 12-15 minutes? Or should I bake from frozen for a bit longer?
Francois says
Awesome recipe! I tried it today – I am missing Austrian Christmas time, and my favorite biscuit – and it brought back amazing memories!
Francois
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Francois, thank you!
Siggy says
Amazing recipe!!! Thank you, this recipe brings me back to my childhood in Germany.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Wonderful, Siggy, thanks so much!
Aleksandra says
Another classic recipe. So glad I’ve found this site. My Oma‘s Vanillekipferl and other Kipferl type cookies also have no eggs. A tricker dough to shape, light fingers are needed, and the reward is a wonderfully textured cookie. Danke Kimberly.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you, Aleksandra, I’m so glad you found us too and as always I appreciate your feedback! :)
Jade says
Silly question is almond flour the same as ground almonds?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Jade, yes it is but it’s very finely ground almonds.
Jade says
Do you think it is suitable or should I grind my own to make them coarser?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
You don’t want coarsely ground almonds for these cookies, you want very finely ground ones, i.e., “almond flour.” So yes, the store-bought almond flour (some brands call it “almond meal”) is perfect and is what you’ll need for these cookies.
Susan Mehler says
Im glad I came to the comment section! Your printable recipe doesn’t state “unsalted butter”, you may want to update that!
brooke says
I have triple checked the ingredients and the directions but I have followed everything to the letter. Mine are way too dry and basically cutting the log caused half of the cookies to crumble apart and revert to crumbs. This is not the first time I have made vanilla kipferl, living in germany, but it is the first time i tried this recipe as ive never found a recipe with the exact right taste. I really don’t understand. I will try and make some adjustments and get the dough to stay together better.
Zorka says
The recipe is missing 2-3 egg yolks depending on butter and flour quantities
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Not at all, Zorka, Vanillekipferl are shortbread cookies and traditionally do not contain any egg.
Zorka Phillis says
Hi, Im sure sure recipe works but Vanillekipferl are not shortbread cookies they are Austrian Vanilla Crescents. If you search the internet there are many different recipes but most traditional Vanillekipferl recipes have 2 egg yolks. Yesterday your recipe had no eggs, today it says 1 large egg yolk (optional, only if the dough is too frustrating for you to work with. My mother was from Vienna and her recipe was handed down to me and had 2 egg yolks.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Zorka, yes, that’s their name in English, but shortbread cookies describes the type of dough it is and that’s what they are without the inclusion of eggs – shortbread shaped like crescents. Your mother may very well have preferred to includes eggs in her version and there’s nothing wrong with that whatsoever. Some recipes do. You mention that most recipes online include eggs and if you’re doing an online search in English you’re absolutely correct – the vast majority of English recipes for Austrian Vanillekipferl do include eggs. However, if you change your online search to “Vanillekipferl rezept” so that you can search through actual Austrian recipes written in German, you’ll find very different results. The same is true for the Austrian cookbooks I brought back with me from Austria whose Vanillekipferl recipes do not include eggs. I’m not saying that there aren’t any Austrian recipes that contain eggs because there most certainly are. I’m just saying that you’ll find MANY, possibly even the majority, that do not. Also, some of the popular commercially-sold brands of Vanillekipferl are made without eggs (for example, Gaber and Dr. Oetker).
As to what is truly “traditional”, well that term has multiple definitions. I have older family friends in Austria with recipe was handed down from their great grandmothers that doesn’t include eggs. But someone else may have a 19th century recipe that does include them. And so “traditional” can also mean whatever is traditional to YOUR particular family.
In an attempt to mitigate the ongoing debate between those who insist on eggs and those who insist on none I went ahead and included an “optional” egg yolk. But I still recommend trying them without. Vanillekipferl made without eggs are delicately crumbly, with a loose and light crumb that melts in your mouth. Traditionally they were made with walnuts because they have a higher moisture content to help compensate for the lack of egg. Including eggs causes the cookies to compact more, to become more dense, and they lose that wonderful characteristic. But in the end all that matters is that we can all eat what we enjoy and celebrate the beauty of food and food traditions – whatever our particular food traditions may be. And on that I’m sure we can both agree. Kind regards, Kimberly
Stephanie Bebenroth says
Hello dear author. I would have loved to share your recipes on my interest wall. but I decided against it because non of your beautiful images can be crawled. that means, that the only image pinterest finds is the comic cow logo… a shame. just a friendly advise, please make sure you have tagged all of your images on the website, I believe that would also increase your website seo…! :)
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Stephanie, I really don’t understand what you’re referring to – all of my images, when you hover over them, will show a Pinterest “P” and are clickable for sharing on Pinterest. At the bottom of every recipe post are share buttons for other social media also.
Daniele says
Thank you so much for your very prompt and good reply. It makes sense indeed. Anyway I am about to bake those wonderful croissants de lune which I made before a few years ago, as I always like to try different recipes. Best. Daniele
Daniele says
If I use salted butter, is this sufficient or do I still need to add salt ?
Thank you
Daniele
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Daniele, you won’t need to add any additional salt. The trouble though is that the salt content of salted butter varies from brand to brand and you may end up with cookies that are too salty. Using unsalted butter allows you to have full control over the salt content of the baked goods and I recommend sticking to that if at all possible.
Karen says
Hi Kimberly, thank you for sharing this recipe! I’m going to try and make it this year for the holidays! I was wondering if these can be made ahead and frozen? Or can the dough be shaped and frozen and then baked later? Thank you!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Karen, yes on both but I’d go with the latter option of shaping and freezing the unbaked cookies and then baking them fresh.
Carol Pettifer says
I love these cookies what happens if you dont add salt
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Carol, salt is an important ingredient in both savory and sweet foods because it’s not only a powerful flavor enhancer it’s a flavor balancer. In desserts salt intensifies the body’s ability to taste the sweetness of the sugar, enriches the overall flavor, while simultaneously keeping it from seeming cloying. Without the salt the sweetness takes over and the secondary flavors don’t come through. Salt also serves to strengthen the protein in cookie dough, making cookies chewier.
Kimberly P. says
My great-grandmother Schaberg’s recipe is similar but different; our family tradition uses hazelnuts, has less sugar and only granulated, is rolled and cut into halfmoon shapes, and bakes at 275ºF. The finishing touch is to dip the cookies while warm in granulated vanilla sugar. I am looking for a traditional Austrian cookie recipe to take to an event, and yours looks like it will fill the need. I will make it with walnuts.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Kimberly! :) Walnuts are traditional yes, but hazelnuts are also used, as are almonds, and any of those choices are great for these cookies. Happy baking!
Oma says
I’ve just made my fourth batch of these delicious cookies. Finally, a recipe exactly like my German mother’s! Thank you!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, I’m thrilled to hear that, thank you!