Baking Vienna, Austria Romania Austria-Hungary (1867–1918)

Vanillekipferl (Vanilla Crescent Cookies)

Name: Vanillekipferl (Vanilla Crescent Cookies)
Yield: about 40 cookies
Cuisine: Austria, Romania
Ingredients: 200 g all-purpose flour; 70 g ground walnuts or almonds; 50 g powdered sugar; a pinch of salt; 150 g cold butter, cubed; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 100 g powdered sugar, for rolling; seeds of 1 vanilla pod, or 2 tsp vanilla extract

Also called vanilla crescents, Vanillekipferln, cornulețe cu vanilie

Sandy walnut crescent cookies rolled in vanilla sugar while still warm.

Makes: about 40 cookies

Cookies Make ahead

Ingredients

Scale

Pan sizes, times and temperatures in the method are not scaled.

Dough

Vanilla sugar

100 g¾ cup + 1 tbsppowdered sugar, for rolling
seeds of 1 vanilla pod, or 2 tsp vanilla extract

Method

Mix the flour (200 g1⅔ cups), ground walnuts (70 g), powdered sugar (50 g7 tbsp) and salt. Cut in the cold butter (150 g⅔ cup) until the dough just comes together, then add the vanilla extract (1 tsp). Don't overwork it. If it's crumbly, press it firmly; if it's soft, chill 30 minutes.
Heat the oven to 340°F (170°C) and line baking sheets.
Roll small pieces into finger-thick ropes about 2½ inches (6 cm) long, taper the ends and bend them into crescents.
Bake 12 to 14 minutes, just until the bottoms barely color. They should not brown.
Mix the powdered sugar (100 g¾ cup + 1 tbsp) with the vanilla pod seeds. Let the cookies cool 2 minutes, then roll them gently in the vanilla sugar; they are very fragile. Roll again when completely cool.

Notes

Texture. They should shatter when bitten. Chewy means too much liquid or too long in the oven.
Vanilla sugar is best made ahead: bury a split vanilla pod in a jar of powdered sugar for a week.
Storage. In tins, for weeks.