Recipe | Vanillekipferl (Vanilla Almond Crescent Cookies)

December 7, 2022

This recipe is part of The Sweetest Season, an annual virtual cookie swap co-hosted by Erin of The Speckled Palate and Susannah of Feast + West. Every year, food bloggers get together to share new holiday cookie recipes to make and give. It’ll be my second year participating because who doesn’t like cookies and supporting a good cause during the holiday season?

Cookies 4 Kids’ Cancer

This year, I am joining them again in raising money for Cookies 4 Kids’ Cancer, which is a recognized 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to funding research for new, innovative, and less-toxic treatments for childhood cancer. Since 2008, Cookies for Kids’ Cancer has granted nearly $18 million to pediatric cancer research in the form of 100+ research grants to leading pediatric cancer centers across the country. From these grants have stemmed 35+ treatments available to kids battling cancer today.

Help us raise money for this important cause! You can donate through the fundraising page.

Another exciting thing is that Cookies for Kids’ Cancer is in a matching window with their friends at OXO, meaning OXO will be matching every dollar raised through the end of 2022, up to $100,000. Whatever money we raise will automatically double on our fundraising page. It’s a win-win!

Now, let’s talk about cookies!

Today I am sharing a recipe for some traditional Christmas cookies that you’ll find in Germany and other German speaking countries. Since I shared the recipe for my family’s German spritz cookies – a must-have for me for the holidays – last year for the Sweetest Exchange, I opted to share my second favorite holiday cookie recipe for Vanillekipferl (vanilla almond crescent cookies) this year. The word “Kipferl” is actually an Austrian word for “crescent”.

They’re relatively easy to make, however, the ground almonds can make the dough a little bit difficult to work with. The trick is to refrigerate the dough first to keep the butter firm. The dough will feel crumbly when you start working with it, but the heat of your hands will soften the dough just enough to make it smooth and easy to bend into the crescent shape. I promise the effort is worth it!

Like the spritz cookies, these cookies are not super-sweet and a bit on the drier, crumblier side, but that’s just how I like them. These are one of my favorite kinds of cookies for the holiday season. (Jon loves them, too.)

Ingredients

100 g (3.5 oz) ground almonds
280 g (9.8 oz) pastry flour
70 g (2.5 oz) sugar
Pinch of salt
200g (7 oz) butter
2 egg yolks
40 g (1.4 oz) vanilla sugar
powdered sugar

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl, combine the salt and the flour. Cut in the cold butter and mix with your hands.
Add the sugar, the eggs, the vanilla sugar, and the ground almonds to the flour mixture. Place the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Use a teaspoon to scoop up enough dough to roll into little balls. Keep working the balls between the palms of your hands until the dough is smooth. Roll the dough balls into 1-inch-long pieces, and bend the pieces into the shape of a crescent. Place on the cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake at 400°F (200°C) for 10-15 minutes. When done, remove the ‘Kipferl’ carefully from the tray.
While still warm, dust the Kipferl with powdered sugar and let cool down.

Vanillekipferl (Vanilla Almond Crescent Cookies)

100 g (3.5 oz) ground almonds
280 g (9.8 oz) pastry or all purpose flour
70 g (2.5 oz) sugar
Pinch of salt
200 g (7 oz) butter
2 egg yolks
40 g (1.4 oz) vanilla sugar
powdered sugar

In a large mixing bowl, combine the salt and the flour. Cut in the cold butter and mix with your hands.
Add the sugar, the eggs, the vanilla sugar, and the ground almonds to the flour mixture. Place the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Use a teaspoon to scoop up enough dough to roll into little balls. Keep working the balls between the palms of your hands until the dough is smooth. Roll the dough balls into 1-inch-long pieces, and bend the pieces into the shape of a crescent. Place on the cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake at 400°F (200°C) for 10-15 minutes. When done, remove the ‘Kipferl’ carefully from the tray.
While still warm, dust the kipferl with powdered sugar and let cool down.

Have a great holiday season and check out the other recipes!

Grateful Kae
December 7, 2022 at 6:04 am

Yum! I’ve definitely had those before, but never made them myself. (As I mentioned yesterday, I come from a German family and grew up in an area with lots of German-rooted people, so these cookies ended up on lots of those mixed Christmas plates that churches sell, etc. :) ) I’ll have to try making these sometime! I love almonds and almond based things.
1. San
  December 8, 2022 at 10:36 am
  
  Oh yay, I am glad you know these… and you should definitely make them yourself sometime. Really easy and so good :)
Suzanne
December 7, 2022 at 9:54 am

These are so cute!

I love how many German cookies use almonds/almond meal as a base. One of my favorite winter cookies (zimtsterne) is also almond-based and so easy and delicious to make. But maybe I will have to try these cookies, too! They sound yummy!
1. San
  December 8, 2022 at 10:35 am
  
  Thank you, Suzanne. I agree, almond-based cookies are really good in any form :)
Meike
December 7, 2022 at 10:00 am

Very much appreciate the ingredient list in grams. We have an ongoing discussion in our kitchen about the absurdities of measuring units in some recipes ;) I have every intention of trying these out this year.
1. San
  December 8, 2022 at 10:35 am
  
  Haha, I weigh everything… what is it with the “volume measurement” nonsense. It’s so inaccurate.
2. Alyssa
  December 15, 2022 at 4:58 pm
  
  I grew up using measuring cups, but made the switch to using a scale once I started baking more frequently and I don’t know that I’ll ever go back (plus, it usually means less dishes!).
Sarah
December 7, 2022 at 11:42 am

I love that you are raising money for Cookies 4 Kids’ Cancer. One of the women currently on the board is a friend of my mom’s, and lost her son to cancer at age 9. She became involved after her son was diagnosed. It’s a truly wonderful organization with a worthy cause.
1. San
  December 8, 2022 at 10:34 am
  
  Thank you, Sarah. Yes, I think it’s a great cause, too.
J
December 8, 2022 at 6:16 am

Those look amazing, and what a great cause! Thank you for both.
1. San
  December 8, 2022 at 10:33 am
  
  Thank you, J :)
Ally Bean
December 8, 2022 at 10:08 am

I saw your photo of these cookies on IG and wanted to get the recipe. Thanks for sharing it here. A question though, where do you get or how do you make ground almonds?
1. San
  December 8, 2022 at 10:33 am
  
  Trader Joe’s has Almond Meal (that’s what I used). It’s in the baking section. You can also just use a food processor to grind almonds. You won’t regret making these :)
  1. Ally Bean
    December 10, 2022 at 5:14 am
    
    Thanks. I’ll look for the Almond Meal at TJ.
Tobia | craftaliciousme
December 8, 2022 at 10:53 pm

For some reason I find them hard to make. They need patience forming all the crescents and I guess I don’t have it. But I am really enjoying eating them. However I do think I will bake see this weekend.
Jenny
December 9, 2022 at 6:17 am

What an amazing cause! These look delicious, and I’ll definitely check out the other cookies as well. I know- i measure everything instead of weighing, but weighing is supposed to be much better.
i posted a picture of my Secret Santa mug on the blog today! ; )
Debi
December 11, 2022 at 5:43 am

I’m a big fan of making unusual cookies, so when I saw these I had to run out and get all the stuff to make them. Delicious. Thanks for the recipe.
Kathleen
December 12, 2022 at 6:22 pm

Oh my German Gramma made these growing up and we lost her recipe, THANK YOU! These are perfect and my tummy thanks you!
Erin
December 13, 2022 at 5:11 am

I’ve never had a cookie like this before, and clearly, I’m fixing it this month because holy cow, these look and sound INCREDIBLE! My grandmother and her family were from Germany, though she never baked us cookies. (Bug, what we called her, was a master pie baker and always had multiple pies in her house whenever we visited.) I’m going to send this to my mom to see if their family made something like these crescent cookies when she was a kid so we can recreate it while she’s visiting for Christmas.

Thank you so much for participating in this year’s Sweetest Season and sharing your family’s recipe! I am always blown away with the recipes shared and the generosity of its participants. Thank you for making this event such a success. I hope you and yours have a wonderful season and a happy new year!
Nikki
December 13, 2022 at 5:32 am

This is such a delightful cookie. I love all things almond these truly were amazing.
MinShien
December 14, 2022 at 1:53 pm

This looks incredible and I am excited to give it a try!
Susannah
December 14, 2022 at 6:48 pm

I remember trying these on my travels and it was so fun to make them again! They turned out so well.