Vanillekipferl (Austrian Vanilla Crescent Cookies)

A recipe for Vanillekipferl (Austrian Vanilla Crescent Cookies)! These light, delicate cookies are shaped into crescents and covered in powdered sugar.

Vanillekipferl originated in Vienna, Austria and are popular throughout central Europe during the Christmas/holiday season.

These vanilla crescent cookies come together with a combination of flour, almond flour, powdered sugar, vanilla sugar, plenty of butter, and a couple of egg yolks to bring everything together.

The resulting dough is formed into logs and refrigerated for at least an hour. This will help with the handling. Once chilled, the logs are cut into individual pieces and shaped into crescents.

Bake in the preheated oven until just set and lightly golden on the bottom, about 12 minutes, then coat in a vanilla scented powdered sugar mixture before serving.

A Few Tips

I made the Vanillekipferl with a combination of flour and almond flour to help add to that light texture. Some recipes swap the almond for hazelnut or walnut (these may change the amount of moisture in the dough and create a darker color).

This recipe includes two egg yolks to help bring the dough together. Traditionally it was made without eggs.

Try to keep the crescent cookies roughly the same size when dividing. This will help them bake evenly.

The cookie’s beautifully tender texture also makes them slightly more challenging to handle, especially warm from the oven. Take care with the shaping and coating in the powdered sugar.

I usually shape the pieces into crescents on the cutting board so my hands won’t warm the dough too much. Do not over-work. If too warm and difficult to handle, place back in the refrigerator for a few minutes.

Bake just until set and lightly golden on the bottom, about 12 minutes.

Gently transfer the baked cookies from the baking sheet to the bowl of vanilla powdered sugar, about 2 minutes after removing from the oven. Once coated in the sugar, carefully move them to a wire rack to cool to room temperature.

Once fully cooled, add one more coating of powdered sugar and store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a couple of weeks.

Notable Ingredients

Vanilla sugar adds a wonderful light vanilla flavor to the Vanillekipferl. You can buy small packets of vanilla sugar in the European section of many larger supermarkets, but it is easy to make at home.

Scrape out the seeds of one vanilla bean and mix well with 2 cups (400 grams) granulated sugar. Store in an airtight container with the scraped out vanilla beans.

For the ground almonds, I generally use almond meal/flour. It is found in the baking or gluten-free section of larger grocery stores. You can also process whole almonds in the food processor. Just make sure the almonds are very fine to create smooth cookies.

Looking for more Austrian recipes?

Try my:

• Kasnocken (Austrian Dumplings with Cheese and Onions)
• Einspänner (Viennese Coffee with Whipped Cream)
• Tiroler Speckknödel (Austrian Speck Dumplings)

This recipe was originally posted in December 2014 and updated in November 2022.

Vanillekipferl (Austrian Vanilla Crescent Cookies) Recipe

Adapted from Delicious Days

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5 from 1 vote

Vanillekipferl (Austrian Vanilla Crescent Cookies)

A recipe for Vanillekipferl (Austrian Vanilla Crescent Cookies)! These light, delicate cookies are shaped into crescents and covered in powdered sugar.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Austrian

Keyword Austria, Austrian, cookie, dessert, vanilla, vanilla sugar

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes minutes

Resting Time: 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 32 minutes minutes

Servings 36 Cookies

Ingredients

Vanillekipferl:

• 14 tablespoons (200 grams) unsalted butter softened at room temperature
• 1/3 cup (35 grams) powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon (15 grams) vanilla sugar
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 1/2 cups (190 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1 cup (100 grams) almond flour

Coating:

• 1 cup (125 grams) powdered sugar sifted
• 1 tablespoon (15 grams) vanilla sugar

Instructions

• In a large bowl, beat together the butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla sugar.
• Mix in the egg yolks, then the flour and almond flour to form a dough.
• Divide the dough into 3 equal pieces. Form each piece into a log about 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) thick and cover in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350˚F (180˚C). Line two baking sheets with parchment or lightly grease.
• In a wide bowl, combine the powdered sugar and vanilla sugar.
• Remove a chilled log of dough from the refrigerator and cut into 12 equal pieces.
• Gently roll a piece into a rope with tapered ends and form into a crescent shape. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining pieces, then remaining logs of dough, placing them 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) apart.
• Bake in preheated oven until set and the bottom edges become golden, about 12 minutes.
• Allow to cool on the baking sheet for two minutes.
• While still warm, carefully transfer the cookies one at a time from baking sheet to vanilla sugar. Coat on all sides and place on wire rack. Repeat with remaining cookies and allow to cool to room temperature.
• Once cooled, add one more coating of powdered sugar and store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a couple of weeks.