Almond Crescent Cookies (German Vanillekipferl)

You might know Almond Crescent Cookies by another name: Vanillekipferl.

Vanillekipferl are traditional German cookies that have a wonderful vanilla-almond flavor. These sweet and buttery crescent-shaped cookies will quite literally melt in your mouth.

These shortbread cookies are easy to make. Their distinctive almond and vanilla flavor combination makes them incredibly addicting. Dusted with vanilla-infused sugar these delicious cookies will have everyone reaching for more.

They are also a great recipe for a cookie exchange. As an added bonus when you are baking these German cookies, your house will be filled will the most wonderful Christmas-y aromas.

What You’ll Need To Make These Cookies

ALMONDS – Use 1 cup of almonds and grind them in a food processor. I’ve always ground the almonds myself but technically speaking you could also use almond meal (not almond flour) like the ones that you can find at Trader Joe’s.

FLOUR – Use all-purpose flour for this recipe.

BUTTER – Be sure to use unsalted butter.

SUGAR – We’ll need three types of sugar for this recipe:

• vanilla sugar – you can find Dr. Oetker Vanilla Sugar in the baking aisle of most major supermarkets. For this recipe, you will need 2 packets (about 4 teaspoons) for the dough and an additional 2 packets for the sugar mixture
• granulated sugar
• powdered sugar

Vanilla Sugar

Vanilla sugar is a standard ingredient in a lot of German baking recipes. In the US, we tend to use vanilla extract. This could work for the dough, it wouldn’t work for the coating.

And you can also easily make your own vanilla sugar. My German grandmother used to put the granulated sugar into a small airtight container and add a vanilla bean into the sugar. Over time the vanilla bean infuses the sugar and makes it ‘vanilla sugar’.

But since you’ll probably want to make the recipe straight away, I recommend ordering Dr. Oetker’s vanilla sugar.

How To Make Almond Crescent Cookies

Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit and cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.

1. Cream together the sugar and butter.
2. Mix in flour and ground almonds and combine until the dough becomes crumbly.

3. Use your hands to finish kneading the dough into a large ball.
4. Wrap in saran wrap and chill for 20 minutes in the refrigerator.
5. Make 1 inch dough balls and shape into a crescent.
6. Bake at 350° Fahrenheit for 20 minutes.
7. Remove the vanilla crescent cookies from the oven and cool for two minutes.
8. Use a shallow bowl to combine powdered sugar and the remaining vanilla sugar. Dip the warm cookies into sugar mixture.
9. Put the sugar-covered almonds on a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.

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More Awesome Cookie Recipes

• Cinnamon Twists – My favorite cookie recipe
• Key Lime Cookies – Light and airy cookies
• Strudel Cookies – Another traditional German Cookie recipe
• White Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Lemon Date Balls – These no-bake cookies are easy to make and a deliciously tasty, healthy treat.

How To Store Almond Crescent Cookies

Traditionally, in Germany, Christmas cookies are stored in tin cans similar to this one. Almond Crescent Cookies are basically a modified shortbread cookie recipe. And shortbread cookies last for weeks without spoiling.

So you can easily store these cookies for 4-6 weeks without loss of flavor. That being said, I’ve never seen a batch of Vanillekiperfl last this long. At least not in a house full of ‘cookie aficionados’.

You can also store the cookies in airtight cookie jars and they will also last for several weeks.

Freezing Almond Crescent Cookies

But what happens if you’ve accidentally made too many batches and you want to freeze them? No problem.

Simply store the cookies in a ziplock bag and make sure to squeeze out as air as possible. Due to their low water content, Almond Crescent Cookies freeze beautifully and retain their flavor after defrosting.

Just For Dog Lovers

Now I understand not everybody feeds their dog human food. But I think it’s ok to share a special treat with your pup – in moderation of course.

Before we give anything to our pup we make sure it’s dog-friendly. It turns out dogs love the taste of almonds. That being said, almonds are also difficult to digest for dogs.

So if you want to spoil your pup and share a cookie, make sure he or she doesn’t have a sensitive stomach.

I’ve crumbled a bit of almond cookie over Riley’s dry food and had a very happy pup who was busy licking his food bowl way

Almond Crescent Cookies (Vanillekipferl)

These German cookies are melt-in-your-mouth delicious.

Course: Baked Goods

Cuisine: Austrian, German

Keyword: cookies

AUTHOR: Maike

SERVINGS: 24 cookies

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Chill Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

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Ingredients

FOR THE DOUGH

• 16 tablespoons butter unsalted
• 4 teaspoons vanilla sugar *see notes
• ½ cup powdered sugar
• 1 cup ground almonds
• 1 ¾ cups flour all-purpose

FOR THE SUGAR COATING

• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 4 teaspoons vanilla sugar *see notes

Instructions

MAKING THE DOUGH

• Use a food processor to grind 1 cup of almonds.
• Combine butter, granulating sugar, and vanilla sugar in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer or stand mixer until creamy. Slowly pour in ground almonds and flour until the dough.
• Once the dough is crumbly remove it from the bowl onto a working surface. Use your hands to form it into a large dough ball. Wrap the dough ball in saran wrap and chill it in the fridge for 20 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit.
• Remove the dough from the fridge and make 1 inch little balls. Shape the dough balls into crescent shapes and place them onto the baking sheet.
• Bake for 20 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes.

MAKING THE SUGAR COATING

• Combine powdered sugar and vanilla sugar in a shallow bowl.
• Roll the warm almond crescent cookies in the sugar mixture. Transfer the cookies onto a cooling rack until they have completely cooled.

Notes

For this recipe shop for Dr. Oetker Vanilla Sugar which you’ll find in the baking aisle in most major supermarkets. If you can’t find it locally, you can get it on Amazon or make your own (instructions are in the post). 

Unfortunately, substituting vanilla sugar with vanilla extract is not an option. 

Nutrition

Calories: 157kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 67mg | Potassium: 12mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 233IU | Calcium: 13mg | Iron: 1mg