Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat.
Grind almonds in a small food processor.
DOUGH
Beat butter, granulated sugar, and vanilla sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add in ground almonds and flour. Continue to beat until the dough is becomes crumbly.
Transfer the dough onto a work surface and shape into a large dough ball. Wrap the dough ball in plastic and chill in the fridge for 20-30 minutes.
Use a cookie scoop to make tablespoon sized mini dough balls. Roll and shape the mini dough balls into crescent shapes and place them onto the baking sheet.
Bake the cookies for 20 minutes at 350º Fahrenheit. Allow to cookies to cool for a couple of minutes. They should still be warm but not hot.
SUGAR COATING
Combine powdered sugar and vanilla sugar in a shallow bowl.
Dust the warm almond crescent cookies with the sugar mixture. Transfer the cookies onto a cooling rack until they have completely cooled.
Notes
Substituting Vanilla Sugar with Vanilla Extract
Although you could substitute vanilla sugar with vanilla extra for the dough, it will not work for the sugar coating. So you will need to either make your own vanilla sugar (see blog post for instructions) or you purchase it.Look for Dr. Oetker Vanilla Sugar which you'll find in the baking aisle of most major supermarkets and on Amazon.