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, vanilla sugar, and flour in a large bowl with an electric mixer. Gradually add in the ground almonds. Continue to beat until the dough becomes crumbly.
Transfer the dough onto a work surface and shape it into a large dough ball. Wrap the dough ball in plastic and chill for 15 minutes.
Use a cookie scoop to make tablespoon-sized dough balls. Shape the dough balls into about 4-inch rolls and form them into crescent shapes. Place the cookies onto the baking sheet.
Bake for 20 minutes at 350º Fahrenheit. Allow the cookies to cool for 2-3 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.
Video
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.