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Vegan German Vanillekipferl being dusted with vanilla sugar

German Vanillekipferl Recipe - Vanilla Crescent Cookies

Vegan German Vanillekipferl Recipe - learn how to make the best German Vanilla Crescent Cookies with ground almonds! A vegan spin on a traditional German Christmas cookie recipe. Delicately crumbly with a melt-in-your-mouth texture these are perfect for the holidays. 

Course Dessert, Snack
Cuisine Austrian, germany
Keyword vanilla crescent cookies, vanillekipferl recipe
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 13 minutes
Resting 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 43 minutes
Servings 20
Calories 75 kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 cup flour 125 g
  • 1 pinch salt
  • ½ tbsp cornstarch
  • 2/3 cups ground almonds 75 g
  • 1/2 cup icing sugar 50 g
  • 2 sachets of bourbon vanilla sugar - 2 tbsps - store bought or homemade see notes
  • 1/2 cup 1 stick vegan butter or margarine room temperature

For dusting:

  • 1 cup powdered sugar / 100 g
  • 2 sachets of vanilla sugar 2 tbsp

Instructions

  1. Mix the flour, salt, cornstarch, ground almonds, icing sugar and vanilla sugar in a mixing bowl. Add softened vegan butter in small pieces and quickly knead everything into a smooth dough with the dough hook of a hand mixer or with your hands. When you make them for the first time you might think this recipe won’t work because when you combine all the ingredients and start mixing the mixture will look very dry and crumbly. Don’t worry, the mixture will come together after about a minute or so.
  2. Roll the dough into a 3 cm thick roll and cut in half. Then wrap the rolls tightly in cling film and place in the refrigerator for about 1 hour. Chill the tray.
  3. Preheat the oven to 375F / 180 ° C (160 ° C convection) and line a tray with baking paper.
  4. Take the dough rolls out of the refrigerator and cut into 1 cm slices with a sharp knife. Roll each slice into a small roll, making the ends a little thinner. Bend both ends towards each other so that a half-moon shape is created.
  5. Place the shaped cookies on the prepared, cooled tray with ½ inch apart. Repeat with the remaining dough, removing the dough from the refrigerator only when needed until you have filled one tray.
  6. Bake in the preheated oven for approx. 12 minutes until the ends are slightly brown. Don't overbake them. Keep an eye on the cookies. They should stay light in color. Take out the tray when they are just starting to brown very lightly.
  7. Mix powdered sugar and vanilla sugar.
  8. Sieve the powdered sugar and vanilla sugar mixture onto the finished, still hot vanilla crescents. That's right: Sieve the mixture over the hot cookies directly on the baking sheet. It's quick and the delicate cookies can't break that way.
  9. Then let the cool completely on the baking sheet.

Recipe Notes

Make your own vanilla sugar
Mix 1 cup of sugar with the seeds of 1 vanilla pod.

OR

Place ½ tsp pure vanilla extract and ¼ c sugar in your food processor. Pulse until the sugar is evenly colored. Spread the sugar on a plate to dry. It will clump slightly as it dries. Once dry, return the sugar to the food processor and pulse until fine. Store in an airtight container in a cool and dry place.

(1 package of vanilla sugar = 1 tbsp of vanilla sugar)