Vanilla crescent biscuits

Vanilla crescent biscuits
© Renée del Messier

Vanilla Crescent Biscuits "Vanillekipferl"

These vanilla crescents are a favourite Austrian Christmas pastry. Here is a recipe from the famous Demel confectioners in Vienna.

The ingredients are for approximately 150 pieces.

Ingredients
300 g flour, sifted
250 g butter
100 g icing or powdered sugar
10 g vanilla sugar (eg Demel's)
150 g ground hazelnuts
icing sugar for dusting
vanilla sugar to sprinkle
  • Lightly dry toast nuts in a pan without adding any oil or butter. Allow nuts to cool.
  • Beat room temperature butter, icing sugar, vanilla sugar, hazelnuts and some of the flour in a food processor.
  • Gradually add remaining flour and knead everything into a smooth dough. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and let rest in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
  • Preheat oven to 160 °C.
  • Sprinkle a work surface with flour. Roll dough into 1.5cm thick strands, cut off pieces weighing about 5g each and shape each piece into a crescent shape (see tip).
  • Place the crescents on a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake in the oven for about 15 minutes or until they are golden brown on the edges. 
  • While still hot, sprinkle the crescents with a mixture of icing sugar and vanilla sugar. If necessary, sugar them again when they have cooled down.

Tip:

The greatest secret behind baking vanilla crescents lies in the consistency of the dough which should be crumbly but not too crumbly. If you work the dough too long with your hands, the butter melts and makes the dough sticky.

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