Vanillekipferl or Vanilla Crescent Cookies are buttery, nutty, melt-in-your-mouth German cookies that are rich, made with ground nuts and covered with fine vanilla sugar. So mouthwatering, pretty and festive! Healthy makeover and vegan options in notes section.
Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and sift into a mixing bowl.
Add the remaining ingredients and process it all together with a hand held mixer.
Alternatively you could use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment; try it in a food processor with short pulses or just combine it manually.
At first, mix the ingredients at low speed. Then knead it at medium speed into a smooth dough. If necessary you may finish the kneading process manually on a work surface.
Chill the dough if it is sticky. Divide the dough into four portions, wrap and refrigerate.
Take each portion out and roll it into a 10 inch cylindrical rope and cut into 10 portions.
Shape a small dough portion into a 2 to 3 inch rope form and taper at the ends, shaping them into crescents.
Place the crescents spacing 1 to 2 inches apart on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
Bake at 350 degrees F for about 10 to 14 minutes until the ends turn a light golden.
Mix the powdered sugar with vanilla sugar and sift it all over the hot cookies right after baking.
Let the cookies cool completely before transferring to cookie jars.
Store them in airtight containers up to 2 weeks.
Notes
Healthy Makeover: Use a mixture of ½ cup cashew butter (100 g) and ½ cup light olive oil (100 g) instead of butter. Add an extra egg yolk if needed. If the dough is not very pliable at one to two teaspoons olive oil and mix it into the dough.
To make your own vanilla sugar - combine the seeds of a vanilla bean with one cup sugar, mix it well and let it sit for 1 to 2 weeks. Alternatively you may mix a teaspoon of natural vanilla extract with half cup sugar, let it dry and pulse it in a food processor.
For vegan option, use the oil plus nut butter combination above and skip egg yolks. You may have to use a couple teaspoons more oil if the dough is not workable.