Vanille Kipferl

Vanille Kipferl are traditional German Christmas crescent shaped cookies made with ground nuts & dusted with a mix of vanilla and icing sugar. They are tender and melt in your mouth.

 Ingredients

·         140g butter (cut into cubes) or vegan alternative

·         60g castor sugar

·         70g ground almonds or other nuts like hazelnuts

·         180g flour – I use white spelt flour

·         Pinch salt

 For dusting – Vanilla icing sugar – see note how to make

Method

1.      Combine all ingredients in a food processor if you have one, otherwise a bowl.

2.      Mix until a crumbly dough forms (1-2 minutes).

3.      Transfer to a bowl if you used a food processor.

4.      Continue to combine the dough with your hands to form a ball.

5.      Chill for ½ - 1 hour.

6.      Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F and line a baking tray with non-stick parchment paper.

7.      Roll the chilled dough into a log 1.25cm/½ inch thick, cut into 4cm/1 ½ inch pieces, form into small cylinders and taper the ends into dull points. Bend each one into crescent shape. You will get 24 cookies.

8.      Bake for 12-15 minutes until the edges are golden (but not brown!)

9.      When the cookies are slightly cooled, but still warm, dust them heavily with the vanilla icing sugar. You can repeat this either when they are cooled or just before you are serving them.

10.  Don’t touch cookies until fully cooled, otherwise they  might break.

11.  These cookies keep fresh for about 3 weeks in an airtight container stored in a cool place.

Note – Vanilla icing sugar – Blend ½ cup icing sugar with seeds of ½ vanilla pod or ¼ tsp vanilla powder or 1 tsp vanilla extract.

Tip – You can use rice flour or gluten-free flour instead of spelt flour.