The crescent for Christmas
… it is Viennese, and that’s that …
There is nothing that says Christmas more than a this little crescent-shaped cookie called Vanillekipferl. It is the star of any and every household’s cooking repertoire. It is the pride of every self-respecting wife, mother, grandmother, and sometimes even husband, father, and I am not so sure about grandfather …. It belongs in every and all cookbooks.
The principal is easy. You take ….
Roasted Hazelnuts (NO almonds, PLEASE !!!!!!!)
Plenty of good Butter (and NO, Margarine will NOT do)
Sugar
Flour
Maybe even an egg … if you have to
and of course Vanilla
…. and you go from this …
… to this …
It is the easiest cookie to make …. it is the easiest cookie to get wrong …. but do not despair … if it doesn’t look like a Kipferl, if will always taste like a Kipferl …
WIENER VANILLEKIPFERL
550 g All purpose Flour
600 g Butter
170 g Icing Sugar
300 g Roasted Hazelnuts
A pinch of cinnamon powder (the best you can find)
One twist of your spice mill loaded with Cloves
Icing Sugar with Vanilla-bean immersed in it for at least a couple of weeks (you can of course use Vanillin if you so feel inclined)
Keep the ingredients cool and mix quickly to a smooth dough
Keep in the fridge for an hour to relax and let the spices macerate
form to crescents and bake at 210C until golden
Dust with the “VanilleSugar” while still hot
And now, HURRY … it’s Christmas already ….
And since one goodness in seldom enough, I stuffed my Weihnachtsstollen with some marzipan. …. all the way from Lübeck … naturally.
So, now I can go back to dreaming of Vanillekipferl ….. maybe I should get baking and ….
