My vegan recipe for traditional Austrian Christmas cookies, vanillekipferl, makes delicious crescent cookies that are buttery, melt-in-the-mouth tender and infused with heady vanilla.
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What are vanillekipferl?
Vanillekipferl ("vanilla crescents" in German) are vanilla-infused cookies with a crisp, crumbly and delicate texture. They are made with a mix of sugar, powdered nuts and flour, and finished with a dusting of powdered sugar.
These delightful little cookies are a popular treat around Christmastime in European countries, including Austria, Germany and Switzerland, and they are often called Viennese crescents because that's the city where they first became wildly popular. I love how Christmassy these cookies look - like little moons lit from within, with a gentle frosting of snow.
I like to keep my baking simple during the stressful holiday season, with cookies like vegan spritz cookies and vegan sugar cookies. These vanillekipferl definitely meet that bar. The cookies are ready from scratch in under 30 minutes, and you need just five ingredients. Dump all the ingredients in a bowl and beat them together before shaping them - a job that's as simple as it's fun.
The cookies are traditionally made without eggs, and I swap out the butter with vegan butter to keep the vegan vanillekipferl both plant-based and authentic tasting. If you're looking for a cookie recipe that's both easy and amazing, you won't go wrong with this one. Bake a batch for Santa wherever in the world you are.
Recipe card
Vegan Vanillekipferl (Viennese Crescent Cookies)
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons vegan butter (1 stick, softened, at room temperature)
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup blanched almond flour
- 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- More powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit/180 degrees Celsius.
- Use a hand mixer or whisk to beat the vegan butter and powdered sugar in a bowl.
- Stir in the vanilla extract, almond flour and all-purpose flour. Mix all ingredients with a spatula or beat with the hand mixer for about 20 seconds until everything is incorporated.
- Knead lightly to form a dough. Don't over knead because you don't want gluten to develop.
- Break off one-inch balls of the dough, quickly roll into a two-and-half-inch cylinder on the palm of your hand.
- Curve the edges downward to form a crescent.
- Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of the cookie dough.
- Bake the crescent cookies for 14 minutes or until the tips of the crescents are very lightly golden. Let the baking sheet stand 15 minutes on a wire rack, then transfer the cookies with a spatula directly to the wire rack. Dust with powdered sugar.
Nutrition Information
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Vegan vanillekipferl FAQs
Yes. Just break off smaller pieces of the cookie dough and make smaller crescents. Reduce baking time by a couple of minutes. I'd check on the cookies after eight minutes in the oven and add more time as needed.
Use blanched almonds for the best flavor and texture and powder the almonds very fine in a food processor or blender. You can also use walnuts or hazelnuts for this vegan vanillekipferl recipe.
Yes, add ½ teaspoon of cinnamon for a hint of spice. Although not traditional, I think a little cardamom by itself - no more than ½ teaspoon - would be wonderful with these delicately flavored cookies.
Add a tiny bit of non-dairy milk or cream and mix until you have a dough that holds together.
You can use any gluten-free all purpose flour. The cookies will be even more tender when made with gluten-free flour.
Store them in an airtight tin at room temperature for up to two weeks. You can also refrigerate them for up to a month, and freeze for up to three months.
Donna says
These were super easy and delicious! I am not a rule follower however. I didn’t have enough almond flour so used oat flour for about 2/3 of the asking amount. I used almond extract instead of vanilla and sprinkled a mix of crushed peppermint candy and powdered sugar on top while still warm so the candy bits would stick. Good addition to holiday cookie plate! Thanks!
Vaishali Honawar says
Wow those sound amazing!! So happy you enjoyed the cookies.
Ranjit Solanki says
Can you not add the measurements of the ingredients in grams? Please
Vaishali Honawar says
Hi, click on the “metric” tab in recipe card for conversion.