Vanillekipferl - Baking Recipe for Hazelnut Vanilla Shortbread

Vegans, dieters and the health conscious should look away now. 

Though I can occasionally be found dabbling in vegan baking, in this weekend's ventures I made full use of butter, eggs, conventional flour and refined sugar to produce a batch of Vannillekipferl. These crescent-shaped, vanilla-flavoured shortbreads (originally an Austro-Hungarian import into the German cuisine) are a popular Christmas biscuit in German-speaking parts of Europe. Alongside the ubiquitous Stollen, they are synonymous with Christmas baking in Germany.

Vanillekipferl Baking Recipe

Vanillekipferl

Vanillekipferl are best described as a type of shortbread. With the inclusion of vanilla seeds  straight from a pod or vanilla extract / paste and chopped almonds or hazelnuts, the Vanillekipferl is a little more glamourous than the humble butter shortbread. 

Vanillekipferl Prison

Anyone confident in shortbread territory, should feel comfortable with my Vanillekipferl recipe below. For best results the shortbread dough should be prepared in advance and kept in the fridge overnight. I also recommend using a fresh vanilla pod or good quality vanilla extract. The Kipferls' distinct shape is achieved by rolling a small piece of dough into a crescent using the palms of your hands. This can be labour-intensive and practice makes perfect.

Vanillekipferl Recipe

You will require the following ingredients for a small batch of biscuits, that just about fits into a medium-sized Killner jar as below: 

• 150 grams of unsalted butter at room temperature, cut into small pieces 

• 210 grams of plain flour

•  80 grams of ground hazelnuts or almonds 

•  80 grams of icing sugar (for the dough) 

•  30 grams of icing sugar ( set aside for dusting the baked biscuits)

•   1 vanilla pod or vanilla essence of choice

•   1 whole egg

All ingredients will eventually be combined in a food processor. It's therefore essential to ensure the butter is added to the mix at room temperature, so as not to overburden the mixer. 

Start by combining all ingredients slowly in the food processor. When complete, remove the dough from the mixing bowl and shape into one solid log. Wrap and leave to cool down in the fridge for at least 3 hours, ideally overnight.

Vanillekipferl fresh out of the oven

Remove the dough from the fridge and cut lengthways into several equal sections. These are once again divided and cut into smaller pieces. They should be roughly equal in size. Start shaping the individual dough pieces by rolling them between the palms of your hands to create crescents.

Place the crescents on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper and bake in the oven at 160°C / 320°F for around 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the baked crescents from the oven, when the Kipferl have the desired shade. Some like them lighter, others may prefer a slightly darker biscuit.

Once they have cooled down, dust the Vanillekiperl with a liberal layer of icing sugar and store in an airtight container. Enjoy. 

Vanillekipferl Prison