Vanillekipferl
Our version of Austrian vanillekipferl: a small crescent-shaped shortbread, with almonds, Madagascar Bourbon vanilla and vanilla sugar.
- Prep 30 min
- Cooking 12 min
- Total 42 min
- Difficulty Medium
Vanillekipferl are the small crescent-shaped shortbread biscuits found in Austria, often in boxes of biscuits prepared around Christmas. Our version combines a Madagascar Bourbon vanilla pod with almonds, for a melting shortbread coated in vanilla sugar.
Our family grows and prepares this vanilla in the SAVA region, in north-eastern Madagascar. Baking is kept deliberately short: these biscuits need to stay pale to remain melting.
Preparation
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Split the vanilla pod lengthways and scrape out the seeds with the tip of a knife.
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In a large bowl, mix the flour, ground almonds, icing sugar, salt and vanilla seeds.
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Add the cold butter cubes and quickly work them in with your fingertips until you get a smooth dough that holds together. Shape into a ball, wrap in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for 1 hour.
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Preheat the oven to 170°C. Take pieces of dough weighing about 15 g, roll them between your palms into a small sausage shape, then curve it into a crescent.
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Place the crescents on a baking tray lined with baking paper, spacing them apart, and bake for 12 minutes: they should stay pale, barely golden underneath.
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Mix the icing sugar and vanilla sugar in a shallow bowl. As soon as they come out of the oven, while the kipferl are still warm and fragile, gently roll them in this mixture to coat them well.
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Leave to cool completely on a wire rack before storing in an airtight tin.
The little extra that changes everything
Keep an eye on them from the tenth minute: a kipferl that browns too much becomes dry and loses its vanilla aroma. To scrape out the pod, see vanilla in bread and pastry making. Our products for this recipe: Madagascar Bourbon vanilla pods, Madagascar Bourbon vanilla sugar
