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    Home » Christmas

    Vanillekipferl (German Vanilla Bean Cookies)

    Published: Dec 2, 2021 · Modified: Dec 7, 2022 by dirndlkitchen · This post may contain affiliate links · Leave a Comment

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    Vanillekipferl are German vanilla bean cookies and by far the BEST German Christmas cookie! They are fast and easy to make, so buttery & perfectly sweet!

    Vanillekipferl on a baking sheet getting a powdered sugar dusting

    What are Vanillekipferl?

    Vanillekipferl, pronounced Va-nil-luh-kipp-fuh-l, are vanilla bean crescent-moon-shaped cookies. Kipferl is a word that's commonly used in Austrian German for baked goods shaped like croissants, and means 'little horn.' I loved helping my Oma Sieghilde hand-shape these at her small kitchen table, which is how they're traditionally shaped.

    shaping Vanillekipferl cookies

    My Oma always took special care to make sure the ends weren't too skinny, or else they would burn easily. That being said, she didn't want anything or anyone to be too skinny. 😉 After baking, the Vanillekipferl get a thick dusting of powdered sugar. Oma Sieghilde used to roll the cookies in the powdered sugar on a plate, but I think the dusting looks prettier, so that's what I do. Sorry, Oma. You don't need many ingredients to make Vanillekipferl and no special tools or skills are required.

    shaping German vanilla bean cookies

    Ingredients

    The ingredient list for these favorite German vanilla bean cookies is thankfully short, which is why it's essential to use the best ingredients!

    •  Vanilla Bean: The real stuff! Vanilla beans are expensive! I buy mine in bulk for the baking season. I then reuse the scraped vanilla bean pods to make homemade vanilla simple syrup and vanilla sugar (the ladder simply by covering the pods in a small canister with cane sugar). Vanilla sugar is great to use in any baking recipe or for sprinkling on top of pancakes, muffins, and more. You can also make homemade vanilla extract with these!
    • Almond Flour (or Hazelnut Flour): Nut flour can be made at home by grinding nuts yourself. I use my food processor to make my hazelnut flour from whole, shelled nuts, as hazelnut flour is harder to find in the US. For the more traditional version with almond flour (this is how we always ate them growing up), I like grinding blanched and peeled almonds for the color. Almonds with peel will work as well, but your cookies will be darker.

    ingredients for Vanillekipferl
    • Butter: Using good quality butter in this recipe will pay off! I like using salted butter in this recipe as I like the hint of salt in the cookies.
    • Flour: Just regular, all-purpose flour will work great in this recipe. I use organic flour that I buy in bulk for all my holiday baking!
    • Sugar: I use organic cane sugar.
    • Powdered Sugar: Yes, more sugar! 🙂 This is what the Vanillekipferl are rolled or dusted in after baking.
    coating Vanillekipferl in powdered sugar

    Tools

    No special tools are required, but having a nice parchment paper that performs well is essential for baking cookies. This Germany-made parchment paper by the Frieling brand.

    Vanillekipferl on parchment paper

    They come in different sizes and shapes and I love the precut sheets for convenience when baking. The precut round sheets come in handy when storing cookies in round cookie tins. I love that this parchment paper is unbleached and eco-friendly, and each sheet can be used twice thanks to a non-toxic silicone coating.

    Why Vanillekipferl are the best German Christmas Cookie

    The advent season and the need to be baking German Christmas cookies have officially arrived! It's hard to pick favorites, so feel free to choose your own from my Top 5 German Christmas Cookies. After much thought, I can say that these German vanilla cookies are at the top of the list for me!

    a plate of Vanillekipferl cookies

    Vanillekipferl offer a super tasty outcome for the amount of time spent. The combination of the soft, crumbly texture with the warming vanilla bean taste is what makes this cookie so perfect. Make sure to try my Vanillekiperl recipe and comment below with your baking experience.

    Video

    To help you understand how to make Vanillekipferl (it's really so easy), including how to shape them, please watch this 28-second video.

    And please subscribe, so I can keep you up-to-date on German recipes and traditions every week!

    coating cookies in powdered sugar

    Vanillekipferl (German Vanilla Bean Cookies)

    Vanillekipferl are by far the BEST German Christmas Cookie! They're super fast and easy to make, so buttery & perfectly sweet!
    5 from 15 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 15 mins
    Cook Time 12 mins
    Resting Time 1 hr
    Total Time 1 hr 27 mins
    Course Coffee, Dessert, Kaffee, Snack
    Cuisine German
    Servings 40 cookies
    Calories 82 kcal

    Equipment

    • Baking Sheet I use steel baking sheets.
    • Parchment Paper I love this eco-friendy, precut parchment paper.
    • Shaker I use it for dusting powdered sugar

    Ingredients
     
     

    • 1 vanilla bean I buy mine in bulk because they are cheaper that way.
    • 210 grams butter room temperature
    • 100 grams almond flour which has the skins removed, you can also use ground almonds (with skins), which will make for a darker looking cookie.
    • 70 grams sugar granulated
    • 250 grams all-purpose flour
    • powdered sugar for dusting the cookies after baking

    Instructions
     

    • Cut a vanilla bean open lengthwise, then scrape out the seeds.
      1 vanilla bean
    • Knead together with other ingredients to make a smooth dough.
      210 grams butter, 100 grams almond flour, 70 grams sugar, 250 grams all-purpose flour
    • Half the dough and shape into 8-inch (20 cm) logs on a lightly floured surface. Cover in parchment paper or plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for one hour.
    • Preheat oven to 390° Fahrenheit (200° Celsius).
    • Remove the dough from the fridge and cut into 20 slices each (1 cm thick each).
    • Shape the slices into pencil-thick rolls of about 2-inch length with tapered ends that run towards each other (like a crescent moon shape). If you need help, watch my video. Don't make the ends too skinny, or else they can easily burn.
    • Lay on baking sheets covered with parchment paper and bake on the middle rack for 9 to 11 minutes or until just starting to brown at the ends.
    • Once finished baking, remove from oven and let cool completely. Carefully roll (Oma's way) or dust (my preferred way because I think they look prettier) in powdered sugar.
      powdered sugar

    Video

    Notes

    Vanilla Bean - no vanilla beans handy and don't want to spend 10 dollars on just one bean at the grocery store? You can find vanilla bean paste and substitute 1 Tablespoon of it for the 1 vanilla bean used in the recipe. At the same time, place your bulk vanilla bean order, so you have them for next time.
    Almond Flour - the 'flour' means the skins of the almonds have been removed, meaning your dough will be a nice cream color. You can of course also use ground almonds, which will still have the skins on, thus making the dough and cookies appear darker. Both taste great, but the traditional way is to use almond flour (skins removed).
    Hazelnut Vanillekipferl - Feeling experimental? I love making hazelnut Vanillekipferl. Simply replace the almond flour with ground hazelnuts (I often grind my own). I also like dipping one side of the ends in dark chocolate and sprinkling with more finely chopped hazelnuts. So good!

    Nutrition

    Calories: 82kcalCarbohydrates: 7gProtein: 1gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 11mgSodium: 38mgPotassium: 8mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 131IUCalcium: 7mgIron: 1mg
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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    Hallo, I'm Sophie!

    I am so happy that you are here at my German food and recipe blog named dirndl kitchen! Let's cook and bake authentic German recipes to help us feel closer to Germany!

    I moved from Germany to the United States in 2009 and soon started to terribly miss the German food (okay, my family, too)! I still miss a nice weekend brunch with crusty Brötchen (rolls) and Teilchen (pastries), Döner Kebab and German cake and coffee time at 15 o'clock! So I decided to educate my fellow Germany-missing friends by writing about German food and traditions. I do so in a fun way with easy-to-follow recipes! I hope you stay a while and bookmark some recipes, so we can cook and bake together.

    Mit viel Liebe (with much love)

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