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!
Servings: 40 cookies
Calories: 82kcal
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: 82kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 38mg | Potassium: 8mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 131IU | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 1mg