• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Pastry Maestra

Pastry Maestra

Free Video Tutorials on Baking, Pastry making and Creating Desserts. Have a sweet life!

  • Home
  • Baking Basics
    • All About Ingredients
    • Basic Techniques
    • Charlotte
    • Creams & Custards
    • Doughs & Batters
    • Decorating Techniques
  • Video Recipes
  • About
    • About Me
    • “The Pastry Chef”
    • Testimonials
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Cookie Policy
  • Contact Me

Vanilla Crescents – European Christmas in a Single Bite

September 10, 2015 by Pastry Maestra

by Tereza AlabandaTereza-Alabanda-Pastry-Maestra-Pastry-Chef
Scroll-down-for-recipe-Pastry-Maestra

T

hese awesome cookies are a must Christmas treat in my country, probably because of Austro-Hungarian legacy. Vanillekipferl [va’nɪləkɪpfɐl] originated in imperial Vienna, and you can still find them in most stores, and in elegant Viennese coffee shops. These delicate, melt-in-your-mouth bites are also popular in other European countries: Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, and – of course – here in Croatia. You can recognize them easily – small, crescent-shaped cookies heavily dusted with vanilla sugar. Now, do you know how to get your hands on some vanilla sugar? Well, there are two ways!

Vanilla crescents chef Tereza Alabanda Pastry Maestra

First one is to take a vanilla pod, cut it lengthwise in half and put it into a jar. Fill the jar with powdered sugar and close it tightly. In a few days, you will have some lovely and fragrant, natural vanilla sugar! The other way is to go to your local store and buy a synthetically obtained product – also called vanilla sugar (confusing, I know…), which contains vanillin, and mix it with your own good old powdered sugar. The store-bought vanilla sugar is cheaper than the natural vanilla bean because vanillin – the substance that gives vanilla flavor is synthesized chemically.

Regarding shaping, I am a kind of a freak – using my scale I often portion the dough to pieces of 10g (0.35oz) each, because I really like my crescents to be identical. If you don’t have time to do that, you can always make a long rope out of the dough (app. 2.5cm which is 1″ in diameter) and cut it uniformly in 2.5cm (1″) slices, like I’m doing in this video. Shape every slice into a ball, and then into a short rope, that shouldn’t be longer than your palm’s width. The ends of the rope should be thinner than the middle part. Bend the rope in a form of a crescent and put on a baking tray.

This vanilla crescents recipe is my favorite! It calls for walnuts, but you can use almonds, hazelnuts, or even pecans instead. You can keep these cookies in a tin for a long time, at least two weeks, although when you taste them, I’m sure they won’t last a day! So, double up the recipe and start rubbing in!

Vanilla Crescents, Pastry Maestra

Vanilla Crescents Recipe

by:Tereza Alabanda,The Pastry Maestra

PRINT PDF (EN)
ISPIŠI PDF (HR)

Prep. time : 10 minutes

Cook time : 10 minutes

Ready in 25 minutes

Level : Basic

Ingredients:
  • All purpose flour 150g (5.3oz)
  • Ground walnuts 50g (1.8oz)
  • Butter 90g (3.2oz)
  • Powdered sugar 50g (1.8oz)
  • Vanilla powder
  • Egg white 30g (1oz or 1 medium egg white)
  • Powdered sugar mixed with vanilla powder for dusting
Directions
  1. Mix dry ingredients – flour, ground walnuts, powdered sugar and vanilla powder in a large bowl.
  2. Cut the cold butter into small cubes and rub your dry ingredients into the butter with your fingertips until you get crumbly mixture.
  3. Add one egg white and combine to make the dough.
  4. Flatten the dough and wrap it in plastic foil. Put in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, but you can also leave it overnight.
  5. Shape the dough into a long rope, approximtely 2.5cm (1″) in diameter, and cut it in uniform 2.5cm (1″) long slices. Shape each slice into a ball, and then make a short rope, that shouldn’t be longer than your palm’s width. The ends of the rope should be thinner than the middle part. Bend the rope into a form of a crescent and put it on a paper lined baking tray.
  6. Bake cookies at 165°C (330°F) for approximately 10 minutes, until lightly golden around the edges.
  7. Take the crescents out and roll them in vanilla sugar while they are still warm.

Copyright© PastryMaestra.comTM


Well, what do you think about this post?

Please leave your comment on YouTube, thank you!

I read and really appreciate all the comments, even though I do not always have the time to respond to each one. So – keep me in the loop and try to create some sweetness every day because – Sweetness is happiness!!

Pastry-Maestra-Signature   Pastry-Maestra-Share

Filed Under: Cookie Jar Tagged With: christmas, cookies

Primary Sidebar

Find Your Sweetness!

Let’s Connect!

Buy Me a Macaron!

If you like what I do and think that I deserve a small reward - buy me a macaron!
Thank you!

Buy me a macaron!

Pastry Chef Tereza Alabanda Pastry Maestra

Subscribe!

Copyright © 2023 · Pastry Maestra


We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.

Do not sell my personal information.
(Only for California residents)


Cookie SettingsRead MoreAccept

Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Advertisement" category .
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
CookieLawInfoConsent1 yearRecords the default button state of the corresponding category & the status of CCPA. It works only in coordination with the primary cookie.
ep20130 minutesThis cookie is set by Wufoo for load balancing, site traffic and preventing site abuse.
SGPBShowingLimitationDomain12310sessionPopUp Builder plugin cookie that allows saving if a pop-up message has been displayed.
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
CookieDurationDescription
CONSENT2 yearsYouTube sets this cookie via embedded youtube-videos and registers anonymous statistical data.
_ga2 yearsThe _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors.
_gat_gtag_UA_149866828_11 minuteSet by Google to distinguish users.
_gid1 dayInstalled by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
CookieDurationDescription
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE5 months 27 daysA cookie set by YouTube to measure bandwidth that determines whether the user gets the new or old player interface.
YSCsessionYSC cookie is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos on Youtube pages.
yt-remote-connected-devicesneverYouTube sets this cookie to store the video preferences of the user using embedded YouTube video.
yt-remote-device-idneverYouTube sets this cookie to store the video preferences of the user using embedded YouTube video.
yt.innertube::nextIdneverThis cookie, set by YouTube, registers a unique ID to store data on what videos from YouTube the user has seen.
yt.innertube::requestsneverThis cookie, set by YouTube, registers a unique ID to store data on what videos from YouTube the user has seen.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
CookieDurationDescription
_splunk_rum_sid15 minutesNo description
SAVE & ACCEPT

ABOUT ME

Pastry Chef Tereza Alabanda Pastry Maestra

Subscribe!