By Grocery List Plus Editorial Staff | Published on June 14, 2026
Serves 50
68 cal · 134 min
Vanillekipferl German Vanilla Crescents
Recipe GLPR1ab151164c4aa6
Delicate German butter cookies shaped like crescent moons and infused with vanilla. These tender, melt-in-your-mouth treats combine almond flour and fine cake flour for a rich, delicate texture. The warm cookies are dusted with a fragrant vanilla-powdered sugar coating while still fresh from the oven, making them perfect for tea time or special occasions.
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Ingredients
280 grams cake flour
100 grams almond flour
180 grams butter, cold
80 grams powdered sugar
1 packet vanilla sugar
4 tablespoons powdered sugar for topping
Directions
Sift the cake flour 2 to 3 times into a large mixing bowl. Remove the cold butter from the refrigerator and cut it into small cubes.
Add the almond flour, powdered sugar (80 grams), and vanilla sugar to the sifted flour. Cut the cold butter cubes into the flour mixture using a pastry cutter or your fingertips until the dough begins to come together. Gently knead until a smooth, cohesive dough forms.
Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours until it is well chilled and firm.
Preheat your oven to 170°C (338°F). Divide the chilled dough into 5 equal portions and shape each into a narrow log. Cut each log into 10 even pieces to create 50 portions total. On a lightly floured work surface, gently shape each piece into a crescent moon shape. Place each crescent on a lined baking sheet, spacing them about 2 cm apart.
Bake the crescents in the preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes, until the edges are light golden brown. (If your oven runs hot or cool, you may adjust the temperature by 10°C as needed.)
Carefully remove the baking sheet from the oven. The cookies are delicate at this point, so handle them gently to avoid breakage.
While the cookies are still warm, combine the 4 tablespoons of powdered sugar with any remaining vanilla sugar to make the topping mixture. Use a fine tea strainer or sifter to dust the topping generously over all the warm crescents.
Allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking sheet. Once cooled, transfer them to an airtight container or cookie jar for storage. They will keep fresh for several days.
Comments
Vanillekipferl are a genuine Charlotte-friendly choice: butter, flour, and almonds appear at every major chain, and vanilla sugar is stocked at Harris Teeter and Kroger year-round. The cost per serving runs low—perhaps $0.35 to $0.50—because almond flour is the only premium ingredient, and fifty crescents stretch it far. The 134-minute stated time is honest if you factor in two chilling periods (essential for crescent shaping), though active hands-on work is under thirty minutes, making this a weekend baking project rather than weeknight. These keep well in an airtight container for five days and freeze for weeks, but they are crisp and delicate when fresh—not a make-ahead-and-reheat dish. Budget a second stop only if your usual chain has run out of vanilla sugar; otherwise, this is a low-fuss, low-waste cookie that rewards patience.
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