Let me tell you about a legend of vanilla crescent cookies.

It goes all the way back to 1683.

It was 12th of September.
A long and hard battle between the Viennese and the Turkish army has just ended. Viennese have defended their city and the whole Austro-Hungarian Empire from the Turkish invasion.

They were so proud and happy! To let the Turkish Empire know they are no longer afraid of them, the city’s bakers celebrated by making popular sugary cookies, called kipferl, in the shape of crescent moons that characterized the Turkish flag.

After their defeat, the Turks fled, leaving behind the first sack of coffee beans to reach Vienna. That is how the establishment of Viennese coffeehouses started, in which the crescent cookies found a home.

Ingredients

• 200 g (1 cup) unsalted butter
• 140 g (1 ⅛ cup) all purpose flour
• 140 g (1 ⅛ cup) pastry flour
• 80 g (⅔ cup) powdered sugar
• 10 g (1 tbsp + 1 tsp) vanilla sugar
• 1 egg
• 100 g (¾ cup) ground walnuts or almonds
  
  +
  
• powdered sugar and vanilla sugar mixed together in quantity you desire for coating

Preparation

1. Rub the butter into the flour making small crumbs.
2. Add sugar, vanilla sugar and walnuts, then combine.
3. Add the egg and work together to form a dough.
4. Leave it to rest in the fridge for at least one hour.
5. Preheat the oven at 180 °C (356 °F).
6. Pinch off walnut sized pieces and form crescents.
7. Sort them on a baking sheet cover with parchment paper or silicon sheet.
8. Bake for approximately 10-12 minutes.
9. Roll them in icing sugar mixed with vanilla sugar while they are still warm.
10. When the crescents are cooled,store them in an airtight container where they can stay for several weeks.

Tip: Leave the cookies 1 minute to cool a bit before rolling them into sugar. Although they have to be coated warm, they are very fragile, and this way they are less likely to break.

Do you have any interesting stories about one of your favorite desserts? Share with us 😉