Our Christmas cookie parade continues today with this twist on the traditional Austrian Christmas Kipferl.
For those of you not familiar with Kipferl, they are traditional Austrian vanilla Christmas crescent-shaped cookies (Vanillekipferl) made with almond flour.
For this version, I swapped out the almond flour for hazelnut. I added orange flavor and cardamom for sexy holiday flavor.
What I love best about these cookies is how easy they are to make. No chilling the dough, no cookie cutters.
You roll the dough out with your hands into a rope shape, cut off kipferl sized sections, bend and pinch both ends of each cookie. when the cookies come out of the oven you gently roll them while warn in a cardamom powdered sugar combo. Donezo. No decorating, no icing, no food coloring.
There are endless substitutions you can make with the spices and flavors. It would also be fun to experiment with the flour using pistachio or peanut varieties.
These make lovely holiday gifts as well as great additions to any Christmas cookie platter.
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
For the cookies:
- 1+3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups hazelnut flour
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons fresh orange zest
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon orange extract
- 14 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces
- 1 egg
For the Coating:
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder
- 2 teaspoons fresh orange zest
Directions:
- Make the dough:
- Whisk together the flour, hazelnut flour, powdered sugar, baking powder, cardamom, and cinnamon
- Mix in the orange zest and the extracts.
- Add the butter pieces and knead everything together. Knead in the egg.
- Wrap the dough in plastic cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Pinch off a handful portion of dough at a time. Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface. Use both palms to roll the dough out into a long rope about an index finger thick.
- Divide the rope into 2-inch pieces. One at a time, place each piece on the parchment paper lined baking sheet and bend to the left to form a crescent shape. Pinch each end of the crescent to form a point.
- Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake the cookies for 15 minutes.
- In a shallow small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, cardamom powder, and orange zest.
- Remove the kipferl from the oven and when the cookies are cool enough to handle but still warm, roll each one in the cinnamon powdered sugar mixture and place on a serving platter.
Krazy for Kipferl? Try these other delicious Kipferl recipes:
1 comment
Intriguing! I have always made our Christmas Vanille Kipferl with hazelnuts, the way my Austrian mother taught me. Also, no egg. This opens up other possibilities..love the pistachio idea!