Markus Zusak’s Vanilla Kipferls (Vanillekipferl)
Buttery hazelnut cookies with just a hint of sugar, these traditional, Austrian cookies make a great not-too-sweet treat any time of the day.
Ingredients
For the cookies
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1 /4 cups hazelnut meal see note
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 14 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature (1 3/4 sticks of butter)
For the vanilla sugar
- 1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1 whole vanilla bean cut in half lengthwise
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray two baking sheets lightly with cooking spray.
- To make the cookies: Combine the flour, hazelnut meal, and granulated sugar in a large bowl. Cut butter into 1/2-inch pieces and add to flour mixture. Using your fingers, mix butter and flour thoroughly for 8–10 minutes, until a soft dough is formed.
- Pinch off small pieces of dough and mold gently between your palms to form 3-inch ropes, thicker in the middle and tapered at the ends. Fashion each piece into a crescent shape and place onto the prepared trays, leaving a generous 1/2-inch in between (they do spread a little and grow in size when cooked).
- Bake the cookies one tray at a time for 10-12 minutes, until the bottoms and edges just start to turn golden brown. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 1 minute before transferring to a cooling rack.
- While the cookies are resting, mix the vanilla and sugar for the coating. Carefully coat each cookie in the sugar before returning to the cooling rack to cool completely. Store in an air-tight container.
Notes
Hazelnut meal is made from ground-up hazelnuts, and can be found at specialty grocers and online. You can also make your own hazelnut meal: Preheat oven to 350°F. Place 6 ounces (1 1/4 cups) of shelled hazelnuts on a baking sheet in a single layer. Bake 8–10 minutes, stirring occasionally so nuts don’t burn, until they are fragrant and browned. Remove tray from oven and let nuts cool slightly. While still warm, fold the nuts inside a clean kitchen towel and rub vigorously to remove their skins. Place nuts in a food processor fitted with the stainless-steel blade, and process until they are finely ground.
Nutrition
Calories: 99kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 10mg | Sodium: 1mg | Potassium: 7mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 117IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 9mg | Iron: 1mg