{"id":2913,"date":"2019-12-18T18:52:02","date_gmt":"2019-12-18T16:52:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/test.thebitterolive.com\/?p=2913"},"modified":"2019-12-19T18:19:12","modified_gmt":"2019-12-19T16:19:12","slug":"vanilla-kipferl-austrian-christmas-cookies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.thebitterolive.com\/?p=2913","title":{"rendered":"Vanilla Kipferl (Austrian Christmas Cookies)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There is no doubt, at least in my mind, that European cookies are like no other. I especially love German and Austrian Christmas cookies. They are literally everything you\u2019re looking for. Soft, buttery and melt in your mouth. No matter how many times your ingredients start with butter, sugar and flour, you will always end up with a totally different taste. When baking European cookies, I try my best to stick to the original recipe. This is what I did with my double chocolate orange biscotti<\/em><\/a>. These buttery Vanillekipferl are no exception. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

These\ncookies are popular throughout Europe, but especially in Germany, Austria,\nPoland, Czech Republic and Hungary. Many people call them their favorite Christmas\ncookies. Though popular, in many countries, these cookies originated in Vienna\nalmost 400 years ago. However, the oldest written recipe dates to 1911.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kipferl,\nliterally translates to crescent. The cookies are rolled and shaped by hand in the\nshapes of crescents. As the name suggests, these cookies are infused with\nvanilla. Originally, vanilla seeds were used to flavor the dough and the pods\nwere used to make the vanilla sugar. This is exactly what I did for this recipe\nand strongly recommend that you do too. Although many people use vanilla essence\nor extract, but the truth is they just taste different with real vanilla pods. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s\nget baking\u2026<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The high\nbutter ratio and the absence of eggs give these cookies a melt in your mouth\ntexture like no other. You might find recipes that call for the use of eggs to have\na softer more pliable dough. I found this absolutely unnecessary. This dough\nwas soft and tasted like heaven. To achieve this, I play with the proportion of\nflour to nuts. I use less flour and nuts than most recipes call for, nut I\nassure you the end result is impeccable.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Should I\nuse butter?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

By all\nmeans. Cookies are made of love and butter. Do not use margarine or shortening.\n<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which\nnuts should I use?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Traditionally,\nthese are made with walnuts. I used pecans here. Almonds and hazelnuts are also\nvery popular choices. Go with whatever you have, what matters though is to use\nfreshly ground nuts. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do I\ndeal with a crumbling dough?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Although\nthis never happened to me with this recipe, but if it does, add milk \u00bd tsp at a\ntime. Like I said, I strongly advice against eggs as it completely changes the\ntexture.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n