Vanillekipferl (Almond Crescent Cookies)

Vanillekipferl are small almond biscuits shaped like a crescent moon. They are particularly popular in Austria and Germany, where they are part of the culinary delights of Christmas biscuits. In most Austrian homes, baking biscuits is an essential part of Christmas preparation, a family activity to be enjoyed on wintry days when it is snowing outside. Children love to knead dough and cut out biscuits. They enjoy creating the distinctive shape of Vanillekipferl, which is formed by rolling the dough between one's palms. What is more, no two Vanillekipferl are ever the same, since the size of palms and pressure applied vary. Although, at first, the Vanillekipferl appears to be a modest, little biscuit among all the colourful and sometimes elaborately decorated Christmas biscuits, it is a clear favourite. The distinctive crescent shape that makes Vanillekipferl instantly recognisable among the Christmas biscuits is based on Kifli, a traditional Hungarian dish. Kifli are crescent shaped rolls made from a flour dough. The dough is cut into triangular wedges that are then wrapped and will f

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