Crescent or Kipferl Cookies

Depending prefer depends on what you'd call them... Half-Moon, Crescent or Vanilla Kipferl...  this are a delicious holiday cookie, simple to make and fun to eat...

Vanilla Kipferl

Ingredients

• 2 1/8 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 pinch salt
• 7/8 cup butter
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 egg
• 3 teaspoons vanilla sugar
• 1 1/4 cups ground almonds

Directions

1. * To Make Your Own Vanilla Sugar: Place 1 1/2 to 2 cups of sugar and place in pint jar. Put a clean vanilla bean in the jar, cover and shake well. Let stand for a few days, shaking the jar occasionally, before using the sugar. As you use the sugar, replace with fresh sugar.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the salt and the flour. Cut in the butter or margarine, and mix in with your hands.
3. Add the confectioners' sugar, the egg, the vanilla sugar, and the ground almonds to the flour mixture. Place the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
4. Divide the dough into several parts. Make rolls that are approximately 1 inch thick. Cut the rolls into 1 inch pieces, and bend the pieces into the shape of a semicircle ( just like a croissant). Place the kipferl on a baking tray, and leave them in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
5. Bake at 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) for 10 to 15 minutes. When done, remove kipferl carefully from the tray.
6. While still warm, dip the kipferl in a mixture of confectioners' sugar and vanilla sugar.

Weihnachts Market in Frankfurt