Vanillekipferl

Vanillekipferl
Type	Biscuit
Place of origin	Austria
Region or state	Vienna
Main ingredients	Almonds or nuts, vanilla
	Cookbook: Vanillekipferl; Media: Vanillekipferl;

Vanillekipferl are Swiss, Austrian, German, Czech, Slovak, Polish and Hungarian small, crescent shaped biscuits. Originally made with walnuts, but also with almonds or hazelnuts. They get their typical flavour from a heavy dusting of vanilla sugar.

Origins[]

Vanillekipferl originate from Vienna in Austria and are a specialty of the Bavarian town of Nördlingen. Traditionally, they are made at Christmas and are very well known in Europe.^[1] They are often for sale in Viennese coffee shops. They are said to have been created in the shape of the Turkish crescent moon symbolizing^[2] the celebration of the victory of the Hungarian army over the Turkish in one of the many wars between the nations.

They are also widely baked in Germany and are common in Switzerland, Hungary, Poland, Croatia, Czech Republic, Romania, and Slovakia as a part of the typical Christmas baking. Since in Germany the Advent is celebrated by several denominations of Christianity on the four Sundays preceding Christmas, many kinds of biscuits and sweets are consumed during this time and have become typical for winter time.^{[citation needed]}

Unlike other pastries, this particular kind is difficult to bake.^{[citation needed]} The batter used when hardened is very fragile. It takes a skilled pair of hands to create the “kipferl” or the horse–shoe shape without breaking the biscuit.