Gluten Free Vanillekipferl (Austrian/German Vanilla Crescent Cookies)

Step 1

Adjust the oven rack to the middle position, pre-heat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC) and line a large baking sheet with baking/greaseproof paper.Tip: You will bake the cookies in several batches, so you can line 2-3 baking sheets if you have them on hand. Otherwise, just re-use the same baking sheet, but make sure to cool it completely before you place the next batch of unbaked cookies onto it.

Step 2

In a large bowl, whisk together the gluten free flour blend, ground almonds, caster/superfine sugar, xanthan gum and salt until combined.

Step 3

Add the softened butter and vanilla, and knead everything together until you get a smooth, uniform cookie dough. The final dough shouldn’t be crumbly or sticky to the touch. Instead, you should be able to take a portion and shape it into a ball, without any cracking, crumbling or sticking.Tip: Don’t be tempted to cream the butter and sugar together before adding the rest of the ingredients when making the cookie dough (like you might do for other recipes). Doing so here would introduce air pockets into the dough, which will expand during baking and make the cookies too crumbly and delicate. Instead, just knead all the ingredients together into a smooth dough.

Step 4

Shape about 24g (1 ½ tablespoons) of cookie dough into a ball, then roll it out into a small log or cylinder approximately 10cm (4 inches) in length. Each small log/cylinder should be thinner at the ends and thicker in the centre. Tip: You can make smaller cookies, but you will need to shorten the baking time slightly in that case. Always look at the colour of the cookies (as described in step – that's the best indicator for when they are perfectly baked.

Step 5

Bend each small log/cylinder into crescent shape and transfer it to a lined baking sheet, at least 2.5cm (1 inch) apart, as they do spread out a bit during baking.

Step 6

Bake at 350ºC (180ºC) for 12-14 minutes. Perfectly baked cookies should be of a very pale golden colour on top with the tips of the crescents of a slightly darker golden brown. Tip: Don’t worry if they have small cracks on their surface (it’s rather inevitable when using gluten free flour to make them) – they will all get covered up with powdered/icing sugar anyway!

Step 7

Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes until warm before gently and carefully rolling them in powdered/icing sugar.Tip: Immediately out of the oven, the cookies will be VERY soft and fragile. As they cool down, they will firm up, so you can easily handle them. So, unlike with wheat-based vanillekipferl, don’t try to roll them in powdered/icing sugar when they’re still hot – if you do, they will crumble away to nothing. Instead, allow them to cool for 5-10 minutes, at which point you should be able to easily pick them up and cover them with powdered/icing sugar.

Step 8

Storage: The gluten free vanillekipferl keep well in a closed container in a cool dry place for about 3 weeks. In fact they get even more delicious after about 1 week.