Gluten Free Vanilla Crescent Cookies

Gluten-Free Vanilla Crescent Cookies (also known as Vanillekipferl) are traditional Austrian Holiday Cookies. Tender, with a melt-your-mouth texture, these cookies are a must-make around the holiday season. Made with just a handful of ingredients and no one will be able to tell they are gluten-free. Since I am born and raised in Austria, this is an authentic Austrian Recipe.

This recipe is my Grandma's recipe which I have adapted to be gluten-free. Made with simple ingredients such as gluten-free flour, ground almonds, and of course butter, this recipe can be made in no time. The Gluten Free Vanillekipferl are shaped by hand but once you have the hang of it, they will come together quickly. This recipe varies not only by ingredients but also by how the crescents are shaped all over Austria. I am showing you in this recipe how my family makes them.

Depending on how thick and big you shape this dough, you will get around 45-50 vanilla crescent cookies out of one batch.

Make sure to check out my Mom's Linzer Cookie Recipe and my Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookie Recipe.

Recipe Ingredient Notes

Gluten Free Flour: I have made this recipe for Gluten-Free Vanilla Crescent Cookies with Bob’s Red Mill 1-1, King Arthur Measure for Measure as well as my own gluten free flour blend. In Austria, I have made this recipe with Schaer Schär Mix C - Kuchen & Kekse. I have not tried this recipe with Cup4Cup. All blends mentioned do include xanthan gum

Nut flour: Depending on who you talk to in Austria, Vanilla Crescent cookies are made with Walnut Flour or Hazelnut Flour. Both of those flours can be hard to find in the US. So I use very fine Almond Flour.

Butter: Please use unsalted, room temperature butter for the recipe. It should be around 65F which is a lot colder than many of us consider room temperature.

Powdered Sugar: Cookies made with powdered sugar have a more delicate crumb. Some people also call it confectionary sugar or icing sugar.

Egg Yolks: The added egg yolks make the dough tender and smoother.

Vanilla Sugar: You may be surprised to hear this but Vanilla Extract is not an ingredient that is commonly used and found in Austria or Germany. We mainly use Vanilla Sugar which is a vanilla-infused sugar. You can find it in large grocery stores as well as international food markets here in the US in the baking aisle. You can also purchase Vanilla Sugar (often called Vanillin) via Amazon: Dr. Oetker Vanilla Sugar. You can also make your own Vanilla Sugar. You may also skip it but your cookies will be less "vanilla-ey"

What are Vanillekipferl - Vanilla Crescents?

Vanillekipferl originated in Vienna, Austria, and is traditionally made around Christmas. The main ingredient is walnut or hazelnut flour and gets it's signature vanilla taste from a heavy vanilla sugar dusting. They are said to have been created in the shape of the Turkish crescent moon symbolizing the celebration of the victory over the Turkish in 1683.

The shape and ingredients of Gluten Free Vanillekipferl can vary by region. You may have seen recipes that make thicker crescents and recipes like mine which make thinner cookies, and looking like horseshoes. No matter what, they are delicious. Picture a cross between a sugar cookie and shortbread with a melt-in-your-mouth tenderness.

How to make Gluten Free Vanillekipferl Dough

One can make the dough for Gluten-Free Vanilla Crescent Cookies in a stand mixer, in a food processor, or by hand. This dough must rest for at least 2 hours or you will have a very hard time rolling it.

Step 1: Start by sifting together the gluten-free flour, powdered sugar, ground almonds (or whatever ground nuts you choose to use), vanilla sugar (if using), and salt in the bowl of your stand mixer.

Step 2: Attach your mixing bowl to your mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, and add the small diced butter to the dry ingredients. On a low/medium speed mix the butter into the dry ingredients until it starts to look crumbly. The butter should be about the size of lentils (very, very tiny)

Step 3: With the mixer running, add the egg yolks and fully incorporate them.

Step 4: Add 1-2 tablespoons of milk (nondairy works great) and mix until the dough comes together. How much milk really depends on which flour you use and how large the egg yolks are. For the dough shown in the pictures (made with Bob's Red Mill 1-1), I added 2 tablespoons of milk. If you ask my Grandma she would tell you "you can tell when the dough is ready"

Step 5: Transfer the dough to a clean, lightly floured kitchen counter, and with your hands knead it until it is smooth. It's totally okay if there are still a few specks of butter in the dough. You really only need to knead it a few times. No need to overknead it.

Step 6: Once your dough is smooth, wrap it in some parchment paper and place it in the refrigerator for at least 2hrs and up to 5 days.

How to shape and bake Gluten Free Vanilla Crescent Cookies

Once your dough has peacefully rested, it is time to shape and bake Gluten-Free Vanillekipferl.

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350F and line 3 sheet trays with parchment paper.

Step 2: Sift together powdered sugar and vanilla sugar in a small bowl and set aside.

Step 3: Remove the dough from the fridge and on a clean, very lightly floured surface or parchment paper roll around 50 grams of dough into a rope. Around ½" thick and around 16" long. Try to keep the thickness of your dough ropes as consistent as possible. This way the crescents bake evenly.

Step 4: Cut each rope with a knife or a bench scraper into 4" smaller roped pieces and shape them into crescents (kinda like horseshoes). Arrange them on the sheet tray. I like to bake 5x3 on each sheet tray. You can shape all the cookies first and place the shaped cookies on their sheet tray in the fridge or shape them while your cookies are baking.

Step 5: Bake the crescent cookies, one tray at a time, at 350F for around 9-10 minutes, until they look pale, puffed, and dry.

Step 6: Remove the baked cookies from the oven and allow them to cool on the sheet tray for 2 minutes. The sugar will stick the best if the cookies are still warm.

Step 7: With a fork, off-set spatula, or your fingers, carefully transfer a few cookies to the bowl of powdered sugar and vanilla sugar and coat evenly all over.

Step 8: Carefully transfer the cookies to a sheet tray and allow them to cool completely.

Alternatively, you can also use a sifter and dust the cookies on the sheet tray with the vanilla-powdered sugar while they're still hot.

How to make Homemade Vanilla Sugar

Vanilla Crescent Cookies get their signature taste from Vanilla Sugar which is more common in Europe than Vanilla Extract. To make homemade Vanilla Sugar, you just need 2 ingredients: granulated white sugar and one vanilla bean.

To make Homemade Vanilla Sugar, place 2 cups of granulated sugar in your food processor or blender. Cut your vanilla bean in half lengthwise and with a knife to scrape out the seeds. Place the seeds on top of the sugar and pulse 10-15 times until the vanilla bean seeds are fully incorporated into the sugar.

Transfer your homemade vanilla sugar to an airtight container. Add the empty vanilla bean pod and store it at room temperature in your cupboard. Make sure to give it a shake every so often since it can clump up.

The sugar will continue to develop flavor. Use your homemade vanilla sugar in this recipe for Gluten Free Vanillekipferl.

Note about Salt in my Recipes

I use Diamond Kosher Crystal Salt in all of my recipes unless otherwise stated. If use use a different brand or kind of salt in your kitchen please adjust accordingly since some salts can be saltier. If you use Morton’s Kosher Salt please be aware that their salt granules are smaller in size, denser, and crunchier and twice as salty.

Baking in grams

I share my recipes in grams and by weight since baking by weight is the most accurate way to bake. Digital Scales are very affordable and easy to use. You can purchase them on Amazon for less than a set of measuring cups. For small amounts under 10 grams, I like to use this Precision Pocket Scale. Measuring cups are very inaccurate which can cause significant errors when it comes to gluten-free baking or baking in general. Especially since I bake with gluten-free flours which weigh differently than “regular” flours. I do provide some ingredients like spices and leavening agents in measuring spoons. To learn more about Baking with a digital scale, make sure to check out my post about Baking by weight.

Note about Ovens and Oven Temperatures

All my recipes are tested and developed with a conventional oven. I always bake my baked goods on the rack placed in the MIDDLE of my oven. This way the heat coming from the bottom will not burn my baked goods.

If you are baking with convection (fan-forced), please adjust the recipes accordingly. Convection oven can cause baked goods to dry out quickly and still be raw inside. Since takes at least 15-20 minutes for a standard American Oven to be fully preheated. I highly recommend investing in an Oven Thermometer.

Substitutions and Modifications

Any dietary or ingredient modifications/substitutions to this recipe may alter the end result in appearance and taste. I test my recipes several times as published in this post and The Gluten Free Austrian Blog is not responsible for the outcome of any recipe you find on our website.