Vanillekipferl – Austria

Vanillekipferl is a tiny, crescent-shaped biscuit known to Austrians, as well as Germans, Swiss, Czech, and Hungarians with a sweet tooth. These cookies were originally made with walnuts but can also be made with almonds or hazelnuts with a thick layer of vanilla sugar dust that gives it its signature flavor.

Also called Vanille Kipferl, Wiener Vanilla Kipferl, and Viennese crescent cookies, Vanillekipferl is said to have been made when Vienna’s bakers celebrated the empire’s army’s victory over the Turkish army on September 12, 1683, by shaping popular sugar cookies known as Kipferl into crescent shapes, which resembled the crescent moons found on the Turkish flag. This particular type of pastry is challenging to bake, unlike other pastries, because the batter becomes solidified and very brittle, making it difficult to shape.