Discover how to make perfect vegan almond crescent cookies without eggs! These German Vanillekipferl are a classic in holiday baking, completely free from animal products! Yet, they are so delicious and almost melt in your mouth!

two hand holding a plate with Vegan Almond Crescent Cookies

Welcome to the enchanting world of traditional holiday baking with a twist – today, we’re making vegan almond crescent cookies! These delicate, crescent-shaped treats are a true classic among holiday sweets and a must-have in every festive cookie jar.

Imagine opening your cookie jar to be greeted by the sweet aroma of freshly baked, vanilla-coated almond crescents. This scent, so intimately linked with the holiday season, comes to life in your kitchen. Vegan almond crescent cookies are not just a feast for your taste buds but also a testament to how simple and delicious vegan baking can be.

Vegan Almond Crescent Cookies on a plate

The perfect almond crescent cookie recipe: They’re crispy, crumbly, yet buttery soft, boasting a wonderful vanilla flavor and coated with delicate powdered sugar – exactly how perfect almond crescents should be. Who can resist this sweet delight that nearly melts on your tongue?

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I want to show you that these traditional treats don’t need any animal products. With simple ingredients available in any supermarket, we’ll create a recipe that’s not only vegan but also irresistibly delicious. You can confidently skip the egg, replacing butter with margarine – it’s that easy!

Ingredients

See recipe card for quantities.

  • White Flour – Ensures a tender and light texture. For a gluten-free version, you can use high-quality gluten-free flour.
  • Ground Blanched Almonds – They give the cookies a nutty, mildly sweet flavor. Blanched almonds are ideal as they have a subtler taste than unpeeled almonds and contribute to a lighter color. Alternatively, ground hazelnuts or walnuts can be used for a different flavor twist.
  • Bourbon Vanilla Sugar – Essential for an authentic vanilla aroma. Vanilla sugar is a very common Swiss/German baking product. If you donโ€™t have vanilla sugar, you can make your own by mixing 2 tbsp caster sugar with the scraped-out seeds of one vanilla bean. For the cookie dough, you could also use vanilla extract. As for the sugar coating, a dry form of vanilla is needed.
  • Powdered Sugar – Adds sweetness and helps the dough hold together. Powdered sugar is finer than regular sugar and dissolves better in the dough, creating cookies that melt in your mouth. You also need it for dusting the almond crescents – like a dusting of snow! โ„๏ธ
  • Vegan Butter – Be sure to use high-quality vegan butter that works well for baking. It should have a consistency similar to butter.
  • Salt – A pinch of salt enhances the flavors of the other ingredients.

Visual Step-by-Step Instructions

This visual step-by-step instruction will help you along the way โ€“ definitely recommended if youโ€™re a baking beginner!

MAKE THE DOUGH: Mix white flour, ground almonds, powdered sugar, vanilla sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add vegan butter in pieces and mix with a stand mixer or hand mixer to a crumbly dough.

Almond Crescent Cookies Recipe Step 1-2

CHILL THE DOUGH: Knead the crumbly mixture by hand into a smooth dough, wrap in cling film, and let it rest in the refrigerator for an hour. โ†’ Chilling makes it much easier to form the dough into crescents later.

Almond Crescent Cookies Recipe Step 3-4

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SHAPE: Shape the cold dough into crescents.

Shaping Almond Crescent Cookies

Shaping Almond Crescent Cookies

  • Prepare the Dough: Make sure your dough is well chilled. Then divide it into 3-4 portions.
  • Forming the Dough Rolls: Roll each portion into an even roll, about 1 inch thick. There’s no need to flour the work surface.
  • Cutting Slices: Cut the roll into slices about 0.4 inches thick. A knife or dough scraper is ideal for this.
  • Forming Small Rolls: Take a slice and roll it between your hands into a small roll. It’s okay if the middle is a bit thicker.
  • Shaping into Crescents: Gently bend each roll into a crescent shape. This will give you the classic form of the cookies.

BAKE & DUST: Transfer crescents to a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake in a preheated oven for 12 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, then dust with powdered sugar while still warm.

german vanillekipferl on a plate

Tips

  • Chilling: Ideally, chill the dough in the refrigerator for an hour. If you’re in a hurry, you can turbo-chill it in the freezer for 15 minutes.
  • Baking: The crescents are done once the tips start to brown slightly, but the rest remains white. You definitely don’t want brown almond crescents.
  • Dusting: Dust the cookies while they’re still warm so the powdered sugar sticks better. Once out of the oven, place them on a rack and sprinkle with a mixture of powdered sugar and vanilla sugar using a small sieve. โ†’ Place clean baking paper underneath to collect and reuse any sugar that doesn’t stick to the cookies.
  • Extra Flavor: If you like, you can add almond extract for extra flavor.

Make-Ahead & Storage Instructions

Prepare the dough ahead of time: You can store the raw cookie dough for up to 2 days in the fridge. Then shape and bake. โ†’ If the dough is hard to shape, it might be too cold. Let it sit at room temperature for 15-30 minutes before continuing.

Store baked cookies in a cookie tin or airtight container at room temperature. They keep fresh for at least one week.

Freeze baked cookies for up to 3 months in a freezer bag and thaw single cookies for 1 hour at room temperature.

More Vegan Christmas Recipes

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two hand holding a plate with Vegan Almond Crescent Cookies

Vegan Almond Crescent Cookies – German Vanillekipferl

Discover how to make perfect vegan almond crescent cookies without eggs! These German Vanillekipferl are a classic in holiday baking, completely free from animal products! Yet, they are so delicious and almost melt in your mouth!
Author : Aline Cueni
5 from 1 vote

Click on the stars to leave a vote!

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Prep Time :30 minutes
Cook Time :12 minutes
Chill Time :1 hour
Total Time :1 hour 42 minutes
Servings : 25
Calories : 73kcal

Ingredients
 
 

Cookies

Sugar Coating

Instructions
 

  • In a large bowl, mix flour, almond flour, powdered sugar, vanilla sugar, and salt.
  • Add cold vegan butter in pieces and mix with a stand mixer or hand mixer to a crumbly dough.
  • Knead the crumbly mixture by hand into a smooth dough, wrap in cling film, and let it rest in the refrigerator for an hour. โ†’ Chilling makes it much easier to form the dough into crescents later.
  • Preheat the oven to 355ยฐF (180ยฐC).
  • Shaping Crescents: Divide the dough into 3-4 portions.
  • Divide the cold dough into 4 pieces and roll each into an even roll, about 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick. Then cut the roll into slices about 0.4 inches (1 cm) thick. Roll each slice into a finger-thick roll, then bend into a crescent shape.
  • Transfer crescents to a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 12 minutes.
  • Transfer to a wire rack and let cool briefly.
  • In a small bowl, mix powdered sugar and vanilla sugar. Dust the warm cookies with it.

Notes

  • Vanilla sugar is a very common Swiss/German baking product. If you donโ€™t have vanilla sugar, you can make your own by mixing 2 tbsp caster sugar with the scraped-out seeds of one vanilla bean.
  • Sugar Coating: Sprinkle the cookies with powdered sugar while they are still warm. This helps the sugar-coating adhere better.
  • Turbo Cooling: If you’re short on time, there’s a little trick: Instead of chilling the dough in the refrigerator for an hour, you can place it in the freezer for 15 minutes
  • Stored in a cookie jar at room temperature, they will stay fresh for several weeks.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 73kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 10mg | Sodium: 53mg | Sugar: 2g

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