This recipe for typical South Tyrolean Christmas biscuits was given to me by a friend during a photo workshop in Sicily.
Buttery and aromatic biscuits that melt in your mouth and are irresistible for an afternoon hot chocolate, perhaps after a good ski!

Vanillakipferl

  • Preparation time: 90 minutes
  • Ingredients for 24 biscuits
  • Difficulty: Easy recipe

  • Ingredients
  • 1 cup (150 grams) of all-purpose flour
  • 1 stick (110 grams) of butter
  • 2 tablespoons and 1 teaspoon (35 grams) of sugar
  • 4 tablespoons (50 grams) of chopped almonds
  • 1 vanilla pod
  • Icing sugar to taste
  • Sugar to taste
  1. Instructions
  2. Chop the almonds in a food processor until they become flour-like.
  3. With a sharp knife, cut the vanilla bean starting from one end and arriving at the other. With the tip of the knife, spread the stick a little and scrape the pulp along the entire length in order to extract the seeds that are the aromatic part.
  4. Sift the flour on a pastry board. Put the cold butter in small pieces in the center and start working the two ingredients until the flour is mixed with the butter: this process is called sandblasting.
  5. Add the sugar, almonds, and vanilla seeds, mixing quickly.
    Let the obtained dough rest in the refrigerator for about an hour, wrapped with cellophane.
  6. After this time, form finger-thick rolls with the dough. Cut them into pieces of 3-inch length and then arch the two ends to give them the shape of croissants.
  7. Place the biscuits on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.
  8. Bake in a preheated oven at 350° F for about ten to fifteen minutes.
  9. Allow the biscuits to cool for a few minutes and then pass them in powdered sugar mixed with granulated sugar.

Tips to ensure the success of the dish:

  •  It would be preferable to sandblast with a knife or food processor in order not avoid touching the butter too much with your hands.
  • After forming the cookies, I always put them back in the refrigerator for at least ten minutes to ensure that the shape taken does not deteriorate during cooking.
  • The timing of cooking in the oven is indicative because each oven cooks differently.