Vanilla Kipferl are one of the most liked Christmas cookies in Germany. They have a distinctive half moon shape and are dipped in vanilla sugar right after baking. My kipferl today have a little twist. Instead of the usually used almonds I used pecan nuts, which is my favorite nut. For the finishing they are dipped in homemade orange sugar.
The great discovery for me in this recipe was the orange sugar. It does not only work for this recipe, you can use it for all kinds of things. It has a great aroma and I already made another batch with lemons. Packed into a nice jar it makes a nice gift, either together with some cookies or just by itself.
The great discovery for me in this recipe was the orange sugar. It does not only work for this recipe, you can use it for all kinds of things. It has a great aroma and I already made another batch with lemons. Packed into a nice jar it makes a nice gift, either together with some cookies or just by itself.
Pecan-Orange Kipferl
(adapted from "essen & trinken" magazine)
for about 40-50 cookies
1 organic orange
200 g sugar
80 g ground pecan nuts
140 g butter, at room temperature
70 g fine sugar
1 egg yolk
pinch of salt
50 g corn starch
150 g flour
Start a day before you plan to make the cookies with making the orange sugar. For that put the sugar in a shallow bowl. Zest the orange skin on top of the sugar. Mix together, stir occasionally and let stand overnight to dry. The next day it will have hardened. Put everything in a food processor and pulse a few times until you have a fine sugar.
For the dough start with roasting the ground pecan nuts in a pan until golden brown. Let cool completely.
In a stand mixer cream together the butter, sugar, egg yolk and salt for about 3-4 minutes. Mix together the flour and corn starch and add to the dough together with the nuts. Knead until you have a smooth dough.
Separate the dough in four pieces and form into rolls. Wrap the dough into plastic foil and put in the fridge for about one hour.
Cut a small piece from the dough, about thumb sized, roll and form into the kipferl (half moon) shape. Put the kipferl on baking sheets lined with parchment paper and store at a cool place for about 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Bake each sheet of cookies for about 10-12 minutes. Take them out of the oven as soon the edges are browned.
Fill the orange sugar on a plate and carefully dip the top of the cookies in the sugar, then let them cool on a wire rack.
For the dough start with roasting the ground pecan nuts in a pan until golden brown. Let cool completely.
In a stand mixer cream together the butter, sugar, egg yolk and salt for about 3-4 minutes. Mix together the flour and corn starch and add to the dough together with the nuts. Knead until you have a smooth dough.
Separate the dough in four pieces and form into rolls. Wrap the dough into plastic foil and put in the fridge for about one hour.
Cut a small piece from the dough, about thumb sized, roll and form into the kipferl (half moon) shape. Put the kipferl on baking sheets lined with parchment paper and store at a cool place for about 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Bake each sheet of cookies for about 10-12 minutes. Take them out of the oven as soon the edges are browned.
Fill the orange sugar on a plate and carefully dip the top of the cookies in the sugar, then let them cool on a wire rack.
Enjoy and Guten Appetit!
