Vanilla Crescent Cookies (German Vanillekipferl) are delicious Vegan Christmas biscuits that are easy to make without eggs and dairy butter! They are crispy, tender, made with almonds and vanilla, and taste much better than store-bought cookies! The perfect Christmas treat for the whole family or as a homemade gift idea for friends.
Grandma’s Vanilla Crescent Cookies
Looking for a homemade vegan cookie recipe that tastes like traditional biscuits Grandma used to make? With this German Vanillekipferl recipe you can make the best vegan Christmas Cookies easily at home!
During the Advent season, my grandma and I have always been baking a lot of treats when I was a child – from classic cookies, cinnamon stars, coconut macaroons, Linzer cookies, to shortbread, gingerbread men, vanilla crescents, and much more!
While we found all of those cookies totally delicious, the vanilla crescents (German Vanillekipferl) were always our favorite biscuits. I can even remember that I always saved them in a separate box for me so that nobody else could eat them, haha!
Anyway, this vegan vanilla crescent cookie variation is as delicious as the traditional recipe! We simply replace the dairy butter with vegan butter or plant-based margarine and that’s it. My grandmother didn’t use eggs when there was no need in the recipe. And shortcrust pastry or cookies were also one of those baked goods that are traditionally egg-less.
An easy cookie recipe with simple ingredients
What I also love about this recipe is that it is so quick and easy! If you’ve never made vanilla crescents before, you might need a little longer to shape them, but practice makes perfect, so next time you’ll be faster! I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it by Thanksgiving or Christmas if you bake these cookies every Sunday during the holidays! 😀
Furthermore, you only need a few simple pantry staple ingredients, which you can easily buy ahead or even might have at home already. You only need the following ingredients:
- all-purpose or spelt flour
- pinch of salt
- cornstarch or arrowroot starch
- ground almonds (made of whole almonds, no almond flour)
- powdered sugar
- vanilla sugar (or ground vanilla, tonka bean, or vanilla extract)
- vegan butter or margarine
*Note: As always, you will find the exact measurements in the recipe card below.
How to make vanilla crescent cookies
This recipe yields 20 cookies. If you want to make more, you can simply double the number of ingredients. The German Vanillekipferl can be kept in a cookie tin for a few weeks, so it’s always worth baking a few more cookies, especially if you have children. They are also a great gift idea – your guests and neighbors will be happy! Believe me, they will be gone faster than you may think! 😀
*Note: Watch the recipe video to see how easily you can make these cookies!
Step 1: Make the cookie dough.
Start by whisking together flour, salt, cornstarch, ground almonds, powdered sugar, and vanilla sugar in a bowl. Then add the vegan butter and knead everything using a hand mixer with dough hooks attached or simply your hands until a dough forms. Roll the dough into a 1.5-inch (3-4cm) thick roll and cut it in half. Then wrap the rolls tightly in cling film and put them in the refrigerator for about 1 hour. Chilling the dough will harden the butter which makes the dough firmer and less sticky. Then you can shape the vanilla crescent cookies more easily.
Step 2: Form and bake the Vanillekipferl.
After the chilling time, preheat the oven to 356°F (180°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Now take the dough rolls out of the fridge and cut them with a knife into 1/2-inch (1 cm) wide slices. Roll each slice into a small roll, making the ends a little thinner. Now bend both ends together to form a crescent shape. Place the shaped vanilla crescents onto the prepared baking sheet and bake them in the preheated oven for about 12 minutes, or until the ends are slightly browned.
Once done baking, let the cookies cool completely on the baking sheet. Then dust with powdered sugar and enjoy!
These homemade vegan vanilla crescent cookies are:
- Egg-free
- Dairy-free (lactose-free)
- Quick and easy
- Crispy
- Tender
- Will melt in your mouth
- Loaded with almond and vanilla flavor
- A great Christmas treat for the holidays
- Perfect for snacking or as a gift idea
- So delicious!
How can I store homemade cookies?
Vanilla crescent cookies stay crispy and fresh for up to 4 weeks when stored in an airtight cookie tin in a cool, dry place. If you want to give the cookies as a gift, put them in a tightly closed plastic bag. If possible, the cookies should always be kept airtight and only be out in the air when they are consumed immediately.
Can I freeze these cookies?
Just like other dry cookies, vegan vanilla crescents are easy to freeze. However, it is important that they are completely cooled after baking before you put them in a freezer bag. When ready to serve, you can defrost them at room temperature or in the microwave. If you love warm cookies, you can also warm them up briefly in the oven before eating them.
More Vegan Christmas recipes to try:
Looking for more simple baking recipes for the holidays? Here are a few favorite recipes from my vegan Christmas bakery:
- Vegan Cinnamon Rolls
- Vegan Mini Apple Pies
- Best Vegan Pumpkin Pie
- Linzer Cookies (Spitzbuben)
- Vegan Gingerbread Cookies
- Vegan Chocolate Cookie Butter Cake
- Cranberry Vanilla Cake
- Cranberry Orange Bread
- Best Vegan Pumpkin Bread
- Cranberry Crumb Cheesecake
- Crunchy Nut Corners
If you try these vegan vanilla crescents, please leave me a comment and a rating on how you liked this recipe! And if you take a picture of your delicious Christmas cookies and share it on Instagram, please tag me @biancazapatka and use the hashtag #biancazapatka, because I love to see your photos! Happy baking! 🙂
German Vanillekipferl (Vanilla Crescent Cookies)
Author:You do not have a fitting cake pan at hand right now? Try my Cake Pan Conversion Calculator!
Ingredients
- 1 cup (125 g) all-purpose or spelt flour
- 1 pinch of salt
- ½ tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot starch
- ⅔ cup (75 g) ground whole almonds no almond flour!
- ½ cup (50 g) powdered sugar + more for dusting
- 1 tbsp vanilla sugar or vanilla extract*
- ½ cup (115 g) vegan butter or margarine (cut into small pieces + at room temperature)
Instructions
*Note: Please watch the recipe video and check out the step-by-step photos above to see how easily you can make these cookies!
- Whisk together flour, salt, cornstarch, ground almonds, powdered sugar, and vanilla sugar in a mixing bowl. Add vegan butter pieces and knead everything into a dough, using the dough hooks of a hand mixer or just your hands. Roll the dough into a 1.5-inch (3-4cm) thick roll and cut it in half. Then wrap the rolls tightly in cling film and place in the refrigerator for about 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 356°F (180°C) and line a baking sheet with baking paper.
- Take the dough rolls out of the refrigerator and cut them into about 1/2-inch (1 cm) wide slices with a knife. Roll each slice into a small roll, making the ends a little thinner. Bend both ends together to form a crescent shape.
- Put the shaped cookies on the prepared baking tray and bake in the preheated oven for about 12 minutes until the ends are slightly browned.
- Once done baking, let them cool completely on the baking sheet.
- Dust with powdered sugar and enjoy!
Notes
- Instead of vanilla sugar, you can also use ground vanilla or tonka bean, or vanilla extract. Then add 1 tbsp more powdered sugar as needed.
- Storing + freezing instructions and further tips can be found in the blog post above.
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Hello – I haven’t made these yet, but hoping to for Christmas. You usually give flour substitute options for GF, but didn’t for these. Do you think I could use a GF flour replacement for the ones given?
Yes you can use a gluten-free flour blend too! 🙂
Hi!
I know this cookies because my granny used to make them a lot when i was a kid. And it would’nt be something but i come from Silesia, Poland. I know once we were Germans 😉 but still…
Delicious recipe! I’ve been seeing these cookies in all of the German bakeries with Weihnachten approaching. I don’t think I ground my almonds up quite enough but I don’t mind the extra texture. I used sprouted spelt flour, since I had it on hand. My children enjoyed helping to roll them out into kleine wackelige Würmer.
Hey Amanda, thank you so much! It’s cool that you and your kids enjoyed baking them. 🙂
Delicious cookies, very easy to make and forgiving (I accidentally melted my butter and used almond meal but they came out fine)
Thanks for your great feedback! 🙂
So glad you love this recipe!
Happy weekend! ♡
I love these cookies! So far these are the best! Easy to make and very delicious! I needed to make two portions because I ate the first immediately 😄
So glad you love them! 😀
Thank you very much for your feedback! ♡
I hope you had a great Christmas time! 🎄🎁
Can I use vegetable oil or coconut oil instead of vegan butter?
You can use coconut oil instead but the dough will be not as easy to form.
These are fantastic! I moved away from Germany years ago, but I still love my German baking 🙂 A Mexican friend introduced me to her favourite Christmas cookie (Mexican Wedding Cookies) this year and they really reminded me of Vanillekipferl. And so I was looking for a great Vanillekipferl recipe to give people something to compare them to. I linked back to your awesome recipe – you can check it out here: https://theplantifulbison.com/mexican-wedding-cookies-with-coconut-oil-sub (let me know if you’d like one of your own pics alongside it!)
I have a question, though: what does the cornstarch do? Do they not hold together without it?
Yay, that’s amazing! Thank you so much! I am so glad you love the recipe! 🙂
They will also hold together without cornstarch but I find it works better when you add it.
Much love, Bianca <3
delicious cookies 😍 love your recipes 😘
Thank you so much! 🙂
This cookies are so easy to make and so tasty, i love it!
Yay, that’s amazing! Thanks! 🙂
So glad you enjoyed these cookies! <3