Vanilla Kipferl and why I do not post step by step pictures

Yesterday it was a very hard day at work. I usually don't work on Friday morning these days but I had to sub for a sick teacher. That in itself put me in a sad mood because I had planned to make some delicious rolls but I knew I was not going to have enough time to make them once back from work. On top of it, as I said, it was a hard day with a very hard group to keep. I got home exhausted! And I needed something to cheer myself up. It was then that I remembered one of the last post of Chef Dennis who suggested to bake cookies when you are having a bad day. That post saved my day! 

I pulled out this recipe for several reasons. First of all, I wanted cookies too! I NEEDED cookies! Second, I love traditional recipes and the Kipferl recipe is indeed very traditional. Kipferl cookies are a typical Christmas treat in Austria. If you happen to be there during the holidays, you cannot escape them! And you shouldn't. Finally, I love simple recipes and this is definitely a simple one. Very few, basic ingredients and a very quick method (except for the 2 hours in the fridge but you really do not have any complicated or time consuming step involved). You can even leave the dough for a day or two if you don't have time to shape them and bake them that day...but that also takes very little time. I made these cookies once with an adorable kid I was doing Italian/baking classes with. It's a very kid-friendly recipe and kids have a lot of fun shaping these cookies.

Before leaving you with the recipe, I also wanted to mention one more thing. I really would love to start posting step by step pictures. I love when other bloggers include them. I always find them very useful. However, I have several constraints to that. Of all the constraints, today I just want to mention one that I already talked about in my post about the Versatile Blog Award: my three kitties. My three kitties are adorable creatures...I really love them...I treat them like  human beings and I talk to them as I talk to kids...However, contrary to kids, they have a lot of hair...and they seem to love dropping it off everywhere. My tiny kitchen, in particular, is the place where the love to hang out the most. I'm always obsessed with making sure all the hair is gone before I start to bake. Nevertheless, they love to keep  mommy company while she bakes...in other words...they are always there, ready to catch anything that might accidentally fall off the counter. 

Here is the proof!

This is my girl, Zoe (aka Space Cat!), on the stool next to the counter, ready to "help" mommy! (yeah, right!)

This is our big boy, Mischa, underneath the stool where Zoe is, trying to catch whatever falls (he does not want mommy to waste too much time vacuuming). His big belly speaks the truth!

And this is our baby boy, Perci. He is more sneaky....he pretends to help mommy setting up the picture scene (see the tripod and how is checking out whether the light is good?!) but he just wants to eat the real finished good.

Needless to say I cannot leave my goodies unattended while I set up my camera or I would not have anything to blog about :(  I will have to wait to move to a home with a real kitchen before realizing my dream of having step by step pictures.

So by now I can just leave you my recipe and final product :) Enjoy!

Vanilla Kipferl

Ingredients

100 gr amonds, ground

250 gr all purpose flour

150 gr butter

100 gr sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

confectioner sugar to decorate

In a large bowl, combine the ground almonds and the flour

Cut in the butter and mix in with your hands.

Add the egg, the vanilla, and the sugar and work the mixture with your hands until you obtain a homogeneous dough

Shape the dough into a rectangle, about 1 inch thick and place it in the refrigerator for about two hours.

After two hours, take the dough out of the refrigerator. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare a baking tray with parchment paper.

Divide the dough into several parts. Make rolls that are approximately 1 inch thick. Cut the rolls into 1 inch pieces, and bend the pieces into the shape of a semicircle ( just like a croissant...or a boomerang as Wally called them!).

Bake for about 15 minutes (depending on the oven; I left them for about 20 minutes) until golden.

While still warm sprinkle the kipferl with confectioners' sugar and let them cool down.

Suggestions for chocolate lovers: 

If you make these cookies during the winter, match them with a cup of hot chocolate and you will have the perfect afternoon treat. 

If you want to give a twist to the original recipe you can try to add some chocolate powder to the dough or you can dip the tips of the cookies into melted chocolate.

Have a sweet day!