The recipe comes out of a "Your Family Magazine," South African edition, dated December 1990.
Ingredients:
150 g butter or hard good tasting margarine (preferably butter)
50 g (60 ml) sugar
200 g (400 ml) cake flour, sifted
70 g (140 ml) ground almonds
1 drop almond essence or to taste (optional)
To compete:
105 g (125 ml) castor sugar
10 g packet vanilla sugar OR 5 ml vanilla essence
Method:
Cream together butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Sift in flour, add almonds and
beat to form a soft dough. Knead gently, wrap in clingwrap and refregerate 30
minutes until firm. Roll into long, sausage shapes, cut into 30 mm lengths. Mix together castor sugar
and vanilla sugar or essence, stir well to combine. Roll dough in sugar mixture,
curve into horseshoe-shapes on lighty greased baking trays. Bake at 180 C (350 F) for 10 - 12 minutes until very pale golden brown. Remove from
oven. Leave on trays to cool a few minutes, then roll in sugar mixture again. Remove
to wire cooling racks to cool completely. Store in airtight tin. Enjoy!
ORIGINS:
Vanillekipferl originate from Vienna in Austria and is a specialty of the Bavarian
town of Nördlingen. Traditionally, they are made at Christmas, are very well known
in Europe. [1] Thus, they can be enjoyed all year round and are often for sale in
Viennese coffee shops. They are said to have been created in the shape of the
Turkish crescent moon symbolizing [2] the celebration of the victory of the
Hungarian army over the Turkish in one of the many wars between the nations.
They are also widely baked in Germany and are common in Hungary, Czech
Republic, Romania, and Slovakia as a part of the typical Christmas baking. Since in
Germany the Advent is celebrated by several denominations of Christianity on the
four Sundays preceding Christmas, many kinds of biscuits and sweets are consumed
during this time and have become typical for winter time.
Below is a very good example of them - The picture is from Pinterest and not mine. Middle age does not give me much calorie allowances to bake these days but this is exactly how they should look and they are divine!
http://www.worldlibrary.org/articles/vanillekipferl