Patricias Viennese Crescents Recipes

VIENNESE CRESCENT COOKIES

Steps:

• In an airtight container, combine the confectioners' sugar and vanilla bean and let stand, covered, for at least 24 hours. Sift before using. (The vanilla sugar will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to several months.)
• In a food processor or high-powered blender, pulse together the flour, 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar, salt, and hazelnuts until the nuts are finely ground, about 30 seconds. Add the butter and pulse just until a dough forms. If the dough is crumbly, you may need to pulse it a little longer until it forms a dough. Turn the dough onto your work surface and gently form it into a ball and then flatten it into a disk. Wrap it in plastic wrap or wax paper and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Adjust the oven rack to the center of the oven.
• Roll level tablespoons of dough (about 18 grams) into balls. Then roll each ball on a smooth surface into a 3-inch log with slightly tapered ends. Bend each log to form crescents and arrange them about 1 inch apart on baking sheets.
• Bake the cookies until the edges are pale golden, 12 to 15 minutes.
• Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly, about 2 minutes.
• Sift enough vanilla confectioners' sugar onto a rimmed baking sheet to cover the bottom.
• Carefully transfer the slightly cooled baked crescent cookies to the sugared baking sheet and sprinkle with enough sugar to coat completely. Move the crescents to wire racks to cool completely. (The cookies keep, layered between sheets of wax or parchment paper, in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.)

VIENNESE CRESCENTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Cream butter until it is light and fluffy. Add the confectioners' sugar, flour, nuts, and vanilla.
• Mix thoroughly. With your fingers, shape into crescents about 2 inches long, 1/4 inch wide and thick.
• Roll each cookie in confectioners' sugar. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet for 12-15 minutes, until just slightly golden.
• Place on a wire rack to cool and roll in more confectioners' sugar before serving.

VIENNESE CRESCENTS

Steps:

• Chop vanilla bean. Pound it in a mortar or pulverize it in an electric blender with about one tablespoon of the confectioner's sugar. Mix with the remaining confectioners' sugar. Cover and let stand, preferably overnight. Reserve while cookies are baked.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Cut walnuts with a sharp knife into very small pieces. Pound the pieces to a paste, using mortar and pestle.
• With a wooden spoon or the fingers, mix walnuts, butter, granulated sugar and flour to a smooth dough. Shape dough, about a teaspoon at a time, into small crescents about one and a half inches in diameter.
• Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet until lightly browned, or 15 to 18 minutes. Cool one minute. While still warm, roll cookies in prepared vanilla sugar.

VIENNESE CRESCENTS

Steps:

• Cream the butter and add the sugar and vanilla and beat to fluffy. Add the flour and nuts and mix in. Chill the dough for at least one hour. The more it's chilled the less it spreads during baking.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Shape the dough into tiny crescents using 1 teaspoon of dough for each cookie. Place them on an ungreased sheet pan in rows, leaving 1 inch in between for spreading and bake until golden brown, about 12 to 15 minutes.
• Let cool 5 minutes. Dredge them in confectioners' sugar.

VIENNESE CRESCENTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Beat the butter on medium speed of mixer until lightened in color and creamy.
• Sift 3/4 cup powdered sugar over the butter and beat until well combined.
• Stir in vanilla and nuts.
• Graduallly sift flour over the top while stirring.
• Knead until well blended.
• Pull off generous 1-tablespoon pieces of doug, roll with your hands into a short rope and shape into crescents.
• NOTE: If the dough is soft and difficult to handle, refrigerate until slightly firm.
• Space 1 1/4 inches apart on greased cookie sheets.
• Bake 1 sheet at a time until the crescents are tinged with brown and slightly darker at the edges, 13 to 16 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through baking for even browning.
• Remove the sheet to a cooling rack and let stand until the cookies firm slightly.
• Transfer the cookies to racks and cool completely. Sift 2/3 cup of powdered sugar over cookies (entire batch) until evenly coated.

VIENNESE CRESCENT HOLIDAY COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, butter, nuts, 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, salt, and vanilla. Hand mix until thoroughly blended. Shape dough into a ball. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, place sugar in a bowl or small container. With sharp chef's knife, split vanilla bean lengthwise. Scrape out seeds, and mix them into the sugar. Cut pod into 2 inch pieces and mix into sugar.
• Remove dough from refrigerator and form into 1 inch balls. Roll each ball into a small roll, 3 inches long. Place rolls 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet, and bend each one to make a crescent shape.
• Bake 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, or until set but not brown.
• Let stand 1 minute, then remove from cookie sheets. Place hot cookies on a large sheet of aluminum foil. Sprinkle with prepared sugar mixture. Turn gently to coat on both sides. Cool completely and store in an airtight container at room temperature. Just before serving, coat with more vanilla flavored sugar.

VIENNESE ALMOND CRESCENTS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Line 2 large cookie sheets with cooking parchment paper.
• In small bowl, mix flour, almond meal and salt, stirring well with wire whisk. In large bowl, beat butter and granulated sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, beating until blended. Refrigerate 10 minutes.
• Shape dough into 40 (2-inch) logs; bend logs to form crescent shape. Place crescents 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. Bake 12 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks; sprinkle cookies with powdered sugar.