Crumbly Crescents from 1930
Crumbly crescents from a 1930 recipe. Simple cookies made from butter, almonds, flour, and powdered sugar — no eggs, no baking powder. Delicate, buttery, and very crumbly, similar in taste and texture to Austrian Vanillekipferl.
Prep time
25 min
Cook time
14 min
Waiting time
25 min
Total
1 godz. 4 min
Servings
45
Difficulty
Łatwy
Ingredients
Dough
- 300 gwheat flour type 650
- 200 gbutter
- 120 gblanched almonds, finely ground
- 120 gpowdered sugar
For coating
- powdered sugar for coating
- vanilla or sugar with real vanilla
Instructions
- 1
Quickly knead the flour, butter, ground almonds, and powdered sugar into a uniform dough.
- 2
Shape the dough into a ball and refrigerate for about 20–30 minutes.
- 3
Once chilled, break off small pieces of dough. Warm each piece briefly in your hands, roll it into a small log, and bend it into the shape of a little crescent.
- 4
Place the crescents on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
- 5
Bake on the middle rack of an oven preheated to 170°C, top and bottom heat, for about 12–15 minutes.
- 6
The crescents should stay pale. Don't bake them until deeply golden.
- 7
After taking them out, leave them on the tray for 2–3 minutes, as they are very fragile when hot.
- 8
While still warm, roll or dust them with powdered sugar mixed with vanilla.
Tip
The original recipe comes from a Polish cookbook from 1930 — in the original, the crescents were meant to be very small. The dough contains no eggs or added liquid, which is why it's exceptionally crumbly.
Common mistake
If the dough crumbles when you try to shape it after chilling, warm the portion of dough briefly in your hands before forming the crescent.
Serving suggestion
The finished crescents are similar in taste and texture to Austrian Vanillekipferl, though this isn't a classic Vanillekipferl recipe. They're best eaten still slightly warm, dusted with vanilla powdered sugar.
Newsletter
Every week I write about what's not in the videos.
Mistakes, tips, and behind-the-scenes of this week's recipes, straight from Michał.
