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Austrian Cookie Recipes

By Karin Roberts, Old World Crafts

Vanille Kipferln

• 1 cup butter (unsalted)
• ¾ cup fine sugar
• 1 cup ground almonds
• 2 ½ cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup vanilla-flavored powdered sugar (sugar stored with a vanilla bean)

Cream butter and sugar together. Blend in almonds and flour. Store dough in refrigerator for an hour. Take small pieces of the dough and roll gently between the palms of your hands. Then form into crescents. Place on greased baking tray and bake in a moderately slow oven at 320 degrees F for about 20 minutes. Cool until cookies are barely warm, and then toss them in powdered vanilla-flavored sugar.

Makes 3 dozen

Huszaren Krapferl

• 2 bars sweet butter, soft
• 3-3-¼ cups flour
• ½ cup sugar (generous)
• 1 egg white
• Zest of 1 lemon, grated
• 1 inch vanilla bean or ½ tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons apricot jam
• 3 egg yolks

Cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Add grated lemon rind and vanilla. Mix egg yolks alternately with spoons of flour into batter. Work in remaining flour until dough is firm but smooth. Place a small piece of dough in the palm of your hand and roll between palms into a small ball, about 1 inch in diameter. 

Place cookies on baking pan, allowing space between cookies. With your finger, make a small indentation in center of each cookie. Bake in preheated oven 350°F. for 20-25 minutes or until lightly colored. When cool, place a dab of apricot jam in center. Serve dusted with confectioner's sugar. 

Note: Hussar Rounds can also be served plain, omitting jam. Serve sprinkled with confectioner’s sugar. Without the apricot filling, these cookies will keep extremely well in a cool place (not refrigerated). 

Makes 4-4½ dozen macaroons

Zimtsterne

• 2 egg whites
• ½ tablespoon lemon juice
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 12.5 oz. ground almonds
• 9 oz. sugar
• 5 oz. confectioners' sugar
• 1-½ tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 2-3 tablespoons water

Whip the egg whites together with salt until foamy. Add the sugar and whip until stiff. Add cinnamon, lemon juice and almonds, and combine the dough well. Roll out dough to ¼-inch thickness and cut cookies using a star-shaped cutter. Place the individual cookies 2 inches apart on sheet pan. Bake in the middle of the preheated oven at 500° F. for approx. 3-5 minutes or until the cookies are brown in color.

While cookies are baking, stir together confectioner’s sugar and water for the glaze. Immediately remove cookies from the hot pan and set aside to cool down a little bit. While still warm, glaze them.

Makes 50 cookies, depending on size of cutter

Spitzbuben

• 4 oz sugar
• 7 oz. unsalted butter
• 2 eggs
• 10 oz. flour
• Raspberry Jam

Sift together flour and sugar. Work in the butter and the eggs until soft dough forms. Roll out on a floured board as thin as possible and cut into round shapes with a cookie cutter. Place the rounds on a greased baking sheet and bake at 320 degrees F until light brown. Remove from baking sheet while still hot. When lightly cooled, spread half of the cookies with raspberry jam and cover with other half on top (like sandwiches). Dust them with powdered sugar.

Makes about 30 cookies, depending on size of cutter