Vanilla Kipferl (Crescents)

 

Ah, now that Halloween is over and we are heading towards Thanksgiving, the holiday cookie baking season has begun!! My goal this holiday season, is to go out of my comfort "zone," and try and make cookies I've never made before. My mother-in-law who passed away in 2011, was a fabulous baker. I loved how when my family would visit my in-law's in Cleveland, after every meal (even breakfast), a tin of "bakery" would appear on the table. There would be potica, kolache and chocolate chip cookies. I don't remember these vanilla crescents ever making an appearance though. I found a recipe for vanilla "kipferlin" or "crescents" in an American Slovene Club cookbook that is falling apart and looks like it was used frequently. It is part of the treasure "trove" of recipes and cookbooks that we found in my in-law's house.  After a lot of researching on the Internet, I think they really should be called "kipferl." Anyways, I made a dozen or so of these crescents last night and the hubby had a "sample."  He said, "oh, I remember my mom making these!" When he said that, I thought that was pretty cool. Well, this afternoon, when he saw me making up the rest of the dough, he said, "your cookies are just as good as the ones my mom used to make!" Yahoo, now that made me smile :)  

 

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 3/4 cups white flour
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup pecans, chopped
1/2 cup powdered sugar (reserved)

In a large bowl, put the butter, flour, white sugar, vanilla extract and pecans. Mix well with spoon or with your hands until well combined. Cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge for a minimum of one hour. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. In small bowl, put the reserved powdered sugar and set aside. Roll batter into 3 1/2 dozen equal sized balls with the palms of your hands. With your fingertips, press each ball into a "crescent" shape. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for approximately 15 minutes or until the cookies are just starting to turn brown. Remove to wire rack and let them cool just a bit. While still slightly warm, roll each cookie into the reserved powdered sugar. Keep covered at room temperature.