Make blunt tips so the ends bake at the same rate as the centers.
Finely ground hazelnuts replace flour in a hand-shaped crescent dough with a delicate, nut-rich crumb.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Hazelnut Christmas Shortbread Crescents Recipe
Follow the tray sizes, portions and baking intervals in the instructions below.
Total time includes hands-on preparation, required chilling or resting, whole-batch cooking, cooling and finishing.
Kitchen tools you’ll need
- mixing bowl
- mixer
- kitchen scale
- two 13 x 18-inch half sheets
- parchment
- wide spatula
- cooling rack
Ingredients
US measures are approximate. Gram weights help keep portions consistent; spice weights vary with density.
Instructions
Mix the dough
- Mix the dough: Beat butter and dough sugar briefly until smooth. Mix in vanilla, flour, hazelnuts and salt just until cohesive.
Shape and manage temperature
- Shape and manage temperature: Divide dough excluding dusting sugar into 24 portions, about 14 g. Roll each into a 2 1/2-inch rope, about 1/2 inch thick, and bend into a crescent with blunt tips. Refrigerate the shaped cookies for 30 minutes until firm.
Bake the whole batch
- Bake the whole batch: Heat oven to 325°F (165°C) conventional or 300°F (150°C) fan. Arrange cookies on two parchment-lined 13 x 18-inch half sheets, 12 cookies per tray, with at least 1 inch between edges. Bake one tray at a time on the middle rack, keeping the waiting tray refrigerated for 17–21 minutes, rotating front to back once, until the edges and bases are lightly golden and the centers look dry. Whole-batch cookie baking is 2 trays x up to 21 minutes = 42 minutes.
Cool and finish
- Cool and finish: Rest 10 minutes on each tray, cool 20 minutes on a rack, then sift all dusting sugar over the cooled crescents.
Timing and scaling
- Timing and scaling: Active preparation is 20 minutes; required chill/rest is 30 minutes; whole-batch oven baking is 42 minutes; cooling/setting is 30 minutes. Cooling allowance runs from the final tray; earlier trays may cool during later baking and that overlap is not counted again. Start with butter at the stated consistency; ingredient warm-up and frozen-dough thawing are extra. Oven preheating can overlap shaping or chilling. Scale every ingredient weight but keep piece dimensions, oven temperature and per-tray bake range unchanged; extra trays increase whole-batch time.
Chef’s Science & Pro Tips
Ingredient science
Ground hazelnuts replace part of the flour and weaken the crumb; these are not a shape-only classic shortbread variant.
Technique & texture
Make blunt tips so the ends bake at the same rate as the centers.
Finishing & serving
Dust only after cooling so the powdered sugar stays visible rather than dissolving.
Storage and make-ahead
| Method | How long | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Room temperature | 5 days | Up to 5 days. Store completely cooled cookies airtight in a cool, dry room, with parchment between layers. Keep away from moist filled cookies. |
| Refrigeration | up to 7 days | Unnecessary; up to 7 days if needed. Baked refrigeration is unnecessary for these unfilled cookies and may soften the crumb. If the room is warm, seal airtight and bring to room temperature while still covered. |
| Raw freezing | 1 month | Up to 1 month. Freeze wrapped dough or unbaked portions airtight. Thaw covered overnight in the refrigerator; shape as directed, then complete any stated post-shaping chill. Do not add thaw time to the fresh-batch timings. |
| Baked freezing | 2 months | Up to 2 months. Freeze fully cooled cookies before powdered-sugar coating or chocolate drizzle, airtight between parchment layers. Thaw sealed at room temperature for 1–2 hours, then apply fresh coating. |
| Restoring | 2 hours | 1–2 hours thawing, then fresh finish. Thaw uncoated cookies sealed at room temperature. Add the recipe's powdered sugar or chocolate finish afterward; allow chocolate 30 minutes to set. Do not oven-reheat coated cookies. |
Notes
- Scale ingredients, including US measures, without changing cookie size or oven temperature. Extra trays increase whole-batch time.
Nutrition
Approximate values per portion from the listed ingredient weights divided into 24 equal portions. Includes required fillings and finishes. Brands, unused coatings and actual portion size affect the estimate.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use chopped hazelnuts instead of ground?
No; the 56 g fine meal forms part of the flour system, unlike chopped inclusions.
Why do crescent tips burn?
Thin pointed ends bake faster; keep tips blunt and about 1/2 inch thick.
Are these exact Austrian vanillekipferl?
They are hazelnut crescent shortbread inspired by that holiday family, without claiming a definitive traditional formula.
