Vanillekipferl

Commonly found throughout Austria, Hungary, and Germany, vanillekipferl are traditional, sweet, crescent-shaped cookies consisting of flour, sugar, butter, and vanilla. The cookies often contain ground nuts such as hazelnuts, almonds, or walnuts. According to a popular theory, the cookies were invented in the days of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. When the empire's army defeated the Turkish army at Vienna in 1683, the city's bakers celebrated the victory by shaping the kipferls into crescents - mimicking the characteristical shape found on the Turkish flag. Today, vanillekipferl are especially popular around Christmastime, when they are dusted with powdered sugar or dipped in chocolate.