The Ambassador's Table: holiday treat

The Sweet Taste of Christmas - Austrian Vanillekipferl

When you are Austrian, Christmas and Vanillekipferl goes together like Thanksgiving and turkey, or coffee and cream.
One of my favorite childhood memory is the delicious smell of these freshly baked cookies, together with the aroma of fresh pine tree and the imaculate white of the first snow.
I know, I know, this sounds like the worst kitch, but it's just the way it was and still is.
These recipe is known as well as almond crescents and has been passed on from generation to generation. Each family has a slightly different recipe and some "secret ingredients"
they will hardley reveal.
Vanillekipferl are an all time favorite, they are wonderfully light, litterally melt in your mouth and are quite addictive. Just try for yourself and you will see..
Ah, and before I forget, when you prepare this speciality, try to get in the mood with some Christmas music, I promise theyKipferl will taste even better like this :)

This is what you need:
A dash of cool Christmas music
and
110g almond meal
70g powdered (icing) sugar
210g unsalted butter, cut into 1|\2 inch cubes
280g sieved all purpose flour

For the sugar coating:
100g powdered sugar
2 packages vanilla sugar

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 180C.
Quickly mix all ingredients

to a smooth dough

and leave it in the fridge for about half an hour.
Tip: Keep the dough all time covered in the fridge so it won't try out.
Separate the dough into several parts, keep one to work with and set the rest aside in the fridge.
Divide the dough in small portions ( I used a melon cutter)

,roll out every piece in your hand (about 3-3 1/2 inch long) and shape into crescents.

OR:
Roll out the dough to a about 1cm thick roll. Cut the roll into small pieces, formong crescent shaped cookies.
Arrange the cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. As they will grow when baking, place them at least 1/2 inch apart.
Bake for about 10 minutes or until light brown in color ( They should not be too dark)

Mix icing sugar and vanille sugar (reminds me of skiing!)

together and sieve, then toss the hot cookies carefully in the mix.

Uups,this one was too good to resist!

Store in airtight bcontainer or cookie box.
Enjoy!

Do you enjoy traveling?

Most people would affirm, I suppose.

The issue is when it comes to unpacking. There are those who let their suitcase "rest" for a few days before they empty their luggage and there are those who have to unpack immediately as soon as they walk over their own doorstep.

I'm rather a member of the frenetically unpack ASAP club - even when coming home after midnight.

We just returned from a short trip to Rome where we used to live for two years and... we came home after midnight. Guess what I did?

Anyhow, it was a wonderful trip and the memories will stay on.

It was so beautiful to come back, see our friends there and enjoy the charm of La Bella Roma.

It felt as if we would have never left, walking the narrow streets of the city center, visiting our favorite restaurants and bars (Just want to clarify before you might think that we are totally devoted to alcohol that a bar in Italy is actually a cafe) :)

We also visited an exceptional exhibition about Cleopatra in a lovely old monastery called the Chiostro del Bramante. http://chiostrodelbramante.it/

The queen conquered the eternal city by storm.

Visitors are streaming to the Chiostro to pay tribute to Cleopatra much the same as the Roman emperors Julius Cesar and Marcus Antonius did at the time of the Roman Empire.

Here are a few of our Roman Impressions I would like to share with you.

Evening light at the Ponte Milvio. Couples in Rome have long been attaching padlocks to the bridge as symbols of love.