Time needed: 30 minutes.

Ingredients list

Dough:
5.3 oz (150 g) all-purpose flour
0.7oz (20 g) of vanilla sugar OR regular sugar + dash of vanilla extract
3.5 oz (7 tbsps / 100 g) unsalted butter
1.8 oz (50g) Blanched Almonds (without the skins)
1 egg yolk

Dusting:
Confectioners sugar + Vanilla Sugar to coat the baked crescents

1. Measure your Ingredients…

   And add them gradually in your mixing bow. Flour, vanilla or regular sugar, butter…

2. Separate the Egg Yolk

   Add the egg yolk and blend on low speed. If you didn’t have the vanilla sugar in the previous step, now you can add the dash of vanilla extract.

3. Chop the Blanched Almonds

   If you can get only almonds with brown skins, throw them in a pot with boiling water for a minute or so. Then strain them, and they will be easy to skin while still warm. Let them dry before processing so they chop easier. Chop them finely (but not powdery) so the dough is smooth.

4. Make a Dough Ball

   Work out a nice smooth dough ball and put it on a plate. Cover with plastic foil and let rest in the fridge. If you have different types of batter in your fridge, it is a good idea to label them 🙂 I like to leave the dough in the fridge overnight, but if you are in a hurry, just let it cool down some so it is not so mushy and continue.

5. Preheat the Oven

   Don’t forget to turn on your oven ahead, and preheat it to 350°F or 170°C.

6. Make the Crescents – Version 1

   The common way to make crescents is to roll the dough to about 1/2″ thick rolls and then cut them to 1 1/5″ to 2″ long pieces and shape the crescents… But I don’t like this way much because they RARELY look appetizing.

7. Make the Crescents My Way – Version 2

   I am using my meat grinder attachment, which is available online in several versions, to make my crescents. It is so much faster and neater! Such a small piece of aluminum and so useful!!! I would pay a fortune for it, it is so great!

8. Place them on a Baking Sheet

   Space the crescents evenly on a lined baking sheet.

9. Baking the Vanilla Crescents

   Place the crescents in a preheated oven and bake at 350°F or 170°C for 6-10 minutes. Watch them closely until you get the feel for your oven. They should be just turning pink. They shouldn’t be white (looking raw), and they definitely shouldn’t be brown.

10. Sugar Coating

    While the crescents are still hot, carefully coat them in a sugar bowl, where you’ve mixed together powdered sugar with vanilla sugar. Be careful, they are very fragile at this stage, and also, they are hot, so don’t burn yourself. Use a fork to turn them around and fish them out on a plate. Don’t worry if they look too sugary. A lot of the sugar will fall off when you start handling them later.

11. Storing

    Let them completely cool down before storing them! I like to store mine in a napkin-lined cookie tin in a cool pantry. They last easily a month… if you have enough of them, or else they disappear quick :).