Easy Vanilla Crescent Cookies with Butter and Spelt Flour
Snowy, tender and full of vanilla — no Christmas tray is complete without crescents. This version gets its melt-in-the-mouth texture from vanilla pudding powder and sour cream in the dough.
We always make them with real butter, never margarine, and with spelt flour, which makes them even more tender. They are rolled in powdered sugar twice: once warm, once cold.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love These Vanilla crescents
- Melt-in-the-mouth texture thanks to pudding powder and sour cream.
- Real butter flavour — never margarine.
- Spelt flour for extra tenderness.
- A big batch of about 60 crescents.
Tips for Perfect Vanilla crescents
- Rub in the butter cold and work quickly so the dough stays short.
- Chill for at least 45 minutes. The dough is much easier to shape.
- Keep them pale. Take them out before they brown.
- Sugar them twice: warm, so the sugar sticks, and again when cool for the snowy look.
Vanilla Crescent Cookies Recipe
Vanilla Crescent Cookies
Difficulty: Easy60
cookies45
minutes15
minutes105
minutesTender vanilla crescents made with butter, sour cream and spelt flour, rolled in powdered sugar while warm.
Ingredients
- Dough
450 g light spelt flour (type 630)
3 packets vanilla pudding powder (about 120 g)
½ packet baking powder
A pinch of salt
250 g cold butter
100 g sugar
1 packet vanilla sugar
180 g sour cream
- To finish
Powdered sugar for rolling
Directions
- Mix the spelt flour, pudding powder, baking powder and salt. Rub in the cold butter with your fingertips until crumbly.
- Add the sugar, vanilla sugar and sour cream and knead quickly into a smooth dough. Wrap and chill for at least 45 minutes.
- Heat the oven to 175 °C. Take walnut-sized pieces of dough, roll each into a short rope with tapered ends and bend it into a crescent.
- Bake on a lined tray for about 15 minutes — they should stay pale, not brown.
- Roll the warm crescents in powdered sugar, then dust them once more when they have cooled.
Notes
- Always butter, never margarine: it is what gives these crescents their flavour.
How to Store Them
Keep in an airtight tin for 2–3 weeks. Dust with a little fresh powdered sugar before serving.
FAQ
Can I use wheat flour?
Yes, plain wheat flour works one-to-one, but spelt makes them a little more tender.
Why did my crescents crack?
The dough was too cold or too dry. Let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes and work it briefly in your hands.
More Christmas Cookies
This recipe is part of our 5 Easy Christmas Cookies tray. Bake the others too:
