Marbled with chocolate and vanilla batters and filled with jam, these cookies represent the best of the Viennese pastry tradition.
Holiday cookies
Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies
Cream cheese gives sugar cookies a marvelous flavor. It also makes the dough softer and stickier. The dough needs to be cold when these are rolled out; if it begins to stick, return it to the refrigerator for a while.
This dough is used in Shining Star Cookies.
Whole Wheat Viennese Vanilla Crescents
These famous melt-in-the-mouth German-Austrian cookies are usually made with white flour, so we were intrigued when we ran across a German recipe for whole wheat crescents. The whole wheat flour gives the cookies a deeper, nuttier flavor. If it matters, they’re also higher in fiber than usual. These cookies should sit for at least a week to allow the flavor of the vanilla to develop. They’re worth the wait.
Chocolate-tipped Almond Crescents
Almond crescents are a traditional holiday favorite in much of Europe, but these cookies taste good anytime of year. For an extra special touch, dip them in chocolate.