Vanillekipferl Vanilla Crescent shaped Cookies

Ingredients

130 grams ground almonds (I use the ones with the skins still in)
300 grams all purpose flour MINUS 3 tablespoons PLUS 3 tablespoons
cornstarch, sieved together, OR use 300 g type 1050 flour if you can find it
300 grams softened butter
100 grams Demarara (golden brown) sugar
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest from an untreated lemon
4 tablespoons powdered sugar sieved together with 3 teaspoons vanilla sugar

Instructions

Quantity makes about 70. By hand, or using the dough hook of a kitchen machine, mix the almonds, flour, sugar and lemon peel to a smooth dough. Wrap it in foil or cling wrap and cool in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Heat the oven to 200 C. On a floured board, roll the dough out into 3 1/2 cm diameter (1 1/2") sausage shapes of manageable length and chill for a further 10 minutes. Cut nut-sized pieces from the dough sausages and gently finger-form them into fat crescent shapes. Batch-bake them on baking paper, not too close together, for 12 - 15 minutes. Put the powdered sugar mixture into a soup plate or similar deep plate, and roll the hot kipferl in this sugar mixture. Cool on a wire rack.