The Taste of Christmas!

Before conquering the hearts of millions, these small crescents made from shortcrust pastry with almonds and vanilla flavoring likely had their origins in a single small Austrian bakery. According to legend, a clever husband-and-wife team of bakers were the ones who came up with the idea of forming the crescent moons in 1683 to mark the withdrawal of the Ottoman troops from Vienna. They were a small affront to the occupying forces’ coat of arms. But that’s ancient history. According to a recent survey, today these cookies known as Kipferl are among the most popular Christmas cookies in Germany, with over 40 percent of respondents selecting them as their favorite. From Austria all the way down to Italy, they’re also just as much a part of the pre-Christmas season as hunting for last-minute gifts. 

And they are easy to make, requiring only flour, ground almonds or hazelnuts, egg yolks, butter, and vanilla-flavored powdered sugar. Simply mix everything together, put the dough in the fridge for a short time, then roll it out into small rolls and cut them into half-moons. Once your cookie sheet is full, bake briefly, allow to cool, toss in flavored powdered sugar, and enjoy! 

In this process, the sugar plays an important role. And to ensure that it tastes sweet and, in this case, only of vanilla, it must be purified during production. This is because the extract obtained from sugar cane or sugar beets initially still contains bitter flavors, discolorations, salts, minerals, and caramel flavors. The Lewatit® ion exchange resins from the Liquid Purification Technologies business unit bind all these substances – so that nothing stands in the way of pure, sweet sugary enjoyment.