Christmas Spiced Chocolate and Almond Crescents

You can’t go wrong with a crescent-shaped cookie during the Christmas season, correct? While vanilla crescents seem to be the more popular choice amongst my fellow Germans, I much prefer these Christmas spiced cookies made with ground almonds, cinnamon and cloves, then dipped in dark chocolate. They aren’t overly sweet, have a delicate texture, a warm, nutty aroma, and their shape makes them perfect for dunking into tea or coffee.

These chocolatey Christmas cookies have always been some of my favourites, and my veganised version of this sentimental treat tastes just as good as the original. They taste divine, are easy to make and come in handy as a delicious last-minute Christmas gift.

Ingredients

For about 45 cookies

150g vegan block butter

2 tsp soya milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

100g granulated or caster sugar

100g cornflour

100g ground almonds

1/8 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cloves

100 - 150g dark baking chocolate (over 50%)

Method

Step 1 Cut the vegan butter into small pieces and place them in a large bowl along with the sugar.

Step 2 Measure your dry ingredients (cornflour, flour, baking powder, cinnamon and cloves), put them in a separate bowl and combine them with a wire whisk. Leave the ground almonds on the side for later.

Step 3 With an electric hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a beater attachment, cream the vegan butter and sugar together until you have a homogenous, creamy mixture. This may take 5 - 10 minutes.

Step 4 Add the soya milk and vanilla extract, and continue mixing the batter while adding small portions of your dry ingredients.

Step 5 When you’ve added the dry ingredients, the batter will have changed into a dryer and crumblier dough. Now, add the ground almonds and continue mixing for a little longer until all the ingredients are well combined.

Step 6 You could now change your mixer attachment to a dough hook but I prefer kneading the dough by hand. This won’t take very long and the warmth of your hands will help bring the dough together. If you’re using an electric mixer, knead the dough until smooth and well combined (about 3 minutes).

Step 7 Shape the dough into a small loaf and wrap it in cling film. Leave in the fridge to rest for at least an hour.

Step 8 When the dough is ready, line two baking sheets with baking paper and preheat your oven to 180°C on the fan setting or 200°C on conventional top and bottom heat.

Step 9 Now, take the well-rested dough out of the fridge and cut it into eight equal pieces. Working with one piece at a time, knead the dough with your hands to make it workable, then roll it into even coils of about 30cm. Now, cut each coil into 6 pieces of about 4cm - 5cm and shape them into little crescents.

Step 10 Bake one tray of cookies at a time for ten minutes, turning the tray halfway through to ensure an even bake.

Step 11 Transfer the hot cookies to a cooling rack and let them cool down completely.

Step 12 Melt your chocolate in a bain-marie, a water bath or in the microwave until it is really runny, then, dip both sides of the crescents into the chocolate. Let any excess chocolate drip off and transfer the chocolate-coated cookies back to a cooling rack. Wait until the chocolate has cooled down and firmed up before devouring. The crescents keep in a cookie tin or airtight container for several weeks.

Notes on Ingredients

Baking Chocolate

The amount of chocolate you need depends on how much of a chocolate addict you are. I love chocolate, so I coat the ends of my crescents generously. If you prefer a thinner coat, it may be better to brush the chocolate onto the cookies. I used Dr Oetker Dark Chocolate for Bakers (54%).

Cornflour

You can use cornflour (or corn starch if you’re in the US) but you can easily replace it with potato starch if that’s what you have at home. In UK supermarkets, this can often be found as ‘Farina’ in the World Foods aisle.

Ground Almonds

Do not confuse with almond flour! Ground almonds can be found in the baking aisle of most supermarkets and have a coarser grind than almond flour. You could replace them with ground hazelnuts. While this will give them a distinctly different flavour, the hazelnut aroma should go well with the chocolate and Christmas spices.

Soya Milk

I use soya milk to replace one whole egg in the original recipe. I recommend using a protein-rich milk alternative but you could try it with oat or nut milk instead. However, since I haven’t made this recipe with anything but soya milk, I can’t guarantee the same outcome.

Vanilla Extract

This vegan recipe is based on a traditional German recipe, which calls for 8g of vanilla sugar instead of vanilla extract. If you’re using vanilla sugar, add it directly to the caster sugar and butter in Step 1. Instead of 2 tsp of soya milk, add 1 tbsp.

Vegan Butter

For this recipe, it’s important to use firm vegan butter rather than vegan spread. Both Naturli Vegan Block and Flora Plant Butter block (unsalted) work well here.