In the spirit of "I don't care if it's 80 degrees outside.."

..it's the end of Oktober, which means it's almost November, which means it's almost Christmas which means it's really about time to start making "Plaetzchen" (aka Christmas cookies, for our American friends). While I already tried Lebkuchen and Heidesand with mixed results (the Heidesand did infact turn out to be a pile of crumbly sand) the Orangen-Vanille-Kipferl from the never-fail, tried-and-true, one-and-only Dr.Oetker-baking-book were very good. Maybe I add even more orange extract next time.

Orangen-Vanille-Kipferl

100g ground almonds
280g flour
100g sugar
salt
2 EL (tbsp) orange rind or 2 EL orange extract
1EL vanilla extract or 1 Paeckchen Vanillezucker
200g butter, softened
2 egg yolks
More sugar for dusting/rolling

Combine almonds, flour, sugar, salt, orange and vanilla extract. Add butter and egg yolks and knead to a soft dough. Wrap in foil and put in the fridge over night. Form a roll and divide in about 50 pieces. Shape them into little Kipferl (see picture) and place on a greased baking sheet. Bake at about 350 F (190 C) for ca. 10min. Roll in the remaining sugar as long as they're still warm.