Vanilla Kipfels - My Favorite Christmas Cookie!

This recipe came from my Grandmother who grew up in Austria. 

My mother, sister, and I would make them every December, about a week before Christmas.  I couldn't wait when we pulled the ingredients out, and it seemed to take forever for the butter to soften. We worked from the same handwritten recipe each year, and my mother would use a different color marker each time we baked them to check off the ingredients as we added them. I still have that old marked up page, and it makes me smile whenever I use it to bake during the holiday season. This makes about 80 -100 cookies (and they go fast!)

Ingredients:

For cookies:
3/4 lb butter, softened
1 Tbsp. vegetable shortening
1/2 c. sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp. vanilla sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
4 c. all-purpose flour
6 oz. slivered almonds

For rolling:
1 c. sugar
2 Tbsp. Vanilla sugar

Directions:

1.  In a food processor or blender, process almonds until they are finely ground.
2.  With an electric mixer, cream the butter, shortening, and sugars together until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. 
3.  Add the egg, yolk, and vanilla extract. Mix for 1 minute. 
4.  Gradually add the flour and almonds.  Mix well blended and no flour is visible. 
5.  Preheat the oven to 375F. 
6.  Using your hands, pinch off small balls of dough (about 1 in in diameter).  Roll the ball between your hands until you form a 3-inch log, then form a "U" shape with the log.  Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet about 1/4 inch apart. 
7.  Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned.
8.  Let cool, then roll the cookies in the sugar/vanilla sugar mixture.