| 1 | Legend has it that bakers started making pastry in the form of crescents following the turkish siege of vienna in 1683. |
| 2 | preheat oven to 350? |
| 3 | in a large bowl, mix flour, sugar and ground walnuts. |
| 4 | Make a little well in the flour mixture and add the egg yolks. |
| 5 | Cut butter into small pieces and add to the flour mixture. |
| 6 | Knead thoroughly and shape into a ball. |
| 7 | Add flour, if needed, to prevent the dough from sticking to the bowl. |
| 8 | cut the ball in 4 parts and shape each part in a roll about inch thick. |
| 9 | Cut ?inch pieces and form small crescents in the palm of your hand. |
| 10 | Place crescents on a greased baking sheet and bake about 9-10 minutes, until light brown. |
| 11 | while still warm, roll the crescents in the confectioners sugar (be careful, they break very easily), then place them on a board to cool. |
| 12 | Store in a cookie tin. |
| 13 | The flavor actually improves with time. |
| 14 | yield: about 3 dozen. |
| 15 | Franziska mayer, washington, dc |
| 16 | randy shearer |
