Kifli -- Traditional Hungarian Pastry

In small bowl: add egg yolks, stir in vanilla, add sour cream and mix well.

Sift the sugar and flour and cut in butter and margarine. Make a well and add egg mixture to form a dough. Shape into log and divide dough into 8 pieces. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours.

Roll out pieces like pie dough until 1/8-inch thick. Cut with 3-inch round cookie cutter.

In center of each round, place 1 teaspoon fruit filling from a pastry bag, or place 1 teaspoon of nut filling. Fold over in half and notch ends with knife to seal the open end.

Transfer to non-stick baking sheet, twisting each end with thumbs to form a crescent. Keep pastries with fruit filling separate from those with nut filling. With a pastry brush, brush egg wash (1 egg + 1 tablespoon of milk) across tops.

Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. When done, sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.

Dough
4 cups flour
2 cups butter or margarine
4 egg yolks
3/4 cup powered sugar
1 cup sour cream

Filling
1 1/4 pounds almonds, ground fine
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon almond extract

Make dough, blending with pastry cutter or fork. Mix flour and margarine, then add the egg yolks, mixing well. Add sour cream and powdered sugar; knead dough until smooth, adding more flour if it sticks to surfaces. Refrigerate for 1/2 hour.

Roll out 1/4 of the dough at a time. Keeping the rest of it refrigerated until ready to use. Roll to 16-inches by 12-inches and about 1/8-inch thickness. With pastry wheel, cut in 2-inch squares.

Place a rounded teaspoon of filling in center of each square. Bring opposite corners together to overlap in the center and pinch closed. Brush with beaten egg, after being placed on a cookie sheet.

Bake at 400 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes, until golden brown. Roll in powdered sugar. Let cool and enjoy.

Yield: About 16 dozen cookies

1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup cream style cottage cheese
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 egg whites
2 cups chopped nuts
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

In large bowl, beat together butter or margarine and cottage cheese til light and fluffy. Add flour until dough forms a ball. Divide dough into 3 equal portions. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) and grease cookie sheets.

To Make Filling: Combine egg whites, nuts, water, and ground cinnamon. Mix well and set aside.

On a floured surface roll 1 portion of dough into a 10 inch circle. Spread circle with 1/3 of the filling to within approximately 1/2 inch of the edge. Cut circle into 24 pie shaped wedges. Beginning at outer edge roll up each wedge tightly. Place point side down on cookie sheet 1 1/2 inches apart.

Bake 13-15 minutes or until golden (be sure to watch carefully as these cookies burn easily). Remove to rack to cool. Repeat process with each remaining portion of dough and filling.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.


Plagiarism is the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own original work ... it is just NOT cool so don't do it!