20-Kifli-Cookies

Hungarian Kifle

Northern Michigan Recipe: Try this Hungarian Kifle, featured in the 2012 Ultimate Up North Kitchen Tour issue of Northern Home & Cottage. Among the holiday treats Kathy prepared in her new kitchen last year was her Aunt Irene’s recipe for Hungarian Kifle. “With my new oven, it’s a piece of cake—it’s taken me years and about 50 pounds to get it right. Ha!”

Ingredients

Pastry:
  • 1 large package of cream cheese
  • 2 sticks of butter (no imitations here)
  • 3 cups of sifted flour
Filling:
  • 1 pound finely ground walnuts
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 egg whites, well beaten

Directions

Pastry: In a mixing bowl, add all 3 ingredients and blend with a pastry blender until dough forms into pea-sized balls. Then by hand mix until well blended. Form two balls and from these form smaller balls, about the size of walnuts. Should make about 3 dozen. Place dough balls in a container with a seal and refrigerate until ready to use. Filling: Mix the walnuts and sugar together, then add the egg whites to hold the mixture together. If it’s too loose, whip up another egg white and gradually add it. Roll each ball out on a counter sprinkled with sifted powdered sugar. Use plenty of sugar so the dough doesn’t stick to the counter. Roll the balls into thin rounded triangle shapes. Think of rolling cabbage rolls. As you place the teaspoon full of walnut mixture on the rolled pastry, start at the wider end and roll once, fold the sides in so the filling doesn’t ooze out when baking, and continue rolling. The dough forms a crescent shape. Place the cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet into a preheated 350-degree oven. Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until lightly browned. The bottoms of them will be darker than the tops. Cool on baking racks, but while still warm roll in powdered sugar. Once completely cool, roll again in powdered sugar. Enjoy!