Hungarian Kiffles
Kiffles are traditional Hungarian cookies made from cream cheese dough and filled with various flavors of pastry filling. Being of Hungarian descent, kiffles (kiflis) were always on hand at family gatherings throughout my childhood. My grandmother and aunts could literally crank out hundreds of these delicate little gems with seemingly no effort at all, a feat that I still view as astonishing. You'll only find them in my house during the holidays as I find them to be a bit labor intensive, but one bite will prove they are well worth the effort.
Hungarian Kiffles
(Kiflis)
Ingredients ~
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 to 2/3 cup flour to prevent sticking during rolling
At least two 12-ounce cans of pastry filling (see notes)
Prepare the dough ~
Whisk the 2-1/4 cups flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt together in a medium bowl and set aside.
Beat the cream cheese and butter together at medium speed for 3 to 5 minutes, until very smooth and creamy.
Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour-salt mixture slowly, mixing just until combined. The dough will be quite moist, but not sticky.
Turn the dough out onto a sheet of lightly floured wax paper and flatten into a square about 3/4-inch thick. Cut into 4 equal pieces and wrap each separately in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, a minimum of 2 hours.
Assemble the cookies ~
Preheat the oven to 375°F and position a rack in the center of the oven. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Remove one portion of the dough from the refrigerator and place it on a well floured sheet of wax paper. Dust the top of the dough with flour and top with another sheet of wax paper. Roll the dough out to a 1/8-inch thickness. You should end up with about a 10-11" square.
Remove the top sheet of wax paper and trim dough into a square with a pastry wheel or sharp knife. Cut the square into fourths lengthwise and crosswise to get 16 squares. (Save your scraps for re-rolling.)
Working as quickly as possible, place about 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon of filling in center of each square. Pinch together two opposite corners in the center and fold that "point" over to one side and smooth down very gently. This helps to prevent the cookie from popping open as it bakes.
Arrange cookies 1-1/2 inches apart on the parchment lined sheet. Bake until lightly golden, about 12 to 14 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for about 1 minute, then carefully transfer to cooling racks. Repeat the process with the remaining 3 portions of dough.
Store between layers of waxed paper in a tightly closed container and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature (30 minutes out of the fridge), arrange on a plate and dust lightly with powdered sugar just before serving. It's not advisable to top them with powdered sugar before storing.
Makes about 5 dozen
Recipe Notes ~
About the filling:
It is very important that you use fillings that are made specifically for pastry. Pie filling will be too loose and jams and preserves can produce unpredictable results. My family and I have always used Solo brand fillings and have never been disappointed. Solo makes a variety of flavors in 12-ounce cans. Prune, or "lekvar" in Hungarian, and poppy seed are the most traditional Hungarian choices. Pictured here are poppy seed, raspberry, almond and apricot.
About the dough:
Because of the high fat content, this dough tends to become soft and difficult to work with rather quickly. During the rolling process, you may need to remove the wax paper and sprinkle on a bit more flour once or twice to keep it from sticking. I added about 1/2 cup of flour total throughout the rolling process on this particular batch. If you feel the dough has become too soft after rolling, just put it back in the refrigerator for about 3 or 4 minutes before cutting.
Categories: Baking & Desserts , Cookies
9 Comments
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great cookies! thanks for sharing!
merry christmas and happy 2009
My Taste Heaven
those look delicious... the only thing is, where do you get pastry filling? i have never seen it so I was thinking i could make my own using jam and possibly thickening it up by cooking it down a bit or something.
Our local supermarket chain regularly carries Solo pastry fillings, which is the brand we used. These fillings are usually available in grocery chains - check here for a location near you:
http://solofoods.com/where_to_buy.aspx
Also, the fillings are available for purchase online from Amazon.com.
These look just like the Slavic Kolachy my family makes every year. The dough also contains cream cheese and butter. I make different fillings out of dried fruit rehydrated with water and cooked until soft. We always have prune with cinnamon, apricot, and cranberry orange for the holidays but you are only limited by your imagination and the dried fruit available at your local grocery store. Mine are filled, rolled and folded. They are addictive! I made 14 dozen this Christmas.
Amazing pastries, they just look like fun and tasty too...very colourful and excellent photography ...thanks for sharing...Saw you on FoodBuzz
I love these! My in laws make Hungarian Cookies every year, and they look just like this. We use apricot, raspberry, and poppy seed fillings, and YES! we use the Solo brand too. My mother-in-law insists on it :) Gorgeous pictures!
Thank you so much for posting this recipe. My late grandmother passed away very suddenly (in a matter of weeks after being diagnosed with cancer) She was the youngest of 8 siblings first generation hungarian american. As these recipes generally go nothing was written down and I have spent a good deal of time trying to match up recipes and what I remember in steps while cooking with her. These were one of my favorite as a child (she used to make some filled with nut roll filling as well, yum yum) I plan on piecing these recipes together in a cookbook with family photos for my daughter. Thanks again as I never knew their actual name, they were always Nana's hungarian cookies!
If you want to make kiffles ahead and freeze them, here are the guidelines: Place wax paper between layers to prevent sticking and freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.
Jen,
I have been making kiffles since I was a young girl and walnut kiffles are one of my favorites! Off hand, all you have to do is beat egg whites, sugar and vanilla then fold in the ground walnuts. We would also make walnut roll using the same dough and filling. Hope this helps.