Hungarian Kiffles: Our Family Recipe
Kiffles (kiflis) are traditional Hungarian cream cheese pastry cookies with assorted fruit and nut fillings like apricot, almond, and poppy.
Preparing these cookies requires a bit of a time investment, but they are such a special treat we know you’ll find them well worth the effort.
Hungarian kiffles: A holiday tradition
Being of Hungarian descent, kiffles (kiflis) have always been on hand at our family gatherings during the holidays. They take some work to prepare, but one bite will prove they’re well worth the effort.
Kiffles (also spelled kifli) are delicate Hungarian cookies made with cream cheese dough and filled with various flavors of pastry filling. They make a beautiful contribution to any holiday cookie platter.
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About kiffle (kifli) fillings
It is very important that you use fillings that are made specifically for pastry in your kiffles. Pie filling will be too loose and jams and preserves can produce unpredictable results.
We’ve always used Solo Brand Cake & Pastry Filling and have never been disappointed. Solo makes a variety of flavors in 12-ounce cans. Pictured here are poppy seed, cherry, almond, and apricot.
Prune (lekvar in Hungarian), walnut, and poppy seed are the most traditional Hungarian choices and if you read through the comments, you’ll see that a few of our readers have included instructions for making these two fillings from scratch.
Pro tip: How to make all your kiffles the same size
Making sure your kiffles are uniform in size is not only about a beautiful presentation, it’s about even baking. The trick is to roll the dough into a perfect 9-inch square. Here’s how to do it:
- Cut a sheet of parchment paper 15 inches wide by 18 inches long. Fold 4-1/2 inches of each short side toward the middle. Make sharp creases and unfold.
- Fold 3 inches of each long side toward the center. Make sharp creases there as well and you should have a well-defined 9-inch square in the center of your parchment paper.
- With the flaps facing up, dust the parchment liberally with flour and place a portion of dough in the center of the square.
- Dust the top of the dough with flour as well, then fold the parchment along your creases to make an “envelope” around your dough.
- Turn it over (flap sides down) and place it on your rolling surface.
- Roll the dough from the center toward the corners as directed above.
- Remove the dough carefully to avoid tearing.
Once you have the dough rolled into a perfect square, you can easily mark off even intervals of 1-1/2-inches (6 per side) with the tip of a knife. Use your pastry wheel to make the cuts and you will get 36 kiffles (kiflis) per square.
Hungarian Kiffles
Kiffles (kiflis) are traditional Hungarian cream cheese pastry cookies with assorted fruit and nut fillings like apricot, almond, and poppy.
Ingredients
- 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour (plus more for rolling)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup (1/2 lb) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 to 2-1/2 cups cake and pastry filling (about two 12-ounce cans)
Instructions
Prepare the Dough:
- Whisk the flour and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside.
- Beat the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until very smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture, 1/4 cup at a time, mixing just until combined. The dough will be quite moist, but not sticky.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and flatten into a square approximately 1/2-inch thick. Cut into 4 equal pieces and wrap each separately in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, a minimum of 2 hours.
Roll and Cut the Dough:
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and position a rack in the center of the oven. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Remove one portion of the dough from the refrigerator and place it on a liberally floured surface.
- Dust the top of the dough with flour and cover with a sheet of wax or parchment paper. Working from the center toward the corners, roll the dough out to a 1/8-inch-thick square. It should measure about 9 inches.
- For best results, see our recipe notes below to learn how to roll your dough into a perfect square.
- Using a pastry wheel or a sharp knife, cut your dough both lengthwise and crosswise into small squares.
- Your total yield will depend on how large you make them. We recommend 1-1/2-inches which will give you 36 kiffles per square of dough or about 12 dozen total.
- The best way to keep the size even is to use a ruler and mark all 4 sides of the dough square at intervals with the tip of a knife. You can use the handle of a spatula to guide you as you cut to keep your lines straight as well (similar to drawing straight lines on a sheet of paper).
Fill and Seal the Kiffles:
- Working as quickly as possible, place a small mound of filling (about 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon) in the center of each square. If the filling flavor you're using is relatively smooth you can spoon it into a small freezer bag, snip off a tiny bottom corner and squeeze the filling onto the squares. This works particularly well with the poppy and almond flavors.
- Lift two opposite corners of the dough over the filling and gently pinch them together. Fold that "point" over to one side, moisten the tip of your finger with a bit of water and smooth it down gently on one side of the kiffle. This prevent the kiffles from popping open as they bake.
Important Note: The various filling flavors spread a bit differently during baking so you may want to fill a few "test" kiffles and bake them to gauge the right amount of filling for each type.
Bake the Kiffles:
- Arrange the kiffles 1 inch apart on the parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake until barely golden, 12 to 14 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 1 minute, then carefully transfer the kiffles to cooling racks.
- Repeat the process with the remaining 3 portions of dough, using different filling flavors if desired.
How to Store Kiffles:
- Store kiffles between layers of waxed paper in a tightly closed container and refrigerate. Bring them 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 8 to 12 dozen
Notes
How To Roll Your Dough Into a Perfect 9-Inch Square:
- Cut a sheet of parchment paper 15 inches wide by 18 inches long. Fold 4-1/2 inches of each short side toward the middle. Make sharp creases and unfold.
- Fold 3 inches of each long side toward the center. Make sharp creases there as well and you should have a well-defined 9-inch square in the center of your parchment paper.
- With the flaps facing up, dust the parchment liberally with flour and place a portion of dough in the center of the square. Dust the top of the dough with flour as well, then fold the parchment along your creases to make an "envelope" around your dough.
- Place it on your rolling surface, flap sides down and roll the dough from the center toward the corners as directed above. Remove the dough carefully to avoid tearing.
Note: Because of its high fat content, this dough requires a fair amount of flour on your rolling surface.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 24Amount Per Serving: Calories: 0Total Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 0mgCarbohydrates: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 0g
Just for fun: Baking kiffles in miniature!
The handcrafted miniature scene (1-inch scale) below was created by my daughter and co-editor Erika Pitera. You can see more of her fabulous miniature food creations on her website, The Petite Provisions Co.
Special Note to Commenters: Recipes such as this vary from family to family and region to region, and they continue to evolve as they are passed down through the generations, often depending on changes in personal tastes, access to ingredients and sometimes even dietary restrictions. We welcome constructive feedback about recipe variations and family traditions, but insulting, purely contradictory comments will not be published.
152 Comments on “Hungarian Kiffles: Our Family Recipe”
These sound great. My Mom or her family never used cream cheese in any of their traditional baked goods or food so this sounds interesting. Thank you for sharing.
Hi Mary,
Cream cheese in the dough gives it a subtle tangy quality and creamy texture. I hope you like it.
Lynn
Thank you for this recipe. My Mom made these with a recipe that used Crisco, I like your recipe. My Fathers mother was Hungarian and taught my mother and she would spend hours making them during the holidays. I found your recipe and now I have making them for our family every year since my Mom stopped making them 10 years ago and now has been gone 5 years. I just sent 3 dozen to my 93 year old Dad whose only want for Christmas was some Kiffle.
Merry Christmas and thanks for bringing back family memories
I learned how to make these delicious cookies from my mother in law. In her family, they have always called them
“Little Cakes” ! We have always been able to buy apricot and lekvar (prune) filling from a local bakery. We bring plastic containers which they weigh and then fill, and charge us by the pound. It is of a good quality and consistency and doesn’t spread and leak out of the cookies as readily as store bought jam might. We make our own walnut filling.
Hi Patty,
That’s great that you have a source for quality lekvar and apricot fillings. Thanks for taking the time to comment. It’s nice to hear about other people’s family history with these cookies. Everyone has a different story.
I am looking for a recipe for Baylis Pastry Cookies, are the Kiffles the same coookie using another name? My husband’s mother use to make what my husband calls Baylis (baylish) at Christmas time, however, no one can find the recipe to them. He said they were filled with either apricot or nuts. If you have any guidance I would appreciate it.
Hi Shawn,
Thanks for reaching out with your question. I’d never heard kiffles referred to by that name, so I had to do a little research to answer your question. What I discovered is that there are filled pastries called Túrós Béles (pronounced baylesh) that are made with a sour cream yeast dough that probably has a flavor similar to our cream cheese kiffle dough. The word béles means lining or padding and túrós means cottage cheese. The recipes I found in my Hungarian cookbooks use this yeast dough to make pillowy little bundles formed around a filling of cottage cheese, lemon zest, and golden raisins or nuts. The same cookbooks also mention that this dough is versatile and can be used for kiffles (kiflis) and rolled around different fillings, including the nut and apricot ones your husband remembers. Taste Magazine has a recipe for the Túrós Béles and their dough recipe is very similar to the ones I found in my cookbooks. I also found a recipe for Hungarian Christmas Cookies from a blog called Ann’s Entitled Life that uses a similar dough, but rolls it around nut and date fillings. I hope this info helps and I’d love it if other people would weigh in on this thread. I also hope you’ll think about trying our kiffle recipe. I would bet that your husband would like them!
My mom (97 yrs old) got this very same recipe from a friend who discovered that using Lokum (Turkish Delight) cut in small elongated pieces did a good job as a filling. I remember eating these when I was a child.
Hi Dana,
That is really interesting. I have never heard of anyone using Lokum to fill kiffles, but I’ll bet it’s good. I assume it softens during baking, but does it firm up again once it cools?
I’m curious if there’s a way to make these with almond flour? My mom has a gluten allergy so I am always trying to find ways to make her little treats that she can eat.
Hi Ana,
I’ve never tried to make a gluten free version of Hungarian Kiffles, so I can’t speak from experience on this. I don’t know about using almond flour alone, but for the few gluten-free baked goods I’ve made, I have had very good luck with King Arthur Gluten-Free Measure-for-Measure Flour. Most supermarkets carry it, so it’s easy to find. King Arthur also recommends that flour blend for a gluten-free version of rugelach, which has a very similar dough to the kiffles (cream cheese and butter). If you’re wondering about the ingredients, here they are: Rice flour, whole grain brown rice flour, whole sorghum flour, tapioca starch, potato starch, cellulose, xanthan gum, vitamin and mineral blend [calcium carbonate, niacinamide (vitamin b3), reduced iron, thiamin hydrochloride (vitamin b1), riboflavin (vitamin b2).
I just made these with Bobs 1:1 blend. They taste great, but don’t look too nice. They were very hard to work with. The dough was very crumbly, had no elasticity (bc there’s no gluten), & relied heavily on using the heat from my hands to get the butter in the dough to help it stick together.
About halfway through I stopped trying to fold them up & used an upside down silicone cupcake liner to make little discs & just put the filling on top. Tastes great, looks much better.
I will say, if you’re going to fold them, rolling them thicker seemed to help, about1/4in.
Jennifer, our gluten-free contributor is working on a version that uses the King Arthur 1:1 blend and ran into the same issue you did. She’s close to having worked out a solution and we’ll be posting it soon.
my babi used to make these every Christmas great memories. I will keep her memory alive so my family can taste the same cookies I did and the angel wings. I miss those Christmases
Hi Shari,
Sharing old family recipes is a great way to honor the memory of loved ones and start new traditions at the same time. I hope you enjoy!
It is getting very hard to find the solo I use to call the company and they would ship. I tried this year they told me they no longer do that.
Hi Denise,
I’m having trouble finding the Solo Cake & Pastry filling locally as well. You can buy it in 2-packs per flavor on Amazon.com. I can’t attest to how far out the cans are dated as I haven’t ordered any recently.
Poppyseed Filling
1 lb poppyseeds, finely ground
1-3/4 cups sugar
1 egg
Dash of salt
2 Tbsp margarine
1/2 tsp vanilla
Enough milk to make a smooth paste
Combine, cook on low until margarine melted and egg is cooked.
No comparison to the canned with the corn syrup.
Thank you for sharing these recipes, Bonnie! This cookie is just liked what my Hungarian grandma would make when I was a child.
Nut Filling
1 lb walnuts
1 can evaporated milk
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
Bring to a boil over LOW heat, stir constantly when it starts getting hot. I also use this for nut rolls.
Thank you for sharing your homemade kiffle filling recipes Bonnie!
I’m missing something here. Do you chop the nuts? Grind them? What do you do after you boil the nuts, milk, sugar and eggs?
Hi Don,
A more traditional walnut filling would be made by simply combining:
– 2 cups of ground walnuts
– 2 beaten egg whites
– 1/3 cup of sugar
– A pinch of salt
– 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon zest (optional)
No cooking/boiling involved.
I’m going to attempt this recipe. My grandma’s is more complicated and she’s not with us our family craves these.
My question to you is you mention wax paper when rolling out do. Is the dough between the floured surface and the wax paper?
Thanks!
Hi Kristen,
Yes, the dough is between the floured surface and the wax paper. I hope you enjoy the kiffles!
I have been making these cookies for years and I can make the following recommendations:
filling: You can also use a high quality raspberry jam by preparing it ahead of time with a small amount of cornstarch; just heat thru until hot and remove from heat and wait until room temperature. This keeps them firm enough so they don”t run while baking.
dough: When sealing together the ends use milk; it works better than water
Walnut or almond filling; use egg whites and sugar beaten to a meringue state then add nuts and stir. Lekvar; prune butter is very hard to find and expensive; You can make your own using prunes and orange juice and water. There are recipes all over the internet.
Happy Holidays!!!
Hi Susan,
Thanks for sharing your expertise. The cornstarch in the raspberry jam is a great tip!
This is very similar to a recipe I make ruglach with. I can’t wait to try it.
Hi Lacey,
Kiffles are somewhat similar to rugelach – hope you enjoy them!
thanks so much for posting the recipe! Thanks to all who commented with tips also. Tried and old family recipe, ingredients have changed much since the original recipe. I also had trouble with them opening up, will try tips to use a touch of milk to seal and let set 10 minutes before baking. And yes! jams and jellies were very unpredictable!
Hi Doris,
Thanks to our readers there are a lot of great tips and ideas here in comments. Glad you liked the recipe!
Can you make the dough and refrigerate or freeze? I don’t need to make so many so thought I could save some dough for later
Hi Carol,
You can certainly refrigerate the dough for up to three days or simply cut the recipe in half. I’ve never tried freezing this dough, so I can’t give advice as to whether or not it would affect how it rolls out or bakes. You can however freeze the kiffles once they’re baked.
My grandmother was from Hungary. I always make dough a few weeks before x-mas and keep in the freezer til time to make. They are fine. Also we roll into circles and cut into triangles. Fill bigger end and roll to look like crescents. Maybe it was a regional variatio
Hi Diane,
I do think my family’s version is a regional variation. From what I understand, the word “kifli” in Hungarian translates to mean “crescent” in English. I may try doing the crescent shape the next time I make them. You’re right – they freeze really well so you can get them made ahead of time.
Anyone know what the cookie my grandmother made? She cut dough up into squares, threw it into simmering lard, for a few minutes, probably seconds…drained and sprinkled with conf. sugar.
Does anyone know of a recipe and what it contained? Was it cream cheesed dough for kiflies?
Thanks! My dear cousin had just come out from kidney stone surgery, and he was still half looped.
On the meds…and he started talking about this cookie from our grandmother Kohut and wanted me to look up the recipe. LOL!
Hi Jane,
The cookies you’re talking about are called Csöröge. I have my great aunt’s recipe but truth be told, I’ve never made them. Now that you’ve brought it up I think I’d like to give it a try. I haven’t had them in decades. 5 eggs, well beaten – 2-1/2 cups sifted flour – 1/2 teaspoon salt – 1/4 cup sugar – 1 teaspoon baking powder – Combine the ingredients to make a dough, Roll out thin, cut into strips, wrap around your hand and fry in oil. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Makes 4 to 5 dozen
One assumes you remove your hand before frying in oil… 😉
Love hearing everyone’s family stories!
LOL – My great aunt didn’t specify in her recipe, but when I publish it here on the site, I’ll be sure to add that to the instructions 😉
Hungarian grandma called these necktie fank. I make them. Ladies at church want me to do a demonstration! After cutting to thin strips, cut on diagonal. Then put a slit in each. Pull one end thru slit. Stretch a little as drop into hit oil.
Hi Diane,
They must be pretty when you make them in that shape. Nice!
My grandmother called these “angel wings” , though I have her recipe box, I could never find this recipe…..thanks!
This is the way my mother taught me. She called them angel wings. So good.
I grew up in a family that was half Eastern European and we made LITERALLY this exact same recipe at least three times a year. Right down to the Solo filling. I’ve had it memorized since I was a kid.
Nice to see it here 🙂
Thanks Heather – these have always been a family favorite.
I brush a little egg white to bind the edges. They always come out nice looking.
If I use self rising flour and salted butter, will they come out more flaky.
Or is there a better recipe for ” flaky” Kiffles?
I do them all the time using the original Hungarian Recipe and they are great.
Hi Frank,
I’ve never tried using self-rising flour myself, so I couldn’t comment on whether or not the kiffles would bake up flaky. I’ve always used the recipe I’ve posted here. If you do try, I’d love to know how it works out. Thanks!
Don’t know…..I use unbleached bread flour and salted butter….but layering the butter like in a French pastry….folding itself over on itself…..would give a flakiness. But it’s time consuming.
My aunt Margaret taught me how to make these and I’m 65 now. I lost her recipe in moving around and have tried to duplicate it since. We used prune butter (also known as (lekvar)) as well as walnut butter. Thank you for posting this.
Hi Margaret,
My family always used the lekvar as well. Hope you enjoy!
I think I have found the perfect kifli recipe. It was my Aunt Pauline’s….now deceased…..and it was so easy.
BUT! Today I made it with a different butter…..I used Cabot salted. And my pastry was flaky and light.
5 cups of flour…King Arthur All Purpose
1 lb. Cabot butter (salted)
16 oz. of cream cheese.
I dumped all in the mixer and let it do the work. I think the trick of an easier dough is also to allow it to chill overnight in fridge. In any case, with prunes and apricots and walnuts (I make my own paste….can’t find that stuff down here in the South…) and a 375 degree oven….
…..they came out great. Made a lot of kiflis.
Jane
We sprinkle powdered sugar on ours
Hi Maggie,
We’ve done that too – just before serving!
Me, too! love the prune and apricot!
how do you make the walnut filling. I had used solo in the past, but they don’t make it anymore; just the almond one, and it is too sweet and sticky.
Hi Marguerite,
I’ve looked through a few books I have on hand, but none of them have walnut filling recipes that would be suitable for kiffles. Try searching on a walnut filling for rugelach. I think that would be the right consistency.
I’ve tried this with some success: ground up walnuts, one egg white and sugar….mix well. Fill the squares.
Jane
My mother-in-law was half Slovak and from Allentown, PA. I think most of those who make these are from that area of PA. Makes us like a big family. At Christmas, my mother-in-law, would bring a box of them to us, in a Lea’s Departments Store Box. They went pretty quickly. Always the favorite with her grandchildren. My daughter still makes these every Christmas with our standard Christmas cookies. There is nothing like cooking, especially cookies, to bind a family together for generations. One of my older sons loved the cookies the most, I think, but he would tell all the other boys, Don’t eat those. They are terrible. The sentence still is repeated over and over every time they go on the table.
Hi Maureen – Thanks for sharing your story with us. You’re right, recipes like this one do become a family tradition that spans generations. I think I’ll try the “don’t eat those” trick on uninformed guests!
I’m from PA, near Pittsburgh and these are a big cookie here at Christmas.
I have my Slovak Grandma’s recipe and we roll them in granulated sugar only.
So delicious!
We use 2 cups ground walnuts 1 cup powdered sugar.just enough coffee to moisten 2tbsp.mix to moisten
I just rediscovered our family recipe for these cookies – and here’s the nut filling instructions:
8 oz chopped nuts
1 small apple grated
sugar to taste
a little milk to hold together
Sorry about the vague measurements, but that’s often the case with passed down recipes!
Hi Hannah,
Thanks for sharing your walnut filling recipe.
This recipe was handed down from my great grandmother. Our Hungarian family base is in Johnstown & Windber, PA.
Here are our variations:
– we had a different dough recipe entirely: 1 pkg dry yeast, 1/4 c warm water, 1 lb Imperial or name brand margarine. Never store brand margarine (this warning is written in my grandmother’s handwriting circa 1940-1950. To this day I wonder what happened…… :-)) 1 can evaporated milk, 7 c flour.
-we had the walnut mixture filling. I didn’t like it but everyone else did. Lekvar (plum) filling is a requirement. No substitutions or excuses.
-our family has been making these for 100 years. One day my mother used Solo almond filling. These tasted so good I practically fainted. Its a staple now.
-the Solo fillings are by the baking goods (canned pumpkin, cherry filling for pies). But the price variation between grocery stores is wide in my area (Wisconsin). One grocery store sells it for $4.25, the one down the street sells it for $2.90.
Hi Jessica,
Thanks for sharing your family recipe with us. There are so many variations, it’s great to have the information.
Ahhh, I just stumbled upon this thread, and my grandma’s version is yeast dough too, and 1 egg. My Mom (now 76) grew up in New Jersey, and her mother was Hungarian and Czech. Prune is a must, but I remember them also with apricot filling when I was little….the dough is chilled overnight.
My Hungarian grandmother’s name was also Elizabeth, she was an amazing cook. I grew up helping her make these cookies, as well as helping with strudel and lots of other dishes. The reason so many girls were named Elizabeth was because that was the queens name and when she died the king decreed that all little girls born be named Elizabeth. My grandmother was born in 1899. Not sure how long the decree was in effect for.
I have been baking these cookies for 40 years! I use jam instead of pastry filling, works just as well. My son’s favorite!
I make a recipe handed down from my Slovenian grandmother that uses sour cream instead of cream cheese and granulated sugar in the rolling-out process (which adds a delicate crunch). Our original family version requires making a 1″ ball for EACH kiffle. I met a woman at a wedding in Bethlehem, PA (where kiffles are part of shared Eastern European culture) who shared her time-saving tip: make a 3 ounce ball, roll it into a circle, cut it like a pizza into 6 wedges. Place 6 dollops of filling near the “crust” edges of the circle. For each wedge fold in and pinch outer corners and roll towards the point like a crescent roll. Place on cookie tray with pointy edge tucked way under the bottom to keep it from opening during baking. My kiffles improved with this method over the 1-circle-per-kiffle method; it may be because of the reduced handling of the dough.
They are filled with apricot, lekfar, poppyseed fillings I am fortunate enough to be able to find at an Italian (surprise!) food supplier. To make a nut filling, grind the nuts in the food processor with sugar, to taste. Then, slowly add the egg white, just until the mixture clumps. No measurements needed, just use your taste buds and judgement.
Hi Christine,
Thanks so much for sharing your preparation method with us. It’s very similar to the way we make rugelach and sounds like a great idea, particularly for people who have trouble keeping the points of the dough closed during baking. Also, the word “kifli” (another spelling) actually means “crescent” in Hungarian, so perhaps it’s a more authentic shape.
Mom was Hungarian and made ‘millions’ of these and other pastries. We love and miss her. I gave Kifflis making a try for the first time this year ever and I must say mom you worked so hard, but thanks for the memories. Kifflis’ meaning is a kiss on the forehead and a gentle hug, hence the folding of the dough around the filling. I learned that meaning and it reminds me of her love.
That’s a really nice sentiment. Kiffles are indeed a labor of love and making them is a great way to honor your Mom.
Nice! my Aunt Jean Kohut, who died last year during July at 102 made these like this.
I make them with squares, (dough) and fold over two sides (diaper) . I love the prune and walnut and apricot ones.
Thank you for your recipe. Brings back lovely memories of my dearest Aunt Jean’s sour cream kiflies.
For the cookie fillings I use Poppy Seed and Apricot, these are what we like. The dough is soft,that is why they go into the refrigator to harden up. I take some every few days to bake. Works out very well.
I am Polish married to a Romanian/Hungarian. I make similar cookies at Christmas called Paluskis (Finger) in English. Made with butter, cream cheese, and a little flour. The dough is mixed,then formed by hand into a round approximately the size of a walnut. Put in the refrigerator for at least 1 day up to 4 days. Take out 6-8 balls at a time and roll in powdered sugar, fill with your fillings then fold over (looks like a finger) tuck ends on the bottom and bake. They come out so flaky and your house smells like bakery. I buy my fillings at our Polish Deli, I use to buy them at our local bakery,but they no longer can sell to the public.
Hi Christine,
Your version sounds great! What kind of fillings do you use?
Not at all happy….made 2 pans of cookies, and every one opened up when cooking, even though I followed your directions. Made them for a cookie exchange, but had to buy store bought to bring instead. Bummer!
Hi Sally,
Sorry you had bad luck with the cookies opening – I think it happens occasionally to everyone who makes them. I’m not quite sure of the reason, although I suspect it may have something to do with the amount of moisture in the butter as I don’t seem to have more than handful pop open when I use European-style butter with less moisture and more butterfat (e.g. Plugra). I also find that moistening the ends of the dough with a little milk before pinching seems to help.
You must let them sit for 10 minutes (after forming cookies) before putting them in the oven…this sets them and they will not open in the oven!
Hi Carol,
Thanks for sharing this great tip. So many people have had problems with the kiffles opening during baking. I’ll be sure to do it myself from now on.
This looks like an amazing cookie recipe! However, being Hungarian (born and raised), I have to tell you, these are NOTHING like kifli (which are yeast rolls shaped into a crescent, kind of like a croissant, typically spread with butter or jam and eaten with breakfast). But they do look delicious! And lekvar means “jam” not prunes. Prune jam is “szilvalekvár”. Apricot jam is “baracklekvár” and so on. And yes, Hungarians really do love their poppy seed filling! (mákos)
Great recipe
Thanks
Trying to get back on this thread…I inadvertently unsubscribed.
Here’s my Kohut-family recipe for Kyflies….(or Kiffles) VERY EASY!!
DEAR DEPARTED AUNT PAULINE’S KYFLIES….
2 1/2 cups of unbleached flour (I use King Arthurs)
1 8 ounce cream cheese
2 sticks of butter
Blend well.. this goes into my mixer and it doesn’t need a delicate touch.
You can cool dough for a while but I usually don’t.
Roll out thinly, cut into 2×2 or larger squares.
Fill with prune/apricot/nut mixture…..I love the prunes and apricots best….
Bake in 375 oven for 20 minutes or until LIGHTLY brown around the edges.
Cool and sprinkle with Powdered Sugar.
I ate about 10 of these last night. Burp.
I LOVE this recipe….
Can someone please post the recipe using sour cream as this is how my grandmother made them and I really want to make them this Christmas for my father (her son).
I’ll have to search for it, but I will by this weekend.
Jane
For walnut filling, start by chopping walnuts in a chopper or food processor. then add sugar, tasting to see if you like the sweetness level. When you are content, add a little egg white, gradually increasing until the walnuts hold together. Sorry I don’t have exact measurements. I had to figure it out.
Our family recipe:
Combine 1 c. sour cream, 1 packet fast rising yeast, 1 Tbsp. sugar.
Then add 3 slightly beaten egg yolks and 1 tsp. vanilla. Set aside.
With a pastry blender, blend 5 c. flour and 1 lb. butter.
When well blended, add the sour cream mixture and blend (without using your hands or the dough won’t be as flaky.)
Shape into 1″ (approx. half ounce) balls, chill.
Then roll out in granulated sugar (to prevent sticking), fill, roll and bake @ 350 for 15 – 20 minutes. (Alternately shape 3 oz. balls, roll & cut into 6 wedges. Fill wide end and roll up like a crescent roll.)
My maternal side of the family hails from Uniontown/Washington Pa with roots that go back to Germany. This is a family recipe from a Great great Aunt. I love seeing all the different versions that come from European countries.
Little Nut Rolls
Author:Ethel Gates
Ingredients:
8 c Flour
5 Egg Yolks
2 c Evaporated Milk
2 c Lard
1/2 tsp Salt
2 small cubes or 1/2 large cube Yeast, dissolved in 1/2 c warm water
Method:
1. Cut flour, lard and salt with a knife.
2. Mix together yeast and water.
3. Mix together evaporated milk and egg yolks.
Add together 1, 2 & 3 (above)
Mix until mixture does not stick to your hands. Make into 12 small balls. Wrap separately in Saran Wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Roll each ball in sugar till 1/2″ thick. Cut into 2″ squares. Put 1 tsp Nut Mixture (below) in centre of square and fold over diagonally. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 min. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Filling: 4 lb Walnuts, ground fine, add enough evaporated milk to moisten (3/4 – 1 c). Add sugar to taste (about 3/4 c).
Thanks for sharing Nikki – we love to hearing about all the different versions too!
My grandmother Elizabeth was from Hungary and she made these when I was a child. My Aunt Jean died July 28th 2014 and was 102. She made these with sour cream.
I take dried prunes and apricots, simmer them in a little water, til pulp. The walnut ones are also good. Sprinkle powdered sugar when cool. Don’t refrigerate. They revert back to butter.
Grandmom used to have me put a dab of egg white in order for them to bake together. She is the only ingredient I haven’t been able to duplicate.
Hi Rick – Grandmom’s egg white idea sounds like a good one. We’ll give it a try. Thanks for sharing it.
Dried fruit will work just fine with these Hungarian cookies. We prefer the California apricot variety because it is tangier than the Turkish variety. What ever dried fruit you prefer to use, just soak them overnight, and I cut them up before I cook them the next day, until the fruit is soft and pliable, usually about an hour. Drain off excess water and add about 1/2 cup of sugar to every 8 oz. of dried fruit used after they are done cooking.
Kiffles, kolachki, whatever you call them (my Grandmom was Czech married to a Slovak) — nectar of the gods! Throw in the pizzelles from the Italian side of the family and it’s no wonder that I have adult-onset diabetes. But with goodies like that while growing up — who cares. Such memories. You have answered my questions — now my sister, who makes Killer Jewish Apple Cakes can make me kiffles, too! What do I make? Reservations!!!!!
Regina, your comment made me smile. You have mentioned some of the most delectable foods ever created! Savor those delicious foods. (By the way, I would love if your sister would post her Jewish Apple Cake recipe. I have lots of apple cakes recipe, but nothing compares to a slice of Jewish Apple Cake I was given in college. I have never been able to trace down the recipe or find something on the internet that matches it.)
My grandmother, who was born in Austria when it was still one country with Hungary, made cookies like this, with all the fillings stated – also ones filled with pineapple. But we always called them “slap doughs” because you “slapped” each square piece of dough between the palms of your hands a couple of times before filling and folding into the diamond shap. Before baking, the folded side was brushed with egg and sugar was sprinkled over them. don’t know if there’s a difference between these and hers, but the cookie dough of these definitely looks thicker than what I remember. Anyone ever hear of this? Of course there is no recipe, but I think I might try this recipe incorporating her “slap” method.
Hi Kathi,
I’ve never heard of the “slap” method of preparing this dough, but it sounds like the goal might be to get the dough a little thinner without further rolling. It’s such a tender dough that if it’s rolled too thin you risk tearing it when you pick up the corners to fold them over the filling. I’ll be interested in hearing how it works out for you if you try it.
I am looking for a receipe for Keffli Bars.I read that they are wonderful and a fast cookie bar for working women. Thanks
Hello Sharon,
Wish I could help you with that recipe search, but I’ve never seen kiffles baked in bar form. If you find a recipe, please come back and let us know – I’d be really interested to try it.
My daughter, who lives in Philadelphia, fell in love the Kiffles at her local Wegmans. She asked about going to get some for Christmas…
Buy cookies for Christmas?? That would be a last resort. So, I started looking online. This is the recipe I used.
Filled half with apricot and half with strawberry pastry filling. They are FANTASTIC!
Thank you so much for sharing the recipe. I know it will be a family favorite!
We made a Slovakian version using sour cream, not cream cheese in the dough. Also, all cookies are brushed with whipped egg white before going into the oven.
Filling was the preferred cooked apricots, or walnuts (crushed and mixed with egg white and sugar), and lekvar (prune).
I was wondering if i could roll the dough and cut into piece stack in parchment paper in the fridge over night then bake the next day? this would make the baking process easier on me.
Hi Melissa,
You can certainly prepare the dough one day and roll and bake the next, but I’m not sure how advisable rolling and cutting a day in advance would be. It’s not something we’ve ever tried. The dough is so delicate I’d be afraid it would either become sticky and difficult to work with or the “foldover” wouldn’t stay sealed in baking. Next time we make them though, I’ll reserve a small amount of dough to give the process a try. You could be on to something, I’m just not sure.
My husbands’ family were Hungarian and I wish to learn more of some dishes.
My mother is Austrian and has always made kifli. Her mother had made a cheese filling and poppyseed. I grew up with the walnut filling. My dough, though, is made with sour cream. The dough is very silky and soft. My mother also used yeast sometimes.
Deborah–
We made a Slovakian version using sour cream, not cream cheese in the dough. Also, all cookies are brushed with whipped egg white before going into the oven.
Filling was the preferred cooked apricots, or walnuts (crushed and mixed with egg white and sugar), and lekvar (prune).
Easy way to make dough: 1/2 of dough recipe at a time mixed in the food processor: 1 cup of flour, 1 stick real butter, 4 oz. cream cheese. Process till ball forms (so easy). Repeat recipe without washing the equipment. I roll into sm balls. Next day roll each ball out in 10x sugar fill with a little pineapple jam, roll up jelly roll fashion and shape into a crescent before baking. If using a nut mixture- ground walnuts, sugar and egg white.
Why cream cheese and not following the traditional sour cream recipe? To keep closed, use a drop of egg wash.
I can’t find my Hungarian cookie recipe. I have it but it’s on a floppy disk. I’ve made the cookies for years, my mother and grandma before me. My recipe is similiar. We called them Oleo Cookies. You use a lot of oleo. In my recipe, you make the dough, roll it out, spread little pieces of oleo on half the dough, fold the dough, spread more oleo, fold and spread again. Ref for about an hour, take out, roll out again and spread the oleo the same way as before. Ref, take out and roll out. This time you cut the dough in little squares and put your filling on. Fold like your is, and bake. We used ground walnuts and sugar for filling or German prune preserves. When I find the recipe, I’ll post it. We also had Colach but it was a bread roll with walnuts and sugar. Looked like a cake roll, sort of.
My mother made these cookies every year for Christmas. She added a little extra touch though. Dip the top of the unbaked cookie in whipped egg white and then into a mixture of finely ground walnuts and sugar. Bake as directed above. Makes a crisp nutty crust on top. Delicious!
Hi Sandi –
That’s a really nice touch. Bet it looks pretty too. Thanks for sharing.
This is how my nana did them!
Kiflis are the supreme pastry in this house. Have been making them for 40 years at least. Aunt Jean’s (she died last year at 102) has eggs and sourcream…..harder to work with but exquisite, Aunt Pauline’s (also passed away) are so much easier with just cream cheese/ butter/ flour.
Merry Xmas! Jane
This recipe has been lost since my Grandmother died seven years ago. She always made kiffles and kulatch for holidays. I have been looking everywhere for the recipe. As you know the “old school bakers” never measured. My grandmother would use her hand for measuring. I miss her so much. I will now start making these hungarian cookies and dedicate them to my nugmama.
I grew up with these cookies. At every holiday these were always at my grand mothers kitchen table,I had lost her recipe but now tradition goes on with this recipe. It’s exactly as I remember “nanny”s. Thank you!
These cookies were called “kolaches” (pronounced klach-keys) by my entire in-law family members. They were of Ukrainian/Polish descent. I love to use WONDRA flour (but it’s a little tricky to work with) to bake these. They come out especially delicate when you use Wondra flour! And also I have successfully made these with CHEESECAKE filling, only I make it thicker)!
These are so delicious and pretty! I love the raspberry filling, especially.
I grew up with these cookies and we called them “hungarian cookies” or “hunkie cookies”.
My mom used to make these on Christmas Eve day fresh and always made her own apricot jam to use.
We have kept the tradition for my family also. My husband insists on these cookies each year!
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My cookies will not stay closed no matter what I do. Pinch, fold over, etc, etc.
Any suggestions? They look like little pies instead of cookies.
Hi Laura –
You’re not alone – this happens on occasion to just about everybody who makes these cookies and I believe there can be a variety of causes. Try dipping your fingers in a little milk just before you pinch the corners together – it may help. Hopefully they’ll still be delicious!
Spread a little egg white on the very edges of the little squares, after adding the filling. It helps to make the dough stick together.
maybe your dough is too thick.. it should be rolled fairly thin…i spread the filling all over the little square and roll it up starting at one corner like a cigar.. then I roll it in granulated sugar. makes it have a crunchy topping on it.. don’t need to use powdered sugar. any more problems just ask… my grandmother taught me how to make these… and she was the best….
Great recipe, thanks for sharing
farida
https://www.kitchensuperfood.com
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.
Jess if would be willing to share your recipe I would be thrilled. My mother always made the one with nut filling when I was a child. She has since passed and none of us have her recipe 🙁
Jess how many eggs, sugar and vanilla do you add. I’ve lost my recipe for the walnut mixture.
My mom used to make these with a nut filling made of finely chopped pecans, a bit of sugar and just enough cream to hold the nut mixture together. And of course the traditional apricot filling (boiling down dried apricots until they form a thick paste). In my opinion, the pastry fillings don’t have the same rich flavor as those made from scratch.
HI, My grandmother was from Rohrbach An Der Teich, Austria. It’s right near the border of Hungry and at one time was part of Hungry.
I grew up on these cookies and have made them every year since I was 25 (now 70). My grandmother also made the bread that was rolled with nuts, fruit filling, poppy seed, etc. I loved her Kraut Flakel which was caramelized cabbage and flat egg noodles. Also loved her paprika chicken and dumplings (dumplings made with chicken livers).
You wouldn’t happen to have any of those, would you?
Thanks,
Hi Pat,
Thanks for your comments. We make these cookies every year as well – it just wouldn’t be Christmas without them. I believe the walnut and poppy rolls you refer to are called Beigli. We don’t currently have a recipe posted, but we’re planning on it. We do have a Cabbage Noodle recipe on the site as well as Chicken Paprikas and Noodle Dumplings (Nokedli), although those do not use chicken livers as you described. I’d be interested to see that recipe myself! To find those other recipes, just type the word “Hungarian” into the search box in the sidebar.
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.
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!
Jen, was your grandmother’s last name Kolatt? My mother in law (Loretta) talked about how her mother Elizabeth was the oldest of 8 first generation Hungarian siblings. I’m wondering if it’s the same family.
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!
Amazing pastries, they just look like fun and tasty too…very colourful and excellent photography …thanks for sharing…Saw you on FoodBuzz
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.
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:
https://solofoods.com/where_to_buy.aspx
Also, the fillings are available for purchase online from Amazon.com.
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.
Always make your own lekvar! (Hungarian fruit paste) Lekvar is great and so easy to make. I make prune and apricot lekvar (sometimes peach, but those two are the best). Also, Hungarian poppy seed filling is scrumptious. Go for it.
I am Hungarian. Lekvar was sold in our family market and it is prune by nature. Apricot and walnut are entirely two different fillings, but both taste great.
try looking at your local deli at the market.. they sell apricot, raspberry and the lekvar in containers…
I found the Solo filling that was mentioned in the recipe in my local Giant Foodstore. It was in the baking section next to the pie filling and pumpkin puree… it was on the bottom shelf and semi hidden, so keep that in mind 🙂
Wow, my granddaughter has a social studies project that involves family customs. One of the millions of traditions we have is making cookies. We have drawn the recipes only from family or recipes that we make up ourselves. My husband’s Mom lived in Allentown, PA, and every Christmas she made gazillions of kiffles. Who knew they were a part of PA culture from Austrian-Hungarian-Slovak traditions. Now my oldest daughter has gotten very good at duplicating Grammie’s Kiffles. I don’t know if I would have had the patience to make them, as they are very time consuming, and of all the cookies we make, she is happiest when she finishes the kiffles. Grammie always bought the filling, apricot was everyone’s fav, in the Farmer’s Market in Allentown, PA, as it was just “apricots,” no sugar added. So now I make it that way. Buy a bag of dried apricots (buy good ones, they are not so dry), add water and gently boil. Keep adding water just enough to not have the bottom burn, keep cooking until the apricots are mush. Add nothing else. When they are all mushy, beat them with anything. There you have it…Grammie’s apricot filling. She also made what she called nut rolls. It was a HUGE kiffle, and you can use the prunes that Solo makes, or I guess make then the same way I make the apricot. I have never made that. The walnuts she ground, mixed with egg white and sugar. Not so much sugar. She believed in something tasting like the main ingredient, not sugar. Love to everyone who had a grandmother, mother who cooked with or for them. It makes me know how loved I was.
My grandmother was Italian and my mom, aunts, grandma would get together and bake tons of Christmas cookies each year. They put a lot of time and love into their cookie baking. They did this for all of us to share and enjoy. Love spoken here.
Hi Sandy,
You’re right, homemade cookies are a labor of love and they make a truly thoughtful gift.
Hi My grandmother was from New Tripoli PA she was Pennsylvania Dutch right outside of Allentown and this is her exact recipe.
We have a lot of fun getting together to make these and they are worth the work! Apricot is our favorite.
Hi Cheri – You’re right, kiffles are worth the work. I love the apricot and the almond!
Most grocery stores have Solo filling. It’s usually near the cans of pie filling.
Dried apricots diced in a food processor, them put in a slow cooker. Add enough water to just cover, cook on low heat. May need to add a little more water as it cooks. Can use an immersion blender to ccompletely puree. The mixture does not burn in the slow cooker as it might when done on a stove.
This is a great tip Claire – thank you so much for sharing!