How to make Kifle (Yugoslavian walnut cookies)

Hola, trusty friends! How’s it going on this fine Wednesday afternoon? The temperature might only be in the 40s, but it’s not raining or snowing, the sun is shining, and we’re supposed to hit 70 degrees this weekend! Can I get an “amen”?

Several weeks ago, a lovely woman called our office hoping for a specific European cookie recipe, although she wasn’t sure of the ingredients, the name of the cookies or even what the cookies resembled. Since she didn’t know anything about them, we knew we had a treasure hunt on our hands. She thought the cookies might be Italian or Yugoslavian…or British. Maybe even German. Hmmm…

A few hints the caller gave us were:

• European
• “The kind of thing the ladies at church bake”
• They have nuts in them
• “Folded”

The best thing we came up with is this recipe for a Yugoslavian walnut cookie called Kifle.

I hope our research gives you something to look forward to baking.

Go make something awesome,
Jen

Kifle

For the Dough:

• 1 – 7g packet active dry yeast
• 2 cups sifted flour
• ½ cup butter or margarine
• 2 egg yolks
• ½ cup sour cream
• Confectioners’ sugar
• Melted butter or margarine for greasing

For the Filling:

• 1 cup finely chopped walnuts
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp. Vanilla extract
• 2 egg whites, beaten stiff

For the dough: put sifted flour into large mixing bowl. Mix in yeast. Cut in butter with pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. Add egg yolks and sour cream; mix well. Form into ball. On lightly floured board, knead until smooth, 5 to 10 minutes. Divide dough into 3 equal parts. Wrap in wax paper. Chill in refrigerator at least 1 hour.

For the filling: combine walnuts, sugar and vanilla extract. Fold in stiffly beaten egg whites; set aside. On board sprinkled with confectioners’ sugar, roll each part of dough into an 8-inch circle; cut each into 8 pie-shaped wedges. Fill wide end of each wedge with 1 tablespoon walnut filling. Roll up from wide end to point. Place on greased baking sheet, curving ends to form a crescent shape. Bake at 375° for about 25 minutes or until golden brown. Dust with confectioners’ sugar.