These are a Hungarian crescent made with a cottage cheese dough and a filling made with your choice of nuts. You may be surprised that there is no sugar in either the dough or the filling…this is not a typo. The cookie has no sweetness other than the granulated or powdered sugar that is is rolled in at the end. In some Hungarian households it is traditional to serve these with a bowl of powdered sugar on the side for dipping…this allows guests to tailor the amount of sweetness to their individual tastes.
Ingredients
- For the dough:
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup cream style cottage cheese
2 cups all-purpose flour
- For the filling:
2 large egg whites, beaten
2 cups finely chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, or hazelnuts are popular)
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- For garnish and serving:
Granulated sugar (pictured) and/or powdered sugar (not pictured)
Directions
- Make the dough:
- 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.
- Make the filling:
- Combine egg whites, nuts, water, and ground cinnamon. Mix well and set aside.
- Assemble and bake Kifli:
- Preheat oven to 375F (190 C) and grease cookie sheets. On a lightly 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 (for larger cookies, make larger wedges). Beginning at outer edge roll up each wedge tightly. If desired, roll each cookie in granulated sugar (pictured). 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.
- Before serving:
- If desired, liberally sprinkle cookies with powdered sugar (not pictured). In some Hungarian households it is traditional to serve these with the dish of powdered sugar for dipping, so each person can get the amount of sweetness desired, since this is the only form of sugar in the recipe.
Notes
- These are commonly called Kiffles in the English-speaking world. Try our other Kiffle recipe here.
- Photo by Elaine Ashton under Creative Commons license.
- Reviewers, please help us out and note the yield! Thanks!
