Kifli Cookies

We made these once a year at Christmas time. 46 years later I still keep the tradition. There’s a few different versions of this cookie out there. My mom always made this one. It’s a sour cream dough, tender, flaky and filled with a finely ground walnut mixture with some almond extract then rolled in confectioners sugar while it’s warm. The house smells amazing when these cookies are baking. There’s a few steps involved in making the kifli cookies, don’t let that stop you. It is definitely worth all the work.

yield: 16 dozen

Dough

4 cups unsifted flour

2 cups regular margarine

4 egg yolks, slightly beaten

1 cup sour cream

Filling

1 1/4lb. walnuts finely ground

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 TBS. almond extract

1 egg, beaten

Confectioners sugar

Instructions

Make Dough: Place flour in large bowl. With pastry blender, cut in margarine until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add egg yolks and sour cream, stir until combined. Turn out on a lightly floured surface and kneed until dough is smooth and can be shaped into a ball. If too sticky, kneed in more flour. (Dough can be refrigerated until ready to use.)

Make Filling: In medium bowl, combine ground nuts, sugar, milk and almond extract: blend well.

Preheat oven 400 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or grease cookie sheets.

To shape Kifli: On lightly floured surface, roll out a quarter of dough at a time, to measure 16 by 12 inches, 1/8inch thick. With pastry wheel, cut into 2 inch squares.

Place generous 1/2 teaspoon of filling in center of each square, then bring to opposite corners, overlapping, over filling, pinch edges together to seal. Place on cookie sheet. Brush lightly with egg.