🇭🇺 Traditional Hungarian Walnut Kiffles

Makes: about 3 dozen

Dough

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• ½ cup sour cream
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 tbsp sugar
• ¼ tsp salt

Walnut filling

• 2 cups finely ground walnuts
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 egg whites
• 1–2 tbsp milk, if needed

To finish

• Powdered sugar

Method

1. Make the dough: Cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the egg yolks and sour cream. Gradually add flour and salt until you have a soft dough.
2. Divide into 3–4 portions, wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (overnight is even better).
3. Make the filling: Mix ground walnuts, sugar, vanilla, and egg whites. Add a little milk if the mixture is too dry. It should be thick and spreadable.
4. Heat oven to 350°F (175°C).
5. Roll one portion of dough very thin—about ⅛ inch—on a lightly floured surface.
6. Cut into roughly 3-inch squares. Put a small teaspoon of walnut filling near one corner.
7. Roll each square toward the opposite corner and gently curve it into a crescent.
8. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake 12–15 minutes, until the bottoms are lightly golden. Don’t let them become deeply brown.
9. Cool slightly, then generously dust with powdered sugar.

Old-fashioned Hungarian trick: Keep the dough cold and work with only one portion at a time. The sour cream makes the pastry exceptionally tender, while the walnut filling gives it that traditional flavor.

If you’re thinking of the Hungarian Christmas kifli that are filled with walnut or apricot and rolled into crescents, I can also give you the more authentic nagymama (grandmother-style) version.