Croatian Walnut Kifle Cookies

Kifle cookies are so darn good. We make two different kinds every year during our annual Croatian Cookie baking day. One is from a secret recipe that’s filled with a plum or apricot jam – these are SO good when you eat them fresh from the oven. The jam is warm and the dough is flaky and oh so tasty. The second kifle recipe we make is filled with a walnut mixture and rolled in powdered sugar. These sweet little treats goes perfect with a cup of coffee.

Filling Ingredients:

3 egg whites
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups ground walnuts

Dough Ingredients:

3 sticks unsalted butter
3 egg yolks
2 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup powdered sugar

To bake:

Preheat oven to 350.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
To prepare the filling, beat the egg whites until stiff, slowly adding the sugar.
Slowly fold in the walnuts.
For the dough, cream the butter until smooth, then add the yolks and mix until well combined.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt then gradually add to the butter mixture.
Kneed into dough.
Divide dough into at least 4 balls and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, when you’re ready to roll the dough out, allow it to come up to room temperature.
On a floured surface, roll out each ball, 1 at a time until thin – (if your dough is too thick, there won’t be a good balance between dough and filling).
Cut the dough as you would when you’re slicing up a pie – about 1.5 inches in width for each slice (you can make them smaller or larger if you prefer).
Place the filing in the center of each slice, then roll them up like a crescent and place on the baking sheet.
Bake for 12 minutes, until golden brown on the edges.
Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes.
Sift powdered sugar over the warm cookies, or you can roll them in a bowl of powdered sugar).