Victorian Yule Tree

Yule Love These Vintage Kifli Cookies!

What better way to celebrate the holidays then with cookies! Here is my favorite and my families traditional cookie for over 60 years.

HUNGARY KIFLI or ROMANIAN FIFLE

(meaning “horn” filled cookies)

My Mom found this recipe in The Record Courier Newspaper. The recipe was sent in by Mrs. Peter Sench, 883 Wooster Rd. (the town/location was not mentioned) Since The Record Courier was a local paper it would lead me to believe she was local... maybe from Ravenna or Kent (Ohio),

Portage County. It was dated in the late 1940’s.

Here's the recipe:

6 cups sifted flour

1 lb butter – or (½ lb butter – ½ lb lard)

2 egg yolks

1 egg

¾  cup pet milk = small can, 5 fl. oz.

1 cake yeast .6oz. or 1 pkg. dry yeast

Crumble yeast fine into flour.

Work in shortening like pie dough.

Make a well in center of mixture, add yolks, egg and milk.

Work ingredients together with hands until dough pulls from side of bowl. (The warmth from your hands will ease the blending of the butter).

Form balls; chill.

Roll out very thin with powered sugar and fine grated pecans.

Add ½ tsp. filling, form roll.

Bake on nonstick cookie sheet or parchment paper for 15 to 20 min @ 375 degrees. Check your first batch at 15 minutes; cookies are done when bottom is browned lightly and top flaky.

Makes 120 cookies.

*We use Solo brand fillings that come in almond, apricot, poppy and cherry. or Emmy's (my Mom) date nut filling YUM!!!

*Emmy's DATE NUT FILLING – YUM!

1 ½ BOX CHOPPED DATES

1 ½ CUP WATER

1/4 CUP SUGAR

Cook until thickened, strain thru sieve if desired.

Add 1 cup chopped nuts of choice (pecans are my favorite)

Cool before using.

Setting up your work area. I like my pastry sheet in front of me with the powdered sugar and grated pecans near by. Cookie sheets await at the other top side of work area. All sticky stuff, jams, preserves, solo cookie fillings and the like are placed on the left where they will be spread on each cookie after rolling it out thinly.
See my little treasure, the small rolling pin in the left hand of the picture! It is a dough roller for chinese foods, but it fits so well in your hands and is gentle on the thumbs!

Cookies have been mixed and formed into balls. Now wrapped and ready to go in the refrigerator to rest for 2 hours or up to overnight for next day baking!

See my little treasure, the small rolling pin I'm using? It is a dough roller for Chinese foods, but it fits so well in my hands and is gentle on the thumbs!
My husband is busy on the right side spreading the sticky stuff! He's a great helper, without him these may not have gotten baked this year :)

Here they are baked and ready to be enjoyed. They store well in tin cookie containers or Tupperware storage containers.