Kifle - My Romanian Family Tradition

When I was growing up I spent a lot of time at my great grandparent's house of which were both Romanian-born. We called my great-grandfather, Pop, and my great-grandmother, Bunica, which is the Romanian term for grandmother. When I was really little I must have thought that was her name though because I remember calling her Grandma Bunica so basically I was just saying Grandma Grandma. Her name was Anna and she was very special to me. J

I have a lot of memories of Bunica in the kitchen but one of my favorites is that every holiday season she always made kifle. It's a tradition that I will always hold dear to my heart as it brings such fond memories of my childhood with her. I loved getting our Christmas tin full of these crescent-shaped cookies filled with a delicious walnut mixture. I'm not kidding when I say that I could eat half the tin in that same day!

I'm sure there are several variations of a kifle recipe throughout the Eastern European countries but today I want to share with you my family's version. I hope you enjoy it!

KIFLE (makes approx 6 dozen)

Dough
1 pkg. of activate dry yeast
1 tbs. warm water
1/2 tbs. sugar
3 egg yolks
2 sticks of unsalted butter (room temp)
1/2 cup of sour cream
3 cups flour (divided)
1/4 cup confectioners sugar

Mix yeast, water and sugar in a small dish and set aside. In a mixer, cream the butter and then add 1 cup of flour to the butter and mix on low until the flour has combined. In a separate bowl, hand whip the egg yolks and then add the sour cream and yeast mixture to the beaten yolks. Then pour into the butter and flour mixture and follow with the remaining 2 cups of flour. Mix until combined, knead the dough and then separate into 4 balls approximately the size of a baseball. Place into a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least overnight.

Filling
1 lb ground English walnuts
2 cups of granulated sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
5-1/3 oz. can of evaporated milk

Mix all together.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and sprinkle your counter or board with confectioners sugar. Take one of the dough balls and roll out into a 12" circle and approx 1/8" thin. Personally, I like to also cut the outside edge of my dough once it's been rolled so that I am working with a clean edge. Usually, all of the scraps end up making a 5th dough ball.

Then, using your knife or rotary cutter, cut the dough into 16 small triangles (like you would a pizza). Spread the walnut mixture evenly onto the dough and then roll each of the triangles into a crescent shape. 

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat and place the kifle onto the tray. Brush the tops with a little melted butter and bake for approximately 12-15 minutes or to the point of where the edges start to become golden in color.

Repeat this for each of the dough balls. You will end up with a little over 6 dozen kifle to enjoy and give as gifts during the holidays!

Well, now that it's my turn to carry on the tradition of making these awesome little holiday treats it warms my heart to no end to be able to pass this down to my two girls. I pray that this will be just one of a million fond memories they have of their childhood with their momma. J