Kifles

Twelve Days of Cookie Baking — Day 6

Create memories your families and friends will savor for years to come

The weekend after Thanksgiving Rebecca Kurowski, her sister Elissa Cooper and their mother Pam Nelson got together for their annual holiday baking “marathon.” They put on their aprons (sewn for each family member by Pam), rolled up their sleeves and immersed themselves in creating a number of their family’s favorite Christmas treats: kifles, Oreo bonbons, Finish prune tarts, rum balls, spritz, chocolate haystacks and sugar cookie cutouts. And after nearly 20 years, the recipe for green cornflake wreaths with red hots was “dusted off” and recreated by Rebecca and Elissa’s young children, who were part of the baking bevy throughout the day.

Today Rebecca shares the kifle recipe her family has been making for the last 25 to 30 years. Pronounced “key-full,” Rebecca says the crescent-like nut-filled cookie is wonderful with coffee — light and not overly sweet. CJK

Kifles

(Rebecca Kurowski)

Dough:

Rebecca’s sister Elissa carefully spreads the nut 

filling on a slice of kifle dough in this 2007 photo 

while Rebecca’s daughter Lillian, 18 months old 

at the time, takes her first lesson in this family 

baking tradition. (Photo courtesy of Rebecca Kurowski)

1 stick butter, softened

2 cups flour

8 oz. cottage cheese, pureed

1 egg yolk

Nut filling:

2 cups chopped walnuts, toasted

3/4 cup sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. cinnamon

Topping:

1 cup powdered sugar

Cut softened butter into flour as for pie dough. Mix cottage cheese and egg yolk and add to flour mixture to form dough. Divide into four balls and refrigerate one hour. (Dough can be made ahead and stored in refrigerator overnight.)

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375°F.

Roll one ball at a time onto a pastry cloth in a 12-inch circle. Cut circle into 12 pie-shaped pieces. Gently spread a small amount of the nut filling mixture on each piece. Roll each pie-shaped piece from the widest part to the tip and place on an insulated nonstick cookie sheet.

Bake for 12-15 minutes 375°F. When still hot from oven, roll the kifles in powdered sugar and then cool them on a cooling rack. When cooled or before serving, roll again in powdered sugar.

Yield: 48 kifles

A note from Rebecca: We use a pizza cutter to slice the dough into even pieces. Take your time when putting the filling on the individual slices. Don’t spread it all the way to the edge because it will run over and burn onto the cookie sheet.

A note from Carol: Rebecca started as the communications director for the St. Cloud Diocese in 2008. Members of St. Francis Xavier Parish in Sartell, she and her husband, Dan, are the parents of 5-year-old twin daughters — Breanna and Lillian — and a 3-year-old son, Grant.

Rebecca’s twin daughters, Lillian and Breanna, enjoy licking the beaters 

after a cranberry cake was mixed in this 2009 photo. (Photo courtesy 

of 

Rebecca Kurowski)