Name: Hungarian Kifli (Christmas Cookies) With Dates
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 1 h 20 min
Yield: 6 dozen
Cuisine: European, Hungarian
Ingredients: 1/2 lb butter; 1/2 lb cream cheese; 2 cups flour; 2 cups chopped pecans; 1 cup chopped dates; 1/2 cup orange juice; 3 tablespoons sugar

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Hungarian Kifli (Christmas Cookies) With Dates

At a Glance

Prep: 1 hour
Cook: 20 minutes
Total: 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings: 6 dozen

Dietary

Vegetarian

Allergens

Milk
Tree nuts
Wheat

I woke up a few mornings ago thinking about a special Christmas cookie we used to make using my Hungarian grandmother's recipe. I could remember the cookie, but not the name. Thanks to Facebook (who knew a friend in Cabo had a friend in Hungary!) I got the name but an internet search didn't come up with something exactly like I remembered. I took the closest, which used raisins, and came up with this which is EXACTLY as I remembered, but much easier. NOTE: if you like the filling you might want to make about 1.3 times the amount to overstuff your Kifli. If there's any left over roll it into balls, cover with sugar and call it a truffle. Hope someone out there enjoys this!

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Equipment

Food processor, plastic wrap, rolling pin, floured board, knife, baking sheet, oven

Ingredients

1/2 lb butter
1/2 lb cream cheese
2 cups flour
2 cups chopped pecans
1 cup chopped dates
1/2 cup orange juice
3 tablespoons sugar

Instructions

For the dough: mix butter, cream cheese and flour in food processor. Split into two balls, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
For the filling: Mix all ingredients in food processor, let stand at room temperature.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove the dough from refrigerator, roll out on floured cutting board, cut into about 2 inch squares. Put about one teaspoon filling onto each square. Roll diagonally, then crimp in the middle to make a crescent. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes or until golden. Sprinkle with powdered sugar as soon as removed from oven.
All of the recipes I searched agreed that letting the dough rest overnight is key to getting it nice and flaky.
Enjoy!

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