Description
Kifle are a traditional crescent-shaped pastry with apricot, raspberry, nut or cheese filling. This recipe has been handed down through the generations and is always a part of our Christmas festivities.
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups (300g) dried apricots
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 1/4 cups (270g) brown sugar
- 4 cups (500g) flour
- 1 package (2 1/4 tsp or 7g) active dry yeast
- 1 cup (240g) sour cream
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/4 cups (284g) butter, room temperature
- 4 egg yolks, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Place apricots and water in a saucepan and simmer over medium for five minutes until they are soft and have soaked up some of the water.
- Reduce the heat to low, add in the brown sugar, and stir until combined. Then let it continue to simmer for 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until the apricots are super soft and can be broken up with the back of a spatula.
- Smash up the apricots with your spatula so the jam is somewhat smooth. You can also use an immersion blender or a food processor if you like.
- Once you have a nice thick apricot jam, put it in a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap, and set it aside.
- To make the dough, combine the flour and yeast in a bowl and then add in the butter, cut up into tablespoons. Mix it with a fork to break up the butter until you get a nice gravel-like consistency.
- Add the sour cream, egg yolks and vanilla to the flour and butter mixture and mix with your fingers until fully combined then remove the dough as a large ball and knead on a clean work surface for 3 minutes until smooth. The dough should be soft and easily kneaded.
- Divide the large dough ball into 8 evenly sized pieces and roll each into a ball. Place your dough balls on a tray or plate and cover with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 375F and line a half-sheet baking pan with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Take your dough out of the refrigerator and work with one dough ball at a time. Sprinkle powdered sugar on a clean work surface, then place the dough ball on it and roll it out with a rolling pin until 1/8 inch thick.
- Using a knife or pizza cutter, cut the dough into 8 triangular pieces, like a pizza.
- Place a teaspoon-sized dollop of the apricot jam near the edge of the dough on each slice, then roll up the outside over the filling and start rolling in toward the tip of the piece of dough, pinching the sides to seal in the filling.
- Once rolled, place the cookies on the baking sheet and bake at 375F for 13 to 16 minutes until they ever so slightly start to brown.
- Allow to cool on a cooling rack, then sprinkle powdered sugar and serve.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 80
- Sugar: 2.3 g
- Sodium: 13.4 mg
- Fat: 4.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 8.6 g
- Fiber: 0.3 g
- Protein: 1.3 g
- Cholesterol: 22.3 mg