Hungarian Walnut Christmas Cookies

Hungarians are known for their epic pastries and these Walnut Christmas Cookies are no exception. This authentic recipe is from the kitchen of Chef Agnes Barath, owner of Culinary Hungary just outside Budapest.

Chef Agnes Barath is traditionally trained. She kept recipes from her family, and now passes them to others to keep them alive. Video conference Chef Agnes into your kitchen for a Hungarian cooking class you'll never forget.

Hungarian Christmas Walnut Cookies (Hókifli)

Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the dough:

400 grams (3 1/3 cups) of flour

250 grams (1 cup) of margarine or butter

Zest of half a lemon

200 ml of sour cream

Pinch of salt

For the walnut filling:

200 grams (7 ounces) of ground walnuts

100 grams (3,5 ounces) of powdered sugar

2 egg whites

For dusting:

Powdered sugar mixed with vanilla flavored sugar to roll the hot cookies into.

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. To make the dough, mix flour, butter, zest and salt by hand. The mixture will be quite crumbly.

3. Add sour cream, bit by bit, kneading thoroughly until combined into a smooth dough ball. Cover and let rest.

4. In a separate bowl, make your walnut filling - beat egg whites with half of the powdered sugar until stiff peaks form. Gently fold in the ground walnuts and remaining sugar.

5. On a floured surface roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/8” (3mm).

6. Cut out circles using a 2.5” cookie cutter. Place 1 tsp of nut filling on each circle. Gently roll up each cookie, stretching the rolls into crescent shapes. Place on prepared baking sheet.

7. Bake for 20 minutes or until they begin to turn slightly golden

8. Remove from oven and one-by-one immediately roll the hot cookies into powdered sugar. Allow to cool before serving.

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