Quickie Kifli Cookies - Easy Sugar Cookie Recipe (2024)

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This easy sugar cookie recipe is reminiscent of my family’s traditional Hungarian kifli cookies… Sweet, buttery and filled with nutty goodness. If you’ve never tried making kiflis, this is a great place to start!

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We all have certain foods that stir up strong memories and strengthen family ties.For me, Hungarian Kifli Cookies are one of those foods. The holidays wouldn’t feel right without these nut-filled little bundles!

When Lt. Dan and I first met, one thing that I found so endearing about him was how much he loved his family.

He would tell stories about family Thanksgivings with enough food to feed an army, Christmases at his Aunt Pammy’s house with more cousins than I could count, and the New Year’s Eve parties his parents would throw with all the neighbors from their block.

He would also tell me stories about his Great Grandma Rosie and Great Grandpa Joe, Hungarian immigrants who came to America looking for a brighter future. The twinkle in his eyes when he described his great-grandparents was all it took for me to know this was a person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.

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Although I never had the opportunity to meet Grandpa Joe, I visited Grandma Rosie nearly every year up until she passed away at the ripe old age of 96.

She had lived a full life working as a jet-setting executive secretary to the Studebaker family, as a swing dancer, a diehard Notre Dame fan, and an exceptional cook. She passed along many traditional Hungarian recipes to “Mo” Dan’s grandma, his mother and aunt, his sister, and then to me.

Along with Chicken Paprikas and Hungarian Goulash, one of the most beloved family recipes she shared was Kifli Cookies.

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These little rolled bundles of sweet buttery dough hold a rich nutty filling that screams holiday spirit.There’s only one problem with kifli cookies… they are not the easiest cookies to make, nor the quickest.

And with our fast-pace lifestyles and holiday events night after night, some years its hard to find the time to make them.

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So this year I cheated…

I used pre-made Pillsbury Ready To Bake Sugar Cookies to make a quickie version of Kiflis, without all the fuss, and they were pretty spectacular!

I mixed cream cheese into the nut mixture to act as a binder and replicate the tangy quality of traditional Kifli dough. Then dolloped the nut mixture on top of Pillsbury cookie dough. As the cookies baked, the walnut filling moved to one side. This made it easy to fold the cookies in half as soon as they came out of the oven, forming cute little packages.

A dusting of powdered sugar was all it took to make these “Quickie Kiflis” a great substitute for their slightly-more-daunting counterpart.

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If you need your holiday Kifli fix, but are short on time, this easy sugar cookie recipe is a wonderful solution.They will be a stand-out at your holiday cookie exchange, but are also a great little treat for Thanksgiving!

Along with your pumpkin pie, why not offer Quickie Kiflis as a dessert option?

I prefer them to pecan pie, any day.

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Quickie Kifli Cookies

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes minutes

This easy sugar cookie recipe is reminiscent of my family's traditional Hungarian kifli cookies...sweet, buttery and filled with nutty goodness.

Servings: 24 cookies

Ingredients

US Customary - Metric

  • 16 ounces Pillsbury Ready to Bake Sugar Cookies 1 package
  • 2 1/2 ounces cream cheese
  • 1 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar + extra for dusting
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Place the cream cheese in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 30-60 seconds to soften. Then mix the walnuts, powdered sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla with the melted cream cheese.

  • Place the Pillsbury Sugar Cookie dough disks on the cookie sheets 2 1/2 inches apart and top each disk with a dollop of walnut filling approximately the same size as the dough.

  • Bake for 9-11 minutes, until the edges are just slightly golden, but the centers look a bit under-baked. The walnut filling will shift to one side while baking. Remove from the oven and immediately (while the cookies are still hot) use a spatula to fold the cookies in half over the walnut filling.

  • Allow the cookies to cool for 5-10 minutes, then dust liberally with powdered sugar. Store in an air-tight container until ready to enjoy!

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie, Calories: 130kcal, Carbohydrates: 15g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 7g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 4mg, Sodium: 69mg, Potassium: 57mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 10g, Vitamin A: 25IU, Vitamin C: 0.2mg, Calcium: 11mg, Iron: 0.5mg

Course: Cookies

Cuisine: Hungarian

Author: Sommer Collier

Making this recipe?Follow us on Instagram and tag @ASpicyPerspective so we can share what you’re cooking!

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Pillsbury. All opinions are always my own.

This site contains affiliate links, if you make a purchase through them, we receive a small commission.

Quickie Kifli Cookies - Easy Sugar Cookie Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Quickie Kifli Cookies - Easy Sugar Cookie Recipe? ›

The biggest difference between sugar cookies and butter cookies is that sugar cookies are often rolled thin and cut out using cookie cutters. While butter cookies will hold their shape while baking, the dough is much softer and for best results should be piped onto a baking sheet and then baked.

What's the difference between sugar cookies and butter cookies? ›

The biggest difference between sugar cookies and butter cookies is that sugar cookies are often rolled thin and cut out using cookie cutters. While butter cookies will hold their shape while baking, the dough is much softer and for best results should be piped onto a baking sheet and then baked.

How to jazz up sugar cookies? ›

5 Ways to Get Fancy with Your Sugar Cookies
  1. Make a fancy thumbprint cookie. ...
  2. Turn them into sandwich cookies. ...
  3. Decorate with melted chocolate. ...
  4. Try different flavorings in the sugar cookie dough. ...
  5. Roll cookie dough logs in sparkly sugar.
May 1, 2019

Why are my sugar cookies tough? ›

Not using enough fat in the dough.

A greater fat ratio (butter, margarine, shortening, etc.) to flour will result in a more tender cookie. Start by adding just a ¼ cup additional to your recipe.

Is butter or shortening better for sugar cookies? ›

Which One Should I Use in Cookies? Basically, cookies made with butter spread more and are flatter and crisper if baked long enough. However, they are more flavorful than cookies made with shortening. Cookies made with shortening bake up taller and are more tender, but aren't as flavorful.

How do you make store bought sugar cookie dough not spread? ›

Hack #1: Chill your cookie dough before baking to make it easier to work with and to control spread. How does it work? Cookies can spread when baked and lose their shape. To fix this, let your cookie dough rest in the refrigerator for an hour before you roll it out and cut out shapes.

Do you have to flatten sugar cookies? ›

Certain cookies — Sugar Cookies, Snickerdoodles, Classic Peanut Butter Cookies — need to be flattened a bit before they bake, lest they end up emerging from the oven looking like ping-pong balls rather than typical flat, round cookies.

Why do you put fork marks in sugar cookies? ›

Basic reason..the dough is more dense than most cookie doughs, and the pressing with the fork tines helps the dough bake evenly. Secondarily, its pattern makes it easier to tell them apart from other cookies with similar appearance.

Can you roll out store bought sugar cookie dough? ›

BAKED SUGAR COOKIES + MELTED CHOCOLATE + SPRINKLES

Combine the classic sprinkle candy with baked store bought sugar cookie dough for the ultimate in sugar cookie treats. Just roll inch dough balls and then press them into circles with a cup. Bake and then dip one side in melted chocolate and nonpareil sprinkles.

What can I add to sugar cookies for flavor? ›

You can add citrus zest, cinnamon, or almond extract to the dough. You could also ice them with a tasty frosting and add some nuts or toasted coconut.

Can I roll out Pillsbury sugar cookie dough? ›

Roll on floured surface until 1/4 inch thick. Cut with 2 1/2-inch cutter. Bake 8 to 11 minutes.

Should you refrigerate sugar cookie dough before baking? ›

Chilling the dough is a key step in making sugar cookies, especially when you're making cut-outs. Even if you're tight on time, make sure to get the dough in the fridge, or even the freezer, even if it's only for a little while. Skip this step, and the dough will be sticky, and much harder to work with.

What happens if you don't chill cookie dough? ›

Popping your dough in the fridge allows the fats to cool. As a result, the cookies will expand more slowly, holding onto their texture. If you skip the chilling step, you're more likely to wind up with flat, sad disks instead of lovely, chewy cookies. Cookies made from chilled dough are also much more flavorful.

Can you over mix sugar cookie dough? ›

Dry – “Dry” or “Crumbly” dough is a product of over-mixing or using too much of any ingredient during the mixing process. This can be reversed by adding one to two tablespoons of liquid (water, milk or softened butter) to your mix.

What defines a sugar cookie? ›

A sugar cookie, or sugar biscuit, is a cookie with the main ingredients being sugar, flour, butter, eggs, vanilla, and either baking powder or baking soda. Sugar cookies may be formed by hand, dropped, or rolled and cut into shapes.

Why are they called butter cookies? ›

Butter cookies, also known as Danish butter cookies, are cookies originating in Denmark consisting of butter, flour, and sugar. They are similar to shortbread cookies. The butter cookie is often categorized as a "crisp cookie" due to its texture, caused in part by the quantity of butter and sugar.

What is another name for a butter cookie? ›

Butter cookies

They are especially popular around Christmastime and come in a variety of festive shapes, such as stars, trees, and reindeer. These cookies, often called Danish biscuits, originated in Denmark.

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