Tag Archives: European pastry

Kifle with Walnut Filling

BY HELEN S. FLETCHER, ON
COPYRIGHT, HELEN S. FLETCHER, 2021. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
ALL PHOTOS BY PASTRIES LIKE A PRO UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.

KifleKifle with Walnut Filling is a childhood memory. Mother would make them and I would wait with great anticipation for the time I could eat them. Kifle can be used with a sweet or savory filling. Just omit the sugar for the savory version and use a filling that isn’t wet.

Mother never made a savory version, only the sweet version. However, she would change the filling. She would use a poppy seed version or fill them with lekvar or prune filling, but the Kifle with Walnut Filling was my favorite. Often labeled a cookie, these are actually a pastry. Fleishmann’s Yeast has a Walnut Kifle and has this to say about them; ” Kifle is popular throughout Eastern Europe and the countries of the former Yugoslavia. This recipe makes a sweet nut-filled butterhorn pastry but kifle may also be left unsweetened and served as a savory sandwich roll. ” Continue reading →

Murbteig Pastry

BY HELEN S. FLETCHER, ON
COPYRIGHT, HELEN S. FLETCHER, 2021. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
ALL PHOTOS BY PASTRIES LIKE A PRO UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.

Finished photoMurbteig cookies  were one of my favorite Christmas cookies made by my mother. The basic pastry is German or Viennese depending upon what book you are reading.  It is extremely easy to put together. Mother made this in a mixer but I find it easier in the food processor. Both versions are included.

In addition to these cookies, Murbteig has many applications in the pastry world.  In my book, “The New Pastry Cook”, I devoted a chapter and many more recipes to this marvelous pastry.

I still remember my mother rolling out gobs of these cookies every year. We also had Murbteig cookies at Easter which I suppose explains the chicken. The basic cookie was always made with a set of cutters in the shape of the four suits of cards. I still have the small cutters that came from Penny’s for twenty nine cents. Box of cuttersShe also included a small little chicken. I have no idea why the chicken or the card cutters but they are a dainty cookie and look just beautiful on a cookie tray. Continue reading →