How to Make Polish Kiffles

Step-by-Step Guide

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   Step 1: Separate the 4 egg yolks from the egg whites using an egg separator.

     Do not forget to place a bowl underneath the egg separator in order to catch the falling egg whites.  Each time you separate an egg, place the egg yolks in a small mixing bowl.  If you do not have an egg separator, the eggs can still be separated by gently tossing the egg back and forth between the two halves of eggshell until the entire egg white is on one side.  It is suggested that an egg separator be used to avoid accidentally cracking the yolk and wasting eggs that can no longer be used for the recipe.  Egg separators are fairly inexpensive (To purchase an egg separator, visit amazon.com).
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   Step 2: Save the egg whites in the fridge in a covered container to avoid contamination.

     If you are making the walnut filling, they will be used later in the recipe.  Otherwise, you can make a nice omelet out of them in the morning for a healthy breakfast after splurging on this irresistible dessert! ,  Be sure to not beat too aggressively or for an extended period of time; otherwise, air pockets will inflate the egg yolks.  To start, try simply completing 10 full rotations of your wrist with preferred beating utensil or until you can plainly see that the yolks have burst and blended, but still have a thick texture. ,  Combine the egg yolks and sour cream into one mixture by folding and whipping the contents of the bowl with the same fork or whisk with which you began. ,  Make sure that the butter is soft, not melted or frozen.  Soft butter will be easier to combine with the flour than the frozen butter, but it should definitely not be melted.  You will want to use an electric mixer, cleaning out the whisks with a spatula when they get too clogged.  This process will be done when all the butter and flour is combined.
   
   Keep in mind that both flour and butter are solids in this mixture and the end product of this step will be clumpy.
   
   See the picture above as a visual guide. ,  To combine these ingredients, it is now time to abandon all the utensils.  DO NOT use a fork, a whisk, or an electric mixer. ,  Using your hands is crucial to increasing the volume of the dough and emulsifying all the ingredients. ,  You are going to wrap the dough in the wax paper, so make sure the sheet is large enough to fold over the dough; you do not want any of the dough to be exposed. ,  There is no special way to do this; just make sure that the entire dough clump is enclosed.  The purpose of the wax paper is to retain the moisture in the dough and assure that it does not get hard as a rock as it is setting in the refrigerator. ,,  The walnuts should not be a powder.  Chopping the walnuts with a Cuisine Art or a Pampered Chef will be easier and faster than using a knife.  If you use a Cuisine Art, make sure you only pulse a couple times; otherwise, the walnuts will be ground too small. ,,,  You can leave the fork you used to mix together the ingredients propped against the side of the bowl.  You will need it later; saving it for later will keep post-clean up to a minimum. ,  Just allow enough time to for the walnuts to absorb the egg whites.
   
   Leaving the walnut filling in the refrigerator for more or less than ten minutes will not jeopardize the end result of the cookie.
   
   Ten minutes is recommended, but not necessary. ,,  Do not just start with one.  You will be disappointed when you have to stop rolling dough to prepare another baking sheet.  Kiffles are small, but you might need to bake some of them and come back to baking the rest later; it is highly possible that you will run out of baking sheets, unless you work in an industrial kitchen. ,,  Make sure to cover your entire workspace with a thin film of flour.  You will have to continuously powder the counter during this part of the process to avoid sticky dough.  Sprinkle the rolling pin as well. ,  Between rolling out the wedges, put the wrapped dough wedges back into the refrigerator. ,  Spread the flour around the ball as thin as possible with your hands as needed.  Now, the counter, the rolling pin, and the dough you are working with should all have a thin coat of flour to prevent sticking. ,  Now, the dough is ready to be rolled. ,  There is a strategy to this too:  Try to flatten the dough into a rectangular shape, moving the rolling pin back and forth/side-to-side. ,  Be extremely wary of the thickness of the dough as you roll it out.  It is not necessary to get out your ruler, but getting the dough to about 1/8-inch thickness would be ideal. ,,  Each square should be approximately the same size as a Post It note. ,,,, Pinch together the two corners to make sure that they will not come apart in the oven.  The walnut filling rises on its own; with the two corners of the dough wrapped around the walnut filling, the walnut filling will not expand upward as much. ,  The kiffles are done when the walnut filling, as well as the dough, starts to harden/brown at the ends. ,). ,,
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   Step 3: Beat the egg yolks

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   Step 4: gently

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   Step 5: using a fork or a whisk.

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   Step 6: Add the cup of sour cream to the slightly beaten egg yolks.

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   Step 7: Blend together the two cups regular margarine butter with the four cups of flour in a separate

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   Step 8: larger bowl than the bowl that contains the egg yolk-and-sour cream mixture.

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   Step 9: Pour the contents of the small bowl (the egg yolks and sour cream) into the larger bowl with the flour and butter.

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    Step 10: Knead with your hands until the dough is soft and smooth.

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    Step 11: Cut a generous sheet of wax paper and set it down on the kitchen counter.

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    Step 12: Wrap the dough in the wax paper.

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    Step 13: Refrigerate the wax-paper-wrapped dough overnight.

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    Step 14: Chop the walnuts into chunks about the size of peas or a little smaller.

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    Step 15: Find the four egg whites that you kept refrigerated after separating the eggs to make the dough.

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    Step 16: Mix together all the chopped walnuts

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    Step 17: egg whites

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    Step 18: and vanilla in a large mixing bowl.

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    Step 19: Cover the top of the walnut-filling bowl with a sheet of plastic wrap.

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    Step 20: Refrigerate the walnut filling for about ten minutes.

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    Step 21: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

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    Step 22: Line several baking sheets with tin foil.

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    Step 23: Remove the dough and the walnut filling from the refrigerator.

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    Step 24: Prepare the kitchen counter for rolling out the dough by sprinkling it with some loose flour.

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    Step 25: Divide the dough ball with a knife into wedges that are easy to roll.

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    Step 26: Roll the dough wedge you are working with into a ball and lightly sprinkle it with some more flour.

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    Step 27: Set the powdered dough-ball onto the powdered counter and begin the rolling process by just pushing your hand down on the dough in the center.

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    Step 28: Use the powdered rolling pin to roll out the dough ball.

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    Step 29: Stop rolling out the dough when it is as thin as it can be without holes poking through.

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    Step 30: Cut off the frayed

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    Step 31: imperfect edges of the dough to make a clean rectangular shape and discard the dough edges for now.

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    Step 32: Cut the rolled dough-rectangle into even squares.

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    Step 33: Place the dough-squares

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    Step 34: evenly spaced

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    Step 35: onto a previously prepared tin-foil-lined baking sheet as you work.

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    Step 36: Continue rolling more and more dough

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    Step 37: incorporating the discarded edges into new dough balls until all the dough has been used and is on baking sheets.

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    Step 38: Use the fork you left in the walnut-filling mixing bowl to scoop a little bit of filling into the center of each dough-square on the baking sheets.

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    Step 39: Fold two corners opposite each other on each dough-square as if the dough-square were hugging the walnut filling.

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    Step 40: Bake in the oven starting at 10 to 12 minutes for each baking sheet.

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    Step 41: Allow the kiffles to cool on the baking sheet (or eat them warm!

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    Step 42: Sprinkle some powdered sugar on the top of the kiffles.

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    Step 43: Enjoy!

Detailed Guide

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