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Our family has been making Kieflies for at least 30 years.  Kieflies are eastern European Christmas cookies that are so delicate and delicious that if we were to make only one cookie each year, this would be the chosen cookie.

Kieflies are a bit more time consuming than your average cookie as they take two days to prepare.  You actually make the dough and roll into dough balls the first day and refrigerate the dough balls overnight.  You also make the filling on Day 1.  The second day, you roll the dough into very flat circles in powder sugar, put a teaspoon of filling on one side of the cookie and toll them up, make a crescent and bake.  The recipe follows:

The Dough

1 lb. butter

12 egg yolks

1 cup sour cream

6 cups flour

Butter should be at room temperature.  Cut into flour, beat yolks and add sour cream; blend egg and cream into flour mixture.  Form into balls the size of melon balls.  Let stand covered in refrigerator overnight.

Roll out each ball in powder sugar with heavy rolling pin until very thin, about 3 inch circles.  Put one teaspoon of filling on one side and roll up, forming a crescent.  Place on baking pan lined with parchment paper. Bake at 325° for 15 min.

Filling

12 egg whites, room temperature

2 lbs. walnuts, ground fine

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 lb. powder sugar

Beat egg whites until stiff, fold in sugar, nuts and vanilla, one at a time.  Stir and refrigerate until ready to fill cookies.