Vaníliás Kifli

Ingredients:

• Cream cheese, 250 gr
• Butter, 1 cup
• Egg yolks, 3
• Vanilla extract, 1 tsp
• Flour, 4 cups
• Salt, a pinch of
• Baking powder, 1/2 tsp

For the filling:

• Ground walnuts, 500 gr
• Sugar, 1 cup
• Egg whites, 3
• Confectioner's sugar

Preparation:

For the dough:

In a large bowl, place flour and butter. Cut butter into flour until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add egg yolks and cream cheese; stir with a fork until combined.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead dough with your hands until it is smooth and can be shaped into a ball. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate.

For the filling:

in a medium bowl, beat egg whites to soft peaks, add sugar a little at a time while continuing to beat to stiff peaks. Fold in ground walnuts, and set aside

Preheat oven to 200°C. Line baking sheets .

To shape Kifli:

Divide dough into quarters; wrap three of quarters separately in plastic wrap and set aside.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out remaining quarter of dough to a 38 cm x 30 cm  rectangle that is 1/2 cm thick.

Using a pastry wheel, cut rectangle of dough into 8 cm squares.

Place a heaping teaspoon of walnut filling in center of each square; bring one corner of dough over filling to opposite corner; pinch edges together.

Place Kifli on baking sheets.Bake for 10 minutes or until cookies are golden brown.

Roll Kifli in sugar. Let cool on wire racks. Repeat steps with remaining three quarters of dough.