Recreating Happiness

A gluten free recipe blog: recreating classic recipes and developing original GF recipes

Navigation
  • Recipes
  • About
  • F.A.Q.
  • Contact Me

Kieflies: Polish Crescent Cookies with Walnut Filling

December 20, 2013

Share the Recipe!
Pin on Pinterest0Share on Facebook0Tweet about this on TwitterShare on Google+0Email this to someoneShare on Reddit0Share on StumbleUpon0Share on Tumblr0

The Holy Grail of any gluten free baker worth their salt hailing from South Bend, Indiana:  The Kieflie, a crescent shaped pastry cookie with a walnut filling.  Also spelled kiefle or keeflie and pronounced “key-flee.”   They are lightly sweet (the only sugar is in the filling), buttery, tender, flaky, and the epitome of Christmas cookies for those who live in northern Indiana.

Gluten Free Kieflies!  Crescent cookie with walnut filling.  Also kiefles or keeflies #GF #Christmascookies #kieflies

Happily, they are a labor of love when I bake them for my family and friends during the holidays.  As they were when my mother and grandmothers made them.  I don’t know how far back in my family tree I can trace the kieflie but I do know its been a family tradition for generations.

These cookies take time and are best made a few days before Christmas on a cold blustery day.  I grew up listening to my grandmothers and mother discuss what day would be their “kiefle day.” Yes, they spent all day on them.  They also made double and triple batches to give as gifts, but mostly they were distributed amongst the family.  It’s funny but I recall receiving the cookies from my grandma even though we had a ton of our own.  I suppose my mom gave some to my grandma as well.

Gluten Free Kieflies!  Crescent cookie with walnut filling.  Also kiefles or keeflies #GF #Christmascookies #kieflies

My dad is notorious for stashing some away in his hidden cabinet spot and then trying to sell them to fellow family members come late January or February when someone was in a state of woe over the last of the kieflies being eaten.  20 years ago they easily went for $1-2 a cookie.

I refer to them as a Polish cookie but I do believe this version is more a South Bend, Indiana cookie than anything.  Google does not produce many results but leads me to believe the recipe is based on a very similar Hungarian crescent shaped cookie.  My family has a fairly strong mix of Polish and German and both sides of the family, the ones with long ties to South Bend, have been making these cookies for as long as anyone can remember.

Gluten Free Kieflies!  Crescent cookie with walnut filling.  Also kiefles or keeflies #GF #Christmascookies #kieflies

Every year I tell myself I’m not going to make them and every year I realize it does not feel like the holidays until I do.  It takes time and patience to roll out every single one, add the dab of filling, roll, shape, and bake them.

Perhaps Christmas cookies made from scratch instead of purchased from the refrigerated section or made from a box, not only taste better but remind us to slow down.  Take a breath.  Enjoy the holidays and the moments.  We don’t need to speed through holiday baking just to check it off our lists and move to the next to-do item.  Let’s enjoy this.

Gluten Free Kieflies!  Crescent cookie with walnut filling.  Also kiefles or keeflies #GF #Christmascookies #kieflies

5.0 from 7 reviews
Gluten Free Kieflies: Polish Crescent Cookies with Walnut Filling
 
Print
Cook time
20 mins
Total time
20 mins
 
Yields/Serves: 56
Ingredients
  • 1½ cups finely ground almond flour
  • 1½ cups tapioca flour
  • 1 cup white rice flour plus more for rolling
  • 1½ teaspoons xanthan gum
  • 1-lb butter (4 sticks)
  • 6 large egg yolks (keep the whites for the filling)
  • 1 cup sour cream
FILLING (see notes):
  • 6 egg whites
  • 24 oz walnuts
  • 1-lb powdered sugar (approx 3¾ cups) plus more for dusting
Instructions
  1. The day before, in a large bowl, combine almond flour, tapioca flour, white rice flour, and xanthan gum. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives criss-crossed work the butter in until it's the size of peas. (if you're lucky enough to have a food processor it'd probably be a lot easier/faster here). In small bowl whisk together egg yolks and sour cream until smooth. Pour into flour/butter mixture and mix until smooth.
  2. Pinch off dough and roll into balls about the size of a golf ball. Cover and refrigerate dough for 24 hours (the best is 24 hours, the bare minimum you can get away with is 3 hours).
  3. Prepare filling (day of or day before, either is ok, just be sure to refrigerate it when not in use): Whip egg whites to soft peaks. Coarsely grind walnuts in food processor or blender. Fold walnuts and powdered sugar into the egg whites.
  4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover cookie sheets with parchment paper.
  5. On rice floured wax paper roll out dough balls into a ¼-inch thick circle. TIP: I used my tortilla press instead of a rolling pin - best.idea.ever. Keep the dough cold! It's very easy to work with when chilled but once it starts to warm up it gets sticky. I take out only 5-6 dough balls at a time while keeping the others in the fridge until I'm ready for them.
  6. Add 1-2 teaspoons filling off-center, then roll jelly roll style. Pinch the ends closed and curve cookie into a crescent shape.
  7. Bake 18-22 minutes until light golden brown. Remove immediately to a wire rack. Cool completely then dust with powdered sugar.
Notes
Except for the GF flours this is the exact recipe handed down to me. The filling recipe makes A TON and way more than I can ever use. I strongly urge you to consider cutting the filling portion of the recipe in half.
3.2.2265

 

Share the Recipe!
Pin on Pinterest0Share on Facebook0Tweet about this on TwitterShare on Google+0Email this to someoneShare on Reddit0Share on StumbleUpon0Share on Tumblr0
« Aebelskivers: Stuffed Pancakes
Gluten Free Graham Cracker/Cookie – Alternative Pie Crust »

Filed Under: Cookies Tagged With: butter, celiac, christmas, confectioners sugar, cookie, cookies, crescent, egg whites, egg yolks, exchange, family, from scratch, generations, German, GF, gluten, gluten free, handed down, holiday, homemade, hungarian, indiana, Polish, powdered sugar, recipe, sour cream, South Bend, traditional, walnut, walnuts, wheat free

Comments

  1. Stacy says

    January 27, 2014 at 12:56 pm

    Can’t wait to try this one. I’m from South Bend but, know living in Michigan. I have an allergy to gluten so, when I saw this recipe I was happy because I do love my kieflies. I will let you know what I think of these. I have to go and get some rice flour.

    Reply
    • Stacy says

      February 7, 2014 at 10:11 pm

      Just made them and they are great. Has a nice buttery crust. This is a keeper. Thanks for sharing your recipe. I did add 1-tsp of vanilla to filling. I used saran wrap when I rolled out dough with rice flour and it worked great.

      Reply
      • Rachel from Recreating Happiness says

        February 8, 2014 at 9:50 pm

        So glad you liked them! They are my favorite holiday cookie. I like the idea of adding vanilla to the filling, I might try that next time!

        Reply
  2. Dawn W. says

    October 14, 2014 at 1:55 pm

    Can’t wait to try making these myself. I went to the Covered Bridge Festival this last weekend and bought some of these from a baker’s booth in Bridgeton, IN. Loved it and had to hunt up a recipe. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  3. Tammy WEston says

    December 8, 2014 at 1:19 pm

    Thanks so much for posting this. I use my mother in law’s recipe, but did not really realize it was a South Bend tradition, but that is where she was born and raised and my husband also grew up there. Hers is not the gluten free recipe, but delicious just the same.

    Reply
  4. Deborah Horvath Rowden says

    December 15, 2014 at 4:39 pm

    I grew up in South Bend, born in ’52 and left in 67 and have been eating these flaky, buttery Kifli my whole life. I have lost my ages old recipe and cannot find one like it anywhere. this comes close but my grandmother and my mom used butter, flour, egg yolks and heavy cream in their dough. I know it was a dozen yolks, a lb of butter and 1/2 pint of heavy cream with flour. I just cannot for the life of me remember the order of mixing. I do know the butter was just softened and not melted. Do you have your non gluten free recipe available?

    Reply
    • Rachel from Recreating Happiness says

      December 16, 2014 at 7:17 am

      Everything in the gluten free recipe is the same except the flours. So instead of the flours, starches, and xanthan gum, use 4 cups of regular flour and you have the original recipe that I have. I’m thinking the heavy cream in your recipe must be the sour cream in mine. Order of mixing is the same as the recipe here. I hope that helps some! It never feels like Christmas until I make these cookies 🙂

      Reply
    • Stephanie Butler says

      December 17, 2014 at 11:05 am

      My recipe uses a full dozen eggs. I cream the butter, add yolks one or two at a time, then sour cream and finally the flour. Recipe is as follows:

      KIEFLIES (yields about 140)

      Oven – 375˚

      Dough Ingredients
      1 lb. SWEET unsalted butter-DO NOT USE MARGARINE
      1 dozen egg yolks (JUMBO size)
      1 pint sour cream
      5 cups unbleached flour

      Filling Ingredients
      1 dozen egg whites (JUMBO size)
      ½ teaspoon of cream of tartar
      2 teaspoons vanilla
      1 ½ -2 boxes (2 Ibs.) powdered sugar
      2 Ibs. ground walnuts

      Powdered sugar to sprinkle on kieflies after baking – about ½ box (½ lb.)

      Dough
      Soften butter and beat until creamy. Add egg, one at a time, so that the dough stays fluffy. Add sour cream and beat. Add flour one cup at a time. Roll into little balls, and refrigerate for at least four (4) hours (or you can freeze them).

      .
      * Do not make the balls for the dough large. A teaspoon of dough is about right for one ball.

      Filling
      Beat egg whites until stiff (very stiff). Add cream of tartar and vanilla to egg whites and beat. Add sugar slowly (test after adding 1 ½ boxes. Add more sugar if you prefer a sweeter filling). Add nuts and mix well.

      Roll balls, fill and roll into crescents. Bake until golden in a 375° oven. Remove from oven, place on wire racks to cool, and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

      NOTE: DO NOT put in storage containers until completely cool.

      Reply
    • Stephanie Butler says

      December 4, 2015 at 11:00 am

      I too was born in South Bend and started making Kieflies with my mom when I was just a little girl. Recipe is as follows:

      KIEFLIES (yields about 140)

      Oven – 400˚

      Dough Ingredients
      1 lb. SWEET butter (not salted) DO NOT USE MARGARINE
      1 dozen egg yolks (JUMBO size)
      1 pint sour cream
      5 cups flour

      Filling Ingredients
      1 dozen egg whites (JUMBO size)
      ½ dash cream of tartar
      2 teaspoons vanilla
      1 ½ -2 boxes (2 Ibs.) powdered sugar
      2 Ibs. ground walnuts

      Powdered sugar to sprinkle on kieflies after baking – about ½ box (½ lb.)

      Dough
      Soften butter and beat until creamy. Add egg, one to two yolks at a time, so that the dough stays fluffy. Add sour cream and beat. Add flour one cup at a time. Roll into little balls, and refrigerate for at least four (4) hours (or you can freeze them).

      .
      * Do not make the balls for the dough large. A teaspoon of dough is about right for one ball.

      Filling
      Beat egg whites until stiff (very stiff). Add cream of tartar and vanilla to egg whites and beat. Add sugar slowly (test after adding 1 ½ boxes. Add more sugar if you prefer a sweeter filling). Add nuts and mix well.

      Roll balls, fill and roll into crescents. Bake until golden in a 400° oven. Remove from oven, place on wire racks to cool, and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

      NOTE: DO NOT put in storage containers until completely cool.

      Reply
  5. Lynne says

    December 21, 2014 at 2:33 am

    I was raised in South Bend and my mother used to make Keflies for Christmas. I am so glad to find this recipe!

    Reply
  6. Katie says

    January 3, 2015 at 12:04 am

    I must admit I have never heard of these cookies, but instead used the dough for mincemeat pies…..( the little half moon shaped ones, not too unlike your kieflies) Oh what a joy to eat flakey, rich filled pastry!! And the glutonous people liked them too! Thanks!!!

    Reply
  7. Cassidy says

    February 7, 2015 at 6:06 pm

    I’m so happy to see this!! Honestly I don’t intend on using he recipe as my great grandmother woulf roll over in her grave if I made them with any recipe besides hers, but I love the write up and all the beautiful pictures highlighting this unique cultural treat!
    I’m also from South Bend (currently in school in Grand Rapids, getting tired of all the Dutch), so I particularly like this for that reason. I intend on making these for an International Dessert Night that we’re having at my college, but I’m sure it will feel like Christmas when I smell them in the oven! I cant wait!

    Reply
    • Joyce says

      December 17, 2015 at 6:55 pm

      What is your Grandma’s recipe? 🙂 I’ll check back!

      Reply
  8. Annie says

    November 24, 2015 at 11:45 am

    What brand walnuts do you use? I’m having trouble finding gluten free nuts.

    Reply
    • Rachel from Recreating Happiness says

      November 25, 2015 at 8:59 pm

      I’ve been using Fischer’s Nuts. They do not say GF on them but my husband and daughter have seemed ok with them. Otherwise I’ve actually found some of the generic grocery store brands will say GF on them (I know Kroger does).

      Reply
  9. C. Jane Wilhelm Curdes says

    December 7, 2015 at 10:40 pm

    I too grew up in South Bend and now have a daughter and son-in-law there. I am delighted to have a gluten free version of the recipe my grandmother used to indulge her family with every Christmas! It is such fun to read this, hear about all these folks who grew up in S.B. and remember the same traditions that my family had! Thank you for sharing and for the wonderful memories!

    Reply
  10. Alexes says

    December 8, 2015 at 8:52 pm

    Is it ok if I fill these pastries with jam rather than the walnut filling and what jam would you recommend?

    Reply
    • Sara says

      December 31, 2015 at 1:18 am

      My great aunt in South Bend uses apricot jam in place of nuts.

      Reply
  11. Linda says

    December 9, 2015 at 5:56 am

    Thank you so much for this recipe gluten free. My grandma made these and so does my mom. We called them “Keh-full” cookies. I think the spelling was more like Kiefels. Maybe someone in our family was dyslexic before that was a thing. Lol. My grandma never made the walnut paste, she just added chopped walnuts into the batter, rolled them into balls and baked. Her “easy” version. Mom always double batches them, usually twice. 🙂 she always puts them on giveaway cookie plates and it is not Christmas without them. Since discovering a gluten intolerance, I have missed them. So thank you!!

    Reply
  12. Lisa says

    December 9, 2015 at 6:29 am

    Kiflies actually Hungarian, but made by both Hungarian and Polish. For those of you making them, try putting rum in the filing in lieu of the vanilla…so much better!

    Reply
  13. lauralee says

    December 13, 2015 at 1:49 am

    i grew up in south bend and lived next door to my grandma, who made kiefles every christmas.
    i also have carried on the tradition of making this very good cookie and the family will fight over them.
    so, i usually package some up for each member of the family, to keep peace. i use apricot preserves in
    the filling to keep them moist, the walnuts seem to dry them out.

    Reply
  14. Dorinda Grimmius Frye says

    December 13, 2015 at 4:48 pm

    These are in fact a Hungarian cookie. Our neighbor was from Budapest Hungry and she gave my mother the recipe! Glad you could convert them to gluten free!!

    Reply
  15. Leigh Anne says

    February 22, 2016 at 10:44 am

    I made these this past weekend for my mother in law who had not had any for over 25 years due to celiac. They were absolutely wonderful! She said she could close her eyes and not know she was not tasting the “real thing”. Thank you for sharing your recipe!

    The recipe did not make 56 for me – I think I don’t know what golf-ball size means and made them too big. They still worked. Also, I made 2/3 of the filling recipe and had exactly enough to fill all the kieflies with about 2T left over.

    Reply
  16. Agnes Todd says

    May 7, 2016 at 5:33 pm

    I need to know how to freeze them so I can make them for my daughters wedding reception. we are introducing her new husband to the polish style wedding, so I want to add some other favorite polish foods. Funny thing is I am also from South Bend. We should all get together and start our own Polish Blog of South Bend

    Reply
  17. jen says

    August 22, 2016 at 7:02 pm

    It’s interesting the variety of names on this cookie. My Slovak Grandma, 1st generation born and raised in Missouri made these. I had to search through her old cookbooks to find the handwritten recipe to find the name and were Kolacky. Unfortunately I have texture issues and unable to eat them gluten or gluten free.

    Reply
  18. Kathleen Black says

    December 8, 2015 at 9:43 pm

    I have lived in South Send for 30 years and was always told that kieflies were Hungarian.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Gluten Free Paczki (a.k.a. Jelly Doughnuts!) says:
    March 7, 2014 at 8:02 pm

    […] During Fat Tuesday the Polish community celebrates with paczkis (pronounced “punch-key”).  I grew up in South Bend, Indiana where it seems just about everyone is Polish.  It’s impossible to live there and not become well-versed in Polish pastries like paczkis and kieflies. […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Rate this recipe:  

Connect With Me

  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 

Never Miss a Recipe!

Receive an e-mail only when a new recipe is posted!

Recipe Search

Categories

Related Photos

No related photos.

Follow Me

  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 

Recipe Search

Free Custom Service

Enter a Recipe – Receive a Custom GF Recipe

… Click to Get Started!

Gluten Free Meal Plans
Vitacost.com

Welcome! I'm Rachel, creator of Recreating Happiness and gluten free recipes that taste (and feel!) like gluten foods! Read More…

Popular Recipes

Copyright © 2022 · Recreating Happiness ·

Privacy Policy