Ingredients

4 cups of  flour

2 cups (1 bag) of walnuts

2 sticks of unsalted butter

2 packets of fast-rising yeast

1 cup of sour cream,
at room temperature

1 cup milk

6 egg yolks

4 egg whites

zest of 1 lemon

2 teaspoons vanilla

½ teaspoon sugar

Confectioner’s sugar

Directions

Dough:

In a large mixing bowl, mix together flour and butter. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, warm up milk (do not boil), add 2 packets of yeast and ½ teaspoon sugar. Stir in 1 cup of sour cream.

Add saucepan mixture to flour/butter mixture, as well as 4 egg yolks and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Using your hands, mix well. Form dough into a long loaf shape, and, using a dough knife, cut into 8 even slices. Wrap each dough ball in plastic wrap and let chill in fridge for 2 hours.

Filling:

Coarsely chop walnuts in food processor and transfer to large bowl.

Beat 4 egg whites in a mixer until stiff. Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Gradually add 1 cup of sugar and the lemon zest.
When well mixed, fold into the bowl of chopped walnuts.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Remove dough balls from fridge. Keep in plastic wrap until ready to roll out. Flour surface well, and roll out dough evenly into a circle of 1/8-inch thickness (very thin). Using a sharp knife cut the circle into 8 even triangles. (First cut in half, then quarters, and so forth.) Dollop a teaspoon of filling mixture onto the top half of each triangle.

To fold: take 2 top corners of the triangle and fold in, pinch down, and roll.

When finished rolling, gently bend. Line up kifli 1 inch apart in rows on a Silpat lined baking sheet.

Beat 2 egg yolks, and, using a pastry brush, lightly brush the tops of each kifli.

Bake kifli for approximately 15 minutes. Check the underside of a kifli after 10–12 minutes for doneness (should be a light golden brown color).

When done, remove from oven and let cool. When completely cool, dust with confectioner’s sugar.