Hungarian Pastry

These traditional Hungarian pastry cookies use a rich sour cream dough that chills overnight, creating layers of flaky, buttery texture similar to a pie crust. The dough comes together by hand: flour cut with margarine like you’d make pastry, then enriched with egg yolks beaten into sour cream.

The overnight rest in the fridge is key. It firms the fat, making the dough easy to roll and giving the finished cookies their characteristic flakiness. Without it, you’ll fight sticky, unworkable dough.

For filling, prune lekvar is the classic Hungarian choice, but apricot preserves work just as well. Roll the dough into squares, drop a spoonful of filling in the center, then fold two opposite corners together and seal with a dab of water. They bake up golden and puffed, then get a generous dusting of confectioner’s sugar while still warm.

Chef Tips

• Chill the dough overnight, no shortcuts. This step makes the difference between flaky pastry and greasy, flat cookies
• Roll the dough on a well-floured surface. The sour cream makes it stickier than standard pie dough
• Don’t overfill. A teaspoon of filling per square is plenty. Too much and the corners won’t seal, and the filling leaks during baking
• Brush with egg yolk before baking for a glossy, golden finish

Variations

• Walnut filling: Mix ground walnuts with sugar and a splash of milk for a nutty alternative
• Poppy seed: Use prepared poppy seed filling for another classic Eastern European combination