Cream Cheese Triangles

These cream cheese triangles are the Hungarian and Eastern European holiday classic also known as kiflis or kolaches in some regions. The pastry is the kind of dough only a mix of cream cheese and butter can produce: tender, slightly tangy, and almost flaky-melting at the edges. Worked together like pie crust, then chilled overnight, the dough rolls out beautifully into thin squares.

The traditional filling is lekvar, the dark, slow-cooked Hungarian prune butter that pairs perfectly against the rich cream cheese pastry. Once filled and folded into little triangles or pinwheels, they bake at moderate heat until just golden, then get a light dusting of powdered sugar.

The pro move from the original recipe: store these uncovered. Sealed up they go soft fast; left to breathe, the pastry stays crisp for days.

Pro Tips

• Don’t skip the overnight chill. The dough is very soft when fresh, and a long rest both relaxes the gluten and firms the butter so it rolls without tearing.
• Roll the dough on a board sprinkled with flour AND sugar, as the recipe specifies. The sugar caramelizes slightly on the bottom, giving a faint crunch and sweetness without making the dough sweet itself.
• Don’t overfill. A teaspoon per square is plenty; more and the filling oozes out as they bake and burns into the pan.
• Press the corners just enough to seal, not flat. Too much pressure and the triangle won’t open into the classic flower-petal shape during baking.

Variations

• Swap lekvar for apricot jam, raspberry preserves, or poppy seed filling for traditional Hungarian variations.
• Use a dab of cream cheese sweetened with sugar and a splash of vanilla as the filling for a cheese-filled kolache version.
• Brush with egg wash before baking for a glossier, more golden top finish.