Croatian Jam Filled Crescents (Kiflice)

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Post author Mate

Written by our local expert Mate

Mate is Croatian and owns a transport company in the Balkans, he has visited over 30 countries. He is an expert on all things transportation as well as food and wine.

These tasty treats bring back fond memories from my childhood. Mama would make Kiflice regularly, and my brother and I would hoover them down just as quickly as she could make them. I loved the sweetness from the sugar, coupled with the slight tartness of the plum jam filling. These are a delightful little treat, and if you are fond of jam, you will adore them as I do.

Croatian Cooking - Christmas Cookies 3

How To Roll Kiflice

Croatian Cooking - Mama's Kiflice

Croatian Jam Filled Crescents Recipe (Croatian Kiflice)

Eating Mama's kiflice brings back fond memories from my childhood. Mama would make them & my brother, and I would hoover them down instantly.

Ingredients

Dough

  • 250 g softened unsalted butter (0.5 pound)
  • 1 cup white sugar (or you can add less or more depending on your taste)
  • 3 egg yokes
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence (or 1 packet of vanilla sugar)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 lemon rind
  • 2 tablespoons of dark rum (optional)
  • 500 g flour, all-purpose (4 cups)

Filling

  • Jar of Podravka plum jam for filling the crescents. Or, whatever flavor and brand you prefer. If the jam is not very thick, add some ground walnuts in the jam to stop it oozing out when you bake them
  • Chocolate spread (my kids love Nutella)

For Dusting

  • Extra flour
  • 2-3 tablespoon icing sugar

Instructions

  1. With a hand mixer, combine the egg yokes, and white sugar for a few minutes
  2. Add in the butter, rum, vanilla essence, lemon rind, and sour cream and combine well with the baking powder
  3. Slowly add in the flour – but NOT ALL AT ONCE. It is best to add the flour 1 cup at a time and add only as much as you need to form a dough ball. Sometimes you’ll need more, other times less
  4. Cover the dough ball with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Don’t leave this for more than a few hours, or the dough won’t roll out very well
  5. Remove from the fridge and separate it into three pieces
  6. Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F)
  7. Roll out the first piece of dough into a thin circle onto a surface that has been dusted with flour. I use a dinner plate and a pizza cutter for accuracy
  8. Using a pizza slicer or knife, slice the rounded dough into 6-10 pieces (see photos). Each slice must be big enough to hold a dollop of jam inside. You can choose how big or small you like them. Just make sure they are all approx the same size, so they bake evenly
  9. At the wide end of the triangle, place between 1/2 – 1 1/2 teaspoons of the plum jam. You need to judge depending on how big you made them and how runny your jam is. You do not want to overfill them, or the jam explosion will ruin them
  10. Now roll and shape the crescents. They should look similar to a mini croissant
  11. Place on a paper-lined baking tray
  12. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until light golden in color. They should remain pale and not be dark brown
  13. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool
  14. Serve, dusted with icing sugar

Tasty Croatian Recipes & Cooking Tips

Comments (14)

    1. You are so welcome! We were doing one a week, but we got lazy… what do you want next? <3

    2. Traditional main Croatian dishes would be good but I’m happy wth any, Its good to try something different, many thanks

  1. I have just made these but realised I had made them too big. I will roll out smaller circles and then divide into slices next time. They still taste delicious.

  2. My nonna made these ….very big….when my mother started to make them …she made them much smaller…

    She also made them with a walnut..honey….maybe cognac filling…? Can anybody help with that…?

  3. Hi!

    Was just working through this recipe – noticed that there is no mention of putting in the baking powder in the method, but the ingredients list mentions 1 tsp of it!

    Wondering if this is a mistake?

    Thanks for your help,
    Victoria

  4. In the ingredients list you say 1 teaspoon baking powder but then in the instructions you say to add the baking soda. This is confusing. Are you using baking powder or baking soda ???

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