44° and Partly Cloudy
Image
by Francine Black
Hungarian cream cheese cookies with prune lekvar - we call them by their Serbian name: Kiflitse.
Lekvar is a Hungarian term for a fruit butter made of either apricots or prunes, and it is easily made in our kitchen.
The simple dough made of three ingredients-- butter, cream cheese and flour-- is the perfect partner for the luscious lekvar filling. I made some cookies filled with a toasted walnut meringue too.
My mother made these every Christmas as they were our father’s favorite. We would go to the Hungarian store in Trenton, NJ to find the finest ingredients: imported prunes, unshelled walnuts and spices.
Back in the early 1950’s, Trenton had some amazing ethnic neighborhoods, each with their own groceries that catered to their cuisine. There were the Slavs, the Italians, the Germans, the Hungarians, the French, and probably others too. Each group settled in a small section of the city and shared their culture and food generously.
In particular, the women would share food and recipes. I still remember my mother who spoke only French and German and no English, making best friends with an immigrant lady from Abruzzi, who spoke only Italian and no English. Somehow, Mama learned how to make the best tomato sauce from her.
By the same token, the lady who owned the Hungarian store only spoke Hungarian and some broken English and it was from her that we got the recipe for these lekvar cookies.
Find lekvar recipes here. Find Kifle cookie recipe here.
Traditions are part of our family’s story and they’re especially sweet at holiday times.High in the mountains above Bally, where the dense groves of treetops seem to touch the sky, is Francine Black, Boyertown’s own version of chef Julia Child. Her daily activities reflect the things she most values: family and friends, music, and lovingly prepared food.
More News from Boyertown
- A Pictorial Tour Through the History of Boyertown: Inns page 61 Inns--page 61
- No Gifts Please! People have a variety of traditions and beliefs about gift giving; in our relationship, gifts often come with amusing twists.
