According to the legend, the Hungarian politician, Lajos Kossuth generally stayed in the Hotel Zöldfa (Green tree) when he arrived to Bratislava in order to attend the Diet. Jakab Palugyay, the hotel’s owner made very light half moon shaped cookies that were topped with poppy seeds and ground/sliced almonds. The latter was Kossuth’s favorite one and that’s why the cookies were named later after Kossuth, who was the Governor-President of the Kingdom of Hungary during the revolution of 1848–49.

The base of Kossuth kifli is a butter sponge cake, which is richer than a normal sponge cake; therefore, it doesn’t dry out so easily. Butter and sugar are creamed together, flavoured with lemon zest and juice, and combined with egg yolks. Flour is incorporated into the creamed butter gradually, and finally the batter is loosened with beaten egg whites. The batter is topped with ground almonds or – more often – with coarsely chopped walnuts.

The cookies are cut out after the cake has cooled; you can use a medium cookie cutter or a glass. There will be some leftover irregular cuttings, those pieces make a perfect topping for ice cream or yogurt. Kossuth kifli can be served single, or those, who like variety, can eat these fluffy cookies with ice cream, chocolate or vanilla custard, or with a sourish fruit sauce.