Libaláb

by | Dec 16, 2022 | Breads, buns & biscuits

Libaláb (do not confuse it with lúdláb) implies jam filled, folded cookies, which are rolled in granulated sugar before baking. The cookies are named after their shape that resembles the feet of a goose. The dough contains a considerable amount of cottage cheese, which is passed through a sieve. The cookies are usually filled with apricot jam or plum butter, but feel free to use Nutella or any other filling you prefer. (Source of the recipe: Szoky konyhája)

Libaláb
Libaláb – photo: zserbo.com

Ingredients: (this quantity yields 50-55 cookies)

For the dough:

  • 500 g (~1 lb + 1 2/3 oz) cottage cheese
  • 125 g (~4 1/3 oz) butter
  • 330 g (~2 2/3 cups) flour
  • 2 eggs
  • zest of a lemon
  • 6 g (~ 1 1/2 tsp) baking powder
  • 50 g (~1/3 cup) powdered sugar
  • pinch of salt

For the filling:

  • apricot jam, plum butter or Nutella (or what you like)

For the coating:

  • 100 g (~1/2 cup) granulated sugar
  • 20 g (~1 2/3 tbsp) vanilla sugar

Prepare the dough. Pour cottage cheese into a sieve resting on a bowl. Using a spoon, pass the cottage cheese through the sieve. In a bowl combine flour, powdered sugar, salt and baking powder. Rub butter into the flour, then add cottage cheese, eggs and lemon zest, and knead into a smooth and pliable dough.

Crumbly cottage cheese

Pass cottage cheese through a sieve

Dough of libaláb

Wrap the dough in cling film and put it in the fridge for at least 1 hour. (The dough can be chilled overnight as well.)

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 180°C / 356°F. In a small bowl combine granulated sugar and vanilla sugar.

On a floured surface roll out the dough thin (2-3 mm / 1/8 inch), and with a 6 cm / 2 1/3 inch cutter cut out circles. Thinly spread apricot jam, plum butter or Nutella on each disk. Fold the disks in half, and roll them in sugar. Fold the cookies in half once more to form into a triangular shape, and coat them with sugar again. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheets and bake them for 20-22 minutes.

photos: zserbo.com

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0 Comments

Hungarian cottage cheese

This is what Hungarian túró looks like

You often ask me what kind of cottage cheese (or curd cheese or farmer's cheese - call it what you want) I use in the recipes. In Hungary the store-bought cottage cheese is dry and crumbly as you can see in the picture. So if a recipe calls for túró, I mean this type. If you can't obtain túró, you can try to make your own from whole milk. Click on the link below.

Metric system vs cup

In Hungary metric units are in use, all the recipes on this website are based on this system, so a kitchen scale is necessary. Since I’m not familiar with cup as a measurement unit, I convert grams to cups by using an online converter. The values in brackets, therefore, are only approximate volumes, so, please, double-check them before you start cooking.

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