Soft Hungarian Farmer’s Cheese Pastries – Túrós Párnácskák

Soft Hungarian farmer’s cheese pastries served with a warm coffee—the perfect little homemade treat.

There are some recipes that instantly make a kitchen feel like home, and these Hungarian Farmer’s Cheese Pastries – Túrós Párnácskák are definitely one of them. 🇭🇺🤍

Soft, fluffy yeast dough wrapped around a creamy, slightly sweet farmer’s cheese filling with just a hint of lemon—then baked until beautifully golden and finished with a generous dusting of powdered sugar.

This is the kind of Hungarian baking I love most: simple ingredients, no fancy decoration, just a homemade pastry that tastes like something your mom or grandmother would put on the table while it was still warm.

And yes… waiting for them to cool before eating one is probably the hardest part. 😃

What Are Túrós Párnácskák?

Túró is a fresh Hungarian curd cheese used in countless sweet and savory recipes. It’s somewhat similar to farmer’s cheese, although traditional Hungarian túró has its own distinctive texture and slightly tangy flavor.

For these pastries, the sweet túró filling is flavored with vanilla and fresh lemon zest, then tucked inside a soft yeast dough.

When baked, they puff up into the cutest little golden pillows—which is exactly where the name párnácskák, or “little pillows,” comes from.

If you can’t find Hungarian túró where you live, farmer’s cheese is a good substitute.

Hungarian Farmer’s Cheese Pastries Recipe

Ingredients

For the dough:

• 530 g all-purpose flour

• 60 g powdered sugar

• 1 egg white

• 100 ml vegetable oil

• 300 ml lukewarm milk

• 30 g fresh yeast

• 1 teaspoon sugar

• Pinch of salt

For the farmer’s cheese filling:

• 400 g farmer’s cheese or Hungarian túró

• 1 egg yolk

• 70 g sugar

• 1 packet vanilla sugar

• 1 tablespoon semolina

• Zest of 1 lemon

For finishing:

• About 2 tablespoons milk, for brushing

• Powdered sugar, for dusting

Golden, fluffy túrós párnácska filled with sweet farmer’s cheese, vanilla and fresh lemon zest.

How to Make Túrós Párnácskák

1. Activate the yeast

Warm the milk until it is lukewarm, not hot.

Add the fresh yeast and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Stir gently and leave it for a few minutes until the yeast begins to activate and becomes foamy.

2. Make the dough

Place the flour, powdered sugar and a pinch of salt into a large bowl.

Add the egg white, vegetable oil and activated yeast mixture.

Mix everything together, then knead until you have a smooth, soft and elastic dough.

Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and leave the dough in a warm place until it has risen nicely.

3. Prepare the cheese filling

While the dough is rising, prepare the filling.

Combine the farmer’s cheese, egg yolk, sugar, vanilla sugar, semolina and freshly grated lemon zest.

Mix until everything is well combined.

The little bit of lemon zest makes such a difference here—it gives the sweet cheese filling a beautiful fresh flavor without overpowering it.

4. Shape the pastries

Once the dough has risen, transfer it to a lightly floured work surface.

Roll it out and cut it into squares.

Place a spoonful of farmer’s cheese filling in the center of each square. Bring the corners of the dough toward the center and pinch them together to enclose the filling, creating little pastry pillows.

Place them onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

5. Brush and bake

Brush the tops lightly with milk.

Bake in a preheated oven at:

180°C / 355°F for approximately 15–20 minutes

Bake until the pastries are puffed and lightly golden.

6. Finish with powdered sugar

Allow them to cool slightly, then dust generously with powdered sugar.

And now comes the best part—eat one while it’s still a little warm. 🤍

Fresh from the oven—soft, golden Hungarian farmer’s cheese pastries baked until perfectly browned.

A Few Tips for Perfect Cheese Pillows

Make sure your milk is only lukewarm when activating the yeast. Milk that is too hot can kill the yeast.

If your farmer’s cheese is very wet, drain it before making the filling. You want a creamy filling, but not one that runs out of the pastries while baking.

Fresh lemon zest is also worth using here. That little citrus note works beautifully with the vanilla and farmer’s cheese.

And don’t overbake them! The secret to these pastries is that wonderfully soft, fluffy dough.

Can I Make Them Ahead?

Absolutely.

They are wonderful fresh from the oven, but you can keep leftover pastries in an airtight container once completely cooled.

If you’re eating them the following day, warm them briefly before serving and add a fresh dusting of powdered sugar. They’ll taste almost freshly baked again.

A Little Taste of a Hungarian Kitchen

Recipes like this are exactly why I love sharing Hungarian home cooking.

They aren't complicated or overly fancy. They're the recipes made for family, weekend baking, afternoon coffee and those moments when everyone somehow finds their way into the kitchen because something smells too good to ignore.

If you make my Hungarian Farmer’s Cheese Pastries, let me know how they turned out—I always love hearing when one of these Hungarian recipes makes its way into another kitchen. ❤️

And if you enjoyed this recipe, explore more of my traditional Hungarian recipes and homemade baking here on the blog.

You can also watch the step-by-step video to see exactly how I make and shape these little cheese pillows, and follow me on social media for more recipes straight from my Hungarian kitchen. 🤍

Happy baking!