Kolacky
Submitted by MsKaty
Kolacky cookies made with a tender cream cheese pastry dough filled with fruit spread, pinched into tri-cornered shapes, and baked golden. A Czech holiday cookie tradition.
YIELD
24 servingsPREP
30 minCOOK
12 minREADY
42 minKolacky are a beloved Czech and Polish pastry tradition. A rich, tender dough made from butter, cream cheese, vanilla, and flour gets rolled thin, cut into rounds, filled with a dab of fruit spread, and pinched into three-cornered shapes that bake up golden and flaky.
The cream cheese in this dough is what sets kolacky apart from other filled cookies. It creates an incredibly tender, almost flaky pastry that practically melts on your tongue. No sugar in the dough itself means the sweetness comes entirely from the fruit filling, which keeps these from being cloyingly sweet.
Chilling the dough until firm is a must. This dough is soft and buttery, and trying to roll it warm means it sticks to everything and tears. Cold dough rolls cleanly, holds its shape when cut, and stays firm while you fill and pinch each round.
Kitchen Tips
- Roll the dough to ⅛ inch. Thinner and it tears when pinched. Thicker and the pastry overwhelms the filling.
- Use only ½ teaspoon of filling per round. More than that and the filling oozes out during baking.
- Pinch the three edges firmly together to seal. Loose pinches open in the oven and the filling leaks.
- Brush the egg wash on the outside for a shiny, golden finish.
Variations
- Use apricot, raspberry, prune, or poppy seed filling for traditional Czech variations.
- Dust the cooled cookies with powdered sugar for a snowy holiday look.
- Add lemon zest to the dough for a citrusy twist on the classic.
Ingredients
Directions
Combine butter and cream cheese in large bowl; beat until smooth and creamy.
Blend in vanilla.
Combine flour and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, mixing until mixture forms soft dough.
Divide dough in half; wrap each half in plastic wrap.
Refrigerate until firm.
Preheat oven to 375℉ (190℃).
Roll out half of dough on lightly floured pastry cloth or board to ⅛” thickness.
Cut with top of glass or biscuit cutter into 3” rounds.
Spoon ½ teaspoons fruit spread onto center of each dough circle.
Beat egg with water; lightly brush onto edges of dough circles.
Bring three edges of dough up over fruit spread; pinch edges together to seal.
Place on ungreased cookie sheets; brush with egg mixture.
Pepeat with remaining dough and fruit spread.
Bake 12 minutes, until golden brown.
Let stand on cookie sheets 1 minute; transfer to wire rack.
Cool completely.
Store in tightly covered container.
Use various flavors of fruit spread.
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