Kolaches (fold over jam cookie) - recipe needed

Parent Cafe
21

I have made a kind that uses a yeast dough, which is traditional in Bohemian cooking.

22

Not kolaches, but easy-to-make “thumbprint” cookies filled with jam. A family favorite, and definitely a break from the holiday chocolate/nut rut.

In a food processor, mix:

1 cup unsalted butter
1/2 c sugar
1/2 t. almond extract
2 cups flour
1/2 t. kosher salt

Gather in a ball, chill 1 hour.

Roll into 1 T balls, make an indentation with your thumb, bake 5 minutes at 350 degrees on an ungreased baking sheet (I use parchment paper.) Take out of oven, fill indentation with jam (I like La Bonne Mamman blueberry or cherry preserves) and bake another 5-7 minutes. Cool for at least a few minutes before serving.

23

All of Bonne Maman’s products are outstanding. I’d love to try the fig preserves in thumbprint cookies.

24

@Hanna If you happen to like blue cheese, these savory cookies with fig are a very good cocktail nibble:
https://food52.com/recipes/8010-fig-and-blue-cheese-savouries

25

http://www.bhg.com/recipe/yeast-breads/kolaches/

26

Seems like there are two Eastern European delicious baked things called Kolaches. One is rosered’s yeast-raised bun filled or topped with a fruit or nut filling, and the other, the initial subject of this thread, is a rich pie crust-like pastry wrapped around a filling. The latter is also known as Kiffles.

I’m in favor of people baking both of these fine treats. And preferably giving some to me.

27

I didn’t know about the yeast bun ones until I was an adult. They are popular in Texas and you’ll find both sweet and savory fillings. Both good but very different from each other.

28

I want to make both of these versions!!! Aaack.

29

There are good Czech bakeries and restaurants in Chicago, too. Almost as good as Babi’s (grandma’s) food.

30

I’ve spent far too much time Googling “kolache” and drooling over the various recipes. According to this history
https://toriavey.com/toris-kitchen/kolache/

in what is now the Czech Republic area, kolaches were yeast-raised buns filled with the various fillings described in this thread: pluns, poppies, nuts, thick jam, farmers cheese. In Europe, where most people did not have ovens in their house, kolaches were festival food, but when Czechs immigrated to North America and began living in homes with ovens, kolaches became a popular and common ethnic food. Also, the article claims, the cookie version of kolache is a modern invention.

I hadn’t realized that the “prune” filling is actually an unsweetened jam made from plums, not from dried fruit.

Now I will have to make them.

31

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatrushka

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karelian_pasty

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khachapuri

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolach

Yummm…

32

In a similar vein, last year I tried making Polish Sweet Cheese Bread Rolls - Drozdzowki z Serem. Oh my goodness they were delicious, and they’d be great for Christmas morning for those who celebrate Christmas.

http://www.inaniaskitchen.com/recipes/2014/9/26/sweet-cheese-bread-rolls-drozdzowki-z-serem-recipe-180

The recipe I used called for the buns to be filled with the farmer’s cheese and then twisted, but they also are sometimes made like kolaches, round buns topped with the sweet cheesy deliciousness.

33

@doschicos Those blue cheese savories…be still my heart!! Can’t wait to try them.

@“Cardinal Fang” Sweet cheese bread rolls?!? I’m dying here.

I forsee lots of baking in my future.

34

Each time I’ve made kolaches (with yeast dough), I’ve struggled with keeping the bottoms from burning. I think it has to do with the butter in the dough and my well-worn baking sheets. Perhaps using more than one sheet of parchment paper on the baking sheet would help prevent this problem.

35

The Sweet Cheese Rolls call for farmer’s cheese, which is small fresh cheese curds. For some reason, my favorite little local produce market has an entire case of different brands and different types of farmer’s cheese, some labelled only in Russian. I can’t even figure out what the difference is; every time I buy some for these rolls or for blintzes, it tastes pretty much the same.

@rosered, have you tried cooking the rolls in the top third of the oven, with only one baking sheet at a time?

36

@rosered55, I was thinking of CF’s suggestion of placing a single tray high in the oven. If you bake regularly, it’s worth picking up some insulated (air-containing) baking sheets. They make a big difference.

37

Of course this shows up now in my FB feed…from one of my favorite blogs…this may be my solution…the pie shaped roll ups seems like an easier step than the little squares and rolling…AND has the cream cheese in the dough!!

https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-the-best-rugelach-cookies-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-181452?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=managed

38

I used to use insulated baking sheets, but I now have heavy, non-insulated baking sheets, which work better for me.

I also suggest getting an oven thermometer and checking the temperature. It may be that your oven temp reads high or low.

39

I agree on good quality baking sheets over insulated.

40

Agree. If you can’t get a better oven, get quality baking sheets.