It is Day 11 of our 12 Days of Cookies. We are almost at the end and we have enjoyed baking up an assortment of cookies.
Let’s get to today’s cookie — Kolaczki Cookies which are also spelled Kolacky, Kolache or Koláčky. This is a simple way of remembering how to pronounce these tasty cookies: coal-awch-key.
Our family has a lot of Eastern European roots and I always love learning recipes from those cultures. These yummy cookies, which are more of a shortcrust pastry stuffed with a jam than a typical cookie, originated from Eastern Europe and are traditionally found in Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Ukraine, Romania, Russia, Germany and Croatia. These countries share a lot of similar foods.
When European pioneers left the old country to come to North America to build a new life, they settled in the countryside as farmers and craftsmen, and brought their cuisine like roasted meats with noodles and dumplings, sausages with potatoes and sauerkraut, and baked goods such as fruit strudels like koláčky.
Traditionally, these delectable bites were also be filled with poppyseed, prune, raspberry, cheese or walnut filling. Originally, in the mid-1800’s, these were made with yeast instead of cream cheese and are similar to a danish topped with fruit. Over time, people grew impatient waiting all day for the dough, so the yeast was omitted and they turned more into a cookie than a dough pastry. Sprinkle with just icing sugar to be more traditional.
These are a bit time consuming, and make a lot, so let’s get started!
First, cream the butter and cream cheese together. You can use a mixer if you like, but we always like to bake the old fashioned way — with muscle power and a wooden spoon! Leaving the cream cheese to soften at room temperature is best as softening in the microwave changes the texture of the cream cheese.
Once that is creamed well, add salt and stir well.
Slowly add flour. The dough will be soft, but not sticky. Divide dough into 4 pieces, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 2 hours.
While the dough is chilling, prepare the apricot filling. Chop the dried apricots into small pieces. Place in a pot with enough water to cover the apricots and simmer until the apricots are soft. I cooked for several hours, adding more water if needed. Once the apricots were soft, I added a bit of sugar and stirred well. If you need to, puree the apricots with an immersion blender or in a regular blender. Pour into a container and let cool completely. You can also prep the filling the day before.
Once the dough has chilled, remove one disc, unwrap and place on a floured (or sugared) surface. Roll thin.
Trim dough into a square, setting aside the scraps to re-roll later. Cut into as many 1-1/2″ to 2″ squares as possible.
Place some of the filling in the centre and fold one corner into the centre, and fold the opposite corner over, lightly pressing the dough together in the middle to keep the dough together. Press well so it does not pop open during baking.
Try not to overfill, or the filling will escape during baking.
Place on parchment lined baking sheet.
Bake at 350F for 12 to 15 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden.
Let cool slightly before removing to cooling rack to let cool completely.
Dust with icing sugar to serve.
12 Days of Cookies… Day 11 — Ukrainian Apricot Kolaczki Cookies
2-1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
8oz pkg cream cheese – Baba says leave on the counter to soften because the microwave ruins the cream cheese and the recipe won’t turn out right
1 cup butter
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sugar for rolling
Apricot filling:
You can use jam or you can make it yourself with 1 lb dried apricots. Put just enough water in the pot to cover the apricots. Cook until the apricots are soft. Add more water during cooking if needed. Add 1 cup sugar and cook until thickened. Be sure to cook until thick. If it’s too runny, keep cooking or thicken with a little cornstarch. Blend until smooth. Let cool.
For the dough, beat cream cheese and butter together. Add salt. Slowly add flour. The dough will be soft, but not sticky. Divide dough into 4 pieces, flatten, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Flour surface. Or scatter granulated sugar on the counter. Then roll 1 disc of dough thin. Trim dough into a square. Cut into 16 pieces or as many 1-1/2” to 2” squares as possible.
Place a spoon of apricot in the centre. Grab two opposite corners and fold them over each other and seal. Press down lightly. The other 2 edges stay open. Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Sprinkle with sugar. We left half the cookies without any sprinkled sugar.
Bake at 350F for 12 to 15 minutes or until bottom edges are lightly golden. Let cool slightly then put on wire rack to cool completely. Serve with a dusting of icing (powdered) sugar.
These cookies freeze good, but are better eaten fresh. To freeze, place unbaked cookies on parchment lined baking sheet and place in freezer until completely frozen, about 2 hours. Remove from sheet and place in a freezer-safe container or bag. To have fresh, place on parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 350F for 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly golden. Let cool before dusting with icing sugar.
enjoy from Our City Homestead to yours