Kolachkes
If you're Polish or Czech, you'll proudly claim these wonderful pastries as your own. Eastern European in origin, these cookies are a delightful treat.
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If you're Polish or Czech, you'll proudly claim these wonderful pastries as your own. Eastern European in origin, these cookies are a delightful treat.
- Carbohydrate 14.9568241666667 g
- Cholesterol 35.7363888888889 mg
- Fat 12.95509 g
- Fiber 0.50400000890096 g
- Protein 2.36690361111111 g
- Saturated Fat 7.99444477777778 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (39g)
- Sodium 17.88225 mg
- Sugar 14.4528241577657 g
- Trans Fat 1.05551641666667 g
- Calories 185 calories
Step-by-step
- Beat butter and cream cheese in large bowl of electric mixer until light.
- Beat in flour and cream until well mixed.
- Divide dough into 4 portions.
- Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
- Heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Have ungreased baking sheets ready.
- Sprinkle the work surface and the rolling pin generously with confectioners' sugar.
- Roll out 1 dough portion at a time to about 1/4-inch thickness.
- Use a small (2-inch diameter) round cutter or glass to cut out cookies.
- Transfer to ungreased baking sheets, leaving 1 or 2 inches between each cookie.
- Make a small depression in the center of the cookies with your fingertip.
- Fill scantily with jam, jelly, preserves, cheese or nut filling.
- (If you use too much filling it will run out onto the baking sheet.)
- Bake until bottoms are lightly browned, 12 to 15 minutes.
- Cool on wire racks.
- Sprinkle generously with confectioners' sugar while still warm.
- Cream cheese: Beat together 1 package (8 ounces) softened cream cheese, 1 egg yolk, 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract until well mixed.
- NutS: Cook 1 cup coarsely ground walnuts in 2 tablespoons butter with 1/3 cup granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract until nuts turn golden.
- Cool.
Room temperature butter combined with softened cream cheese produces a tender, flaky dough that requires an overnight rest in the refrigerator to relax the gluten network. Chilling the dough solidifies the dairy fats, which creates steam pockets during baking and prevents excessive spreading on ungreased baking sheets. Divide the mass into four equal portions before wrapping to ensure rapid, even cooling throughout the interior of each block.
Confectioners' sugar functions here as both a rolling medium and a protective barrier, preventing the high-fat dough from sticking to the work surface without introducing the toughness that extra flour would cause. Roll each chilled portion to a uniform quarter-inch thickness, cutting circles with a two-inch diameter cutter. Pressing a distinct depression into the center creates a structural basin that holds the filling securely.
Jam fillings require strict portion control because excess fruit sugar liquefies under heat and boils over onto the metal baking sheet, burning the edges. Restrict filling amounts to less than a teaspoon per pastry to prevent structural failure. For alternative fillings, a mixture of ground walnuts, butter, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract provides a rich, nutty contrast to the lactic acid tang of the cream cheese dough.
Bake these pastries at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until the bottoms show a light golden brown, usually taking between 12 and 15 minutes. Dust the baked pastries with additional powdered sugar while still warm so the coating adheres to the surface fats. Store finished cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to five days, or freeze the unbaked, filled shapes on sheet pans before transferring them to freezer bags for long-term storage.
