Kolachky Czech Cookie Food

KOLACHKY

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix together cream cheese and butter until well blended. I like to use my hands, but you can also use a wooden spoon. Mix in the flour 1 cup at a time. As the dough becomes stiff, turn it out onto the counter and knead in flour until it is no longer sticky. Continue to knead the dough for 5 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Crush the walnuts to a fine consistency in a food processor. Stir in the egg and honey. On a well floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut the dough into 3x3 inch squares. Place a teaspoon of filling in the center of each square. Use walnut for some and poppyseed for the rest. Roll the squares up and seal the edges. These can also be formed into triangles. Place the cookies 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Brush with egg white.
• Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned. When cool, dust with confectioners' sugar.

KOLACHKY

Steps:

• In a standing mixer fitted with a paddle, or in a bowl using a hand-held beater, cream the butter, cream cheese, and sugar until well blended. Add the egg and mix until incorporated. Add the flour and mix until incorporated.
• Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill overnight.
• On a work surface sprinkled with confectioner's sugar, divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Working in 4 batches, roll the dough out to 1/4-inch thick. Using a 2 1/2-inch biscuit cutter, cut out small rounds and transfer them to a parchment-lined cookie sheet.
• Using your thumb, make a slight indentation in each cookie. Fill each indentation with the filling of your choice.
• Chill the cookies while you preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Bake the cookies until lightly browned, about 15 to 17 minutes.
• Dust with confectioners' sugar before you serve.

CZECH KOLACHE RECIPE

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, heat the milk until lukewarm. Pour the dry yeast and a teaspoon of sugar into the milk. The sugar will encourage the yeast to activate. Stir everything with a spoon and leave it in a warm place for about 10-15 minutes until foam forms on the surface.
• Meanwhile, melt the butter, which should be semi-liquid but not hot. Around 30 seconds in a microwave are ideal.
• Add the flour, sugar, salt into a mixing bowl. Add an egg, vanilla, melted butter, and activated yeast with milk.
• Begin with the dough. Roughly combine all ingredients in a bowl with a fork. Turn the mixture out onto a floured work surface and use your hands to work it into a smooth elastic dough. If the dough is too sticky, dust it with a tablespoon of flour and continue kneading. Repeat until the dough is no longer sticky.
• Put the dough back into the bowl, cover with a clean kitchen towel and let it rise in a warm place for 40 minutes.
• Transfer the dough to a work surface and divide it into equal parts. If you have a kitchen scale and want kolache the same size, weigh each piece on the scale. The weight of a piece of dough for one pie is around 1 and ½ oz (45 g).
• Shape each piece of dough into a ball. Place it on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Leave enough space between the balls so that the cakes don't touch and bake into a square later. The classic Czech kolach is round!
• Let the dough balls rise in a warm place for another 40 minutes. Cover the dough with a clean tea towel if you leave the dough to rise on the kitchen counter.
• Time to shape kolache! We need to create a beautiful round kolach and create a depression in the center for the filling placement. Take a round-bottomed vessel about 3 inches in diameter, such a glass. I used a ½ measuring cup. Wrap the bottom with a clean dish towel so that there are no creases. Press the wrapped vessel evenly into the dough with light pressure from above. The kolach is stretched out wide and round, and an indentation is made in the middle for the filling.
• In a shallow bowl, beat an egg using a fork and create an egg wash. Brush it over the edges of the kolache pastries.
• Now, place the filling in the middle of each kolach. Just about 1 to 1.½ tablespoons per kolach are enough. If you like, sprinkle the cakes with streusel topping.
• Let's bake kolache! Preheat the oven to 340 °F (170 °C). Place the sheet with kolache in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until the edges are golden brown.

GRANDMA'S KOLACKY COOKIES

Steps:

• Cut butter into flour with two forks to resemble small peas, as you would pie crust. Stir in sour cream with serving spoon and mix well.
• Form into 2 balls and store, covered, in refrigerator to chill. Taking out one ball at a time, dust each with flour and roll on floured surface to approximately 1/8 thickness. (Note: If dough starts tearing, it may need more flour or to be chilled a bit more.).
• Cut with larger round cookie cutter or coffee cup, Fill center with approximately 1-2 teaspoons Solo, Bring up each side and pinch to close.
• Bake at 350 dg. for 12-15 minutes, until bottiom of cookie is just beginning to brown. Cool on wire racks then dust with powdered sugar. Enjoy!

EASY KOLACKY

Steps:

• Place the cream cheese and butter in a large bowl; beat with electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Beat 1/2 cup of confectioners' sugar into the butter mixture. Slowly beat in the flour; mix well. Cover bowl and refrigerate at least 3 hours, or overnight.
• Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• On a well floured board, roll out chilled dough to 1/8 inch. Use a pizza wheel to cut dough into 2 1/2 inch squares. Spoon approximately 2 teaspoons of filling in the center of each square; do not overfill. Fold opposite corners of each square into the middle to encase dough, pinching dough together in center. Filling should peek out a little at each end. Transfer cookies to an ungreased baking sheet.
• Bake the kolacky in the preheated oven until set but not brown, about 12 minutes. Remove to racks to cool. Dust cooled kolacky with remaining powdered sugar.

KOLACHKY COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl blend margarine and cream cheese together, by hand with a metal spoon. Slowly add flour until it is all incorporated and a dough is formed. The dough will be soft and sticky. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put in refrigerator overnight, or for several hours (until hard to the touch).
• Flour the countertop. Take a handful of dough out of bowl returning the unused portion to the refrigerator (continue this process until all mixture is used). Roll handful of dough out into an approximately 1/4-inch thickness. Take a 2 by 3-inch diamond shaped cookie cutter, and cut as many diamonds as possible (size of kolachky should be two bites, so the cutter cannot be large). Take leftover dough and roll out again, cutting more diamonds. Repeat until all the dough is used.
• Place the diamond cut out onto the palm of hand. Put a 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of fruit filling (apricot or strawberry or raspberry or prune flavors) into the center of the diamond shape.
• Dip your finger in a little bit of water, put on one side of diamond. Fold lengthwise and seal the tops of the kolachky together to create a 3-dimensional diamond shape. Place on cookie sheets and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 to12 minutes.
• DO NOT USE Super heat cookie sheets or any of the new non-stick coated cookie sheets. They will bake too quickly and burn the bottoms of the kolachky before you realize it. YOU MUST USE ANY KIND OF CHEAP COOKIE SHEETS usually bought at a grocery store. Cover the cookie sheet with foil or parchment paper. Do not grease the foil.
• Look at your kolachky every few minutes, while baking, as ovens vary in heat distribution. The later batches may cook faster than the first ones. Check the BOTTOMS of the kolachkys. They are done when the BOTTOMS are soft golden brown. The tops may not look done, but they ARE! Remove from oven, wait 3 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack. When ready to serve, sprinkle with powdered sugar.

KOLACKY

Steps:

• 1. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese, butter, and sugar on medium speed until light, about 2 minutes. On low speed, gradually beat in the flour just until mixed. The dough will be soft and sticky.
• 2. Divide the dough in half. Pat each half into a thick disk and wrap separately in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm enough to handle, at least 1 hour or up to 1 day.
• 3. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease or spray cookie sheets.
• 4. Dust a pastry cloth or board with flour or confectioners' sugar. Remove 1 dough disk from the refrigerator and place it on the pastry cloth. Keep the remaining dough disk refrigerated. Roll out the dough into a square or rectangle 1/8 inch thick. Cut into 2 1/2-inch squares.
• 5. Place 1 teaspoon of the filling in the center of each square. Pull 2 opposite corners of the square into the middle, and pinch the edges together to seal. Place the cookies on the prepared cookie sheets, spacing them about 1 1/2 inches apart. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.
• 6. Bake in the center of the oven until lightly golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool on the cookie sheets for 1 to 2 minutes, then transfer to wire racks. Dust the tops with sifted confectioners' sugar while still warm, then let cool completely.

KOLACKY COOKIES

Steps:

• preheat oven 375.
• Cream together butter and cheese,and sugar.
• Add in your flour,mell until everything is binded.Cover with plastic wrap. Chill 1 hour.
• Roll out dough on very lightly floured surface,adding flour when needed. Roll out about 3/4 inch thick. Cut out small circular cut outs about 2 1/2 -3 inch in diameter.
• Place circle onto ungreased pan.
• dot each circle in center with a small amount of desired filling. Clamp edges together,keeping in mind this is a crescent shaped cookie. Bake 375 10-12 minutes.
• While still warm dust with powdered sugar.
• Cookies can be frozen,just follow above directions leaving out the powdered sugar step.Let cookies cool.
• Place in cookie tins with wax paper seperating them. Cookies can be frozen up to 2 months. Possibly longer if needed. Then thaw out at room temp making sure cookies don't touch. And dust with powdered sugar.