Kolachkes
Kolachkes are traditional Czech cookies filled with jam, cheese or nuts and dusted with powdered sugar. These kolachkes are popular in Chicago area bakeries and my family's favorite Christmas-time treat!
Everyone gets their cookies baked well before Christmas but me. Oh well, when you're not a big baker, this happens. These kolachkes are a must in my house at Christmastime. Luckily, I've been making these forever and I have them down pat, even with my substandard baking skills.
When I was a kid growing up in Chicago, my dad cooked on weekends and headed out to shop on most Saturday mornings. He often headed to Berwyn and Cicero, and he'd come home with things like Rosen's rye bread, prasky, veal knockwurst, houska and kolachkes. A lot of what he brought home didn't appeal to me, but I loved the kolachkes. They were pastries filled with cheese or apricot, and sprinkled with powdered sugar. I knew he got kolachkes because they were always on a cardboard plate, wrapped in white butcher paper and tied with string.
In the early 90's, in Chicago, I came across a recipe for kolachkes that looked just like the kind my dad would bring home from the bakery. To me, Czech kolachkes are cookie-like, not yeasty and puffy. This recipe yields a cookie-like kolachke, not a puffy one. In fact, the ones I always had were pretty dense cookies. These are a little lighter and flakier, and delicious.
The first time I made these, I made cheese, apricot and strawberry. My dad was so impressed, he couldn't stop eating them, especially the cheese ones. He also said they were the exact kind of Czech kolachke that he liked so much. Huge kudos from my dad.
The dough is butter, cream cheese, flour and cream, and has to chill in the fridge overnight. The fillings are typically fruit or cheese or nut. My house likes cheese and strawberry, with my homemade jam. That's what I made yesterday.
My dad looked forward to these kolachkes every Christmas, and now my kids do the same. They are all worried there won't be any when they get home next week. There will be kolachkes, it wouldn't be Christmas without them. Merry Christmas, Kelly🍴🐦
Here are a few more treats we love around here for the holidays:
- Classic Buckeyes peanut butter balls dipped in chocolate, bet you can't eat just one.
- Peanut Butter Blossoms peanut butter cookies with a chocolate kiss baked in the middle.
- Old-fashioned Gingerbread cake with lemon glaze and served with ginger whipped cream.
HUNGRY FOR MORE? Subscribe to my Newsletter and come hang out with me on INSTAGRAM, or give me a follow on FACEBOOK or see what I’m pinning on PINTEREST.
Kolachkes
Ingredients
- 4 sticks unsalted butter softened
- 6 ounces cream cheese softened
- 3 cups all-purpose flour sifted
- 6 tablespoons whipping cream
- Confectioners' sugar for rolling and sprinkling
- Jam jelly or preserves of choice
- Cream cheese filling optional, recipe follows
- Nut filling optional, recipe follows
Instructions
- Beat butter and cream cheese in bowl of electric mixer until light. Beat in the flour and cream, alternating the flour and cream, until well mixed. The dough will be very soft. Divide into 4 portions and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350º and have ungreased cookie sheets ready.
- Sprinkle work surface and rolling pin with powdered sugar. Roll out dough portion to about ¼-inch thickness. The dough is really hard to roll at first but then gets easier. If it tears a little in spots, just pinch it back together. Use a small round cutter (2-inch diameter) to cut out cookies and place on baking sheet, about 1 - 2 inches apart.
- Make a small depression in the center of each with your fingertip. I used, and prefer, the bottom of a shot glass which I dipped in powdered sugar so it wouldn't stick. Works better for me than with my fingertip. Fill cookies 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, about 12 - 15 minutes. Cool on wire rack and sprinkle generously with powdered sugar while still warm.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
And bam, instead of traveling to the Czech bakery I will make these at home. My mother use to make these when I was a little girl growing up in cicero. I'm always in the kitchen whipping up Czech meals. Dobrou Chut!
Originally, I was going to make Vanocni Cukrovi today, but then I saw the Kolachkes and decided to give it a try. If I hosted tea parties, that is where I would serve them. They are very good, but aren't sweet enough for me to qualify them as a desserty dessert. They really would pair well with tea.
I made partial recipes of both the cream cheese filling and nut filling to see which I prefered. I also used raspberry jam. The cheese filling was nice and I'm not sure how I feel about nut filling.
@Julia, sprinkle some of the nuts on top of the cheese! Great this way.
I just made these for my husband and kids. My husband’s grandmother was Czech and he has such warm memories of her and these cookies at Christmas. He gave me the nod and the smile. Thank you!
Not sure where my comment from this morning is but the nutshell is there are fantastic! I love them. They are not like mom's, hers were a dense crunchy cookie. I will keep lookong for a recipe like hers. But these will be a regular here!
Thanks for letting me know, Karen. These are definitely a little more delicate, I know the texture you mean, they are more of a dense cookie in the bakeries, too. Glad you still liked this recipe!
I never learned how to make kolache from my mother, but I recall how good they were when she made them. I just made the dough from your recipe. Is it supposed to be a bit sticky as well as soft? I hope so becauae that is how mine is. It's in the fridge and i can't wait til morning when I can make my first batch!
Hi! I made these last week and came out wonderful! Just a question, should this be kept in the refrigerator? Have them in a cool room but wondered if the refrigerator. Is needed.
No, I don't refrigerate them and they are fine. Also, they freeze well after baking, I've done that, too.
I need these melting in my mouth like yesterday!!
Hi! It says four sticks of butter... is that Four 1/2 cup sticks of butter?
Yes, four sticks or 1 pound of butter or 2 cups. Hope that clarifies things ?
By Whipping cream do you mean heavy cream or Kool whip?
Heavy cream.
Hi Kelly,
I work for a missions organization called TEAM. Every month, we feature recipes from around the world on our blog. We found this recipe, tried it, and LOVED it! Everyone in our office raved about how delightful these cookies were. We were wondering if it would be okay with you if we featured this recipe on our blog in December. We would, of course, give you full credit and link to this specific post as well as your blog home page at the top of the post. Please let us know what you think! Thanks!
Sure can, glad you found the recipe and liked it so much.
@Jessica, I'm also Czech on my dad's side! I'm making them for my granddaughter's wedding shower on Sunday. However, when I tried to roll them out this am it was very difficult but then it got easier. You have to work fast because the dough softens too fast , anyways, through trial & error I was able to figure it out. Problem was they never rose while baking and they just fall apart when they were done! They tasted okay but not good enough to serve at a Shower. In talking to others it might have been my flour since I hadn't used it since last fall when we go to Florida for the winter! I dumped old flour and bought new flour. Also most other recipes call for 4 cups flour. I am thinking of using 3 1/2 cups what does anyone think!
Am looking forward to making these. They look alot like the ones my mom made. Her family was from the Brookfield area. One question, I remember the recipe my mom had contained farina. Any thoughts. Thank you for the recipe. It was frustrating trying to find nonpuffy type. Almost gave up!?
@Shannon, they used faruna because in Czech you use a coarse flour called hruba moucha
@Olga,
Thank you, I needed a good laugh this morning! I think you meant hruba mouka. Damn autocorrect!!!
Inge
This is very similar to the recipe found on Solo poppyseed cans. If I was to choose only one filling it would be poppyseed. I spent many a day with my Busia in Lawndale.
A couple of warnings. Don’t make them too large or thick. They tend to brown too much and not bake throughout. Too much browning changes the taste negatively. Don’t eat too soon. They need to be cool to cold to stay together. Don’t try to make too big of a batch. It becomes too much work and way too messy. A successful Kolachky is an achievement.
ood advice, I'll keep in mind next time I make them.
@Rick Spalenka,
Yeah, if you can get them. I searched the world for a can before Christmas and noone had one or, if they did, it was $40. I don’t know if people decided poppy seed was precious this year or what. In any case, my daughter did not get her favorite czech cream cheese poppy seed cookies.
Love these! I am from the Riverside/Cicero area with a huge heart for my Czech roots. I agree that this is the way to make a kolachke.
Am fully motivated now to recreate the breaded pork tenderloin, liver dumpling soup, and Pilsner beer feasts that we had so many times on Cermak.
You’re the best ❤️
That's where my family is from, my roots. My dad used to make liver dumpling soup, didn't like it as a kid but loved when he made breaded pork tenderloin!!
@Czech in the Burbs, Those were the best times and great meals. Are you Czech?
@Kelly, living dumpling soup is the best.
Oh my.... you just made my life!!!! These are the ones I love and cannot find except in one bakery in Michigan. I was thinking of ways and means to either retire and go work there, or beak in and steal the recipe. I was desperate... And now, you!!!
Thank you for keeping me out of jail 🙂
Hahaha! I'm glad you found this recipe! It's how I remember kolachkes as a kid in the Chicago suburbs, let me know when you make them!
Can these be frozen?
I've never tried to freeze these so I'm not sure about this...
@Kate, For cookies that are already baked, here's how to freeze them successfully for up to two months. Be sure the cookies are completely cooled before freezing. Place the cookies into an airtight container lined with aluminum foil or plastic food wrap. For best results, wrap the cookies individually in plastic food wrap.