Kolaczki

December 23, 2011
Kolaczki (Pronounced ko-wah-ch-kee.)
Yesterday I decided to take my little dog Weezer and head over to my parents house to “help” my mom with some Christmas cookie baking. I use the term “help” loosely, because sometimes I am more of a bother in the kitchen than a help, especially when it comes to baking.
Kolaczki are a traditional holiday cookie in our house. They are light, buttery, flaky, and filled with fruit preserves. Being the proud Polish family that we are, we like to say they are a Polish cookie, but more realistically, I think they are a traditional Eastern European cookie. They are called many different names in Polish and in other languages. No matter what you call them, in whatever language, the description is always the same. They are G-O-O-D! (Pronounced guuud.)
But, I digress. When I got to my parent’s house, my mom already had the dough made and chilled. Score! One less thing for me to mess up. Then she springs this one on me: “Would you mind making a surprise dish for your brother for Christmas dinner while you’re here?” Seriously? I thought we were baking together?

So, what mama wants, mama gets. I started making this surprise dish for Christmas dinner while trying to pay attention to what my mom was doing so I could post an accurate recipe for the kolaczki. When I wasn’t paying enough attention or capturing the pictures my mom wanted me to capture for the blog, I definitely got an earful.

I ended up holding off on my project, taking pictures of the cookie making process, and overall marveling at how quickly and expertly my mom can whip these cookies out. It made me feel like a kid again. I felt like, since I clearly was not needed to make the kolaczki, I might as well entertain my mom with my witty banter.

And then, when all the cookies were baked and sprinkled with powdered sugar, the two of us sat back amongst the mess of flour and dough and ate way too many cookies for lunch and talked about how we wished we could hire somebody to come clean all this up.

Even though I didn’t exactly “help”, here is my mom doing what she does best!
Ingredients
3 Cups Flour
¾ lb. Margarine (3 Sticks)
½ Cup Sour Cream
Any kind of Fruit Preserves you like (We used Strawberry, Cherry, and Apricot)
Powdered Sugar for dusting over the tops

Mix the flour and margarine together using a pastry blender. When the two have combined and the dough is crumbly, add in the sour cream. Combine it using your hands until the dough is formed.
Divide into four equal balls of dough. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Roll one ball of dough out at a time on a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough into 3” squares.
Place a dollop (1/2 a teaspoon) of filling into the center of the squares. Fold the two sides into the center and seal with a little dab of water.
Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Check the cookies at the 15 minute mark to make sure they aren’t burning or haven’t unfolded.
Remove from the cookie sheet when completely baked and place them on a cooling rack. Lightly dust the cookies with some powdered sugar to finish.
After eating too many cookies, and laughing too hard with my mom all day yesterday, my stomach is still sore. It was worth every calorie!

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  • Lori Swier
    December 17, 2015 at 12:12 pm

    What kind of a container should the Polish Kolaczki be stored on? Tin , plastic? Or something else. Thanks!

    • Stefanie
      December 17, 2015 at 1:33 pm

      Normally we store them in a tin or in a large foil rectangular container with a plastic lid, you know like the holiday ones you can buy at the store and then just toss when done. Nothing fancy.

  • carolbohl
    October 30, 2015 at 12:31 pm

    can u refrigerate kolaczki dough over night?

    • Stefanie
      October 30, 2015 at 1:16 pm

      Yes. The dough will actually be easier to work with that way.

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  • Pamela
    January 16, 2012 at 1:35 am

    Thank you for the step-by-step pictures of making Kolaczki cookies. You are right, these are goooooooooood cookies. So light and flaky. I do not believe I have ever tasted a better cookie.

    The recipe I use is from the New Polish Cuisine and it calls for:

    1/2 pd of unsalted butter, softened
    4 oz cream cheese, softened
    1 egg yolk
    1 tsp vanilla extract
    Large pinch of sea salt
    1 3/4 cup of cake flour, sifted
    Assorted fruit preserves or get Apricot, Raspberry, Blueberry “Solo filling” in your baking section of your grocery store.

    “Cake flour” is substituting 2 Tbsp + 1/2 tsp for every 1 cup of flour with 2 Tbsp of Cornstarch and 1/2 tspn of baking powder.

    But your picture directions are excellent and I will have to try your recipe and see what difference it makes in these delicious cookies.