How to Make Perfect Kolaczkis
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Kolaczkis are bite-sized Polish pastries comprised of a cream cheese and butter crust and filled with jam before being dusted with a healthy coat of powdered sugar. In our family, it’s not Christmas unless the counter is covered by these little sweeties. So, I think it’s time you add them to your Christmas cookie roster.
Kolaczkis: The Original Recipe
Usually, when I post a recipe, I tweak it and play with it until I get it just the way I like. This time, the ingredients are the measurements are exactly how my husband’s grandmother wrote them down. The only thing I had to work on was the instructions.
Because this is a family recipe, it’s been made hundreds of times between all the generations of people making these each year. The note card in our recipe box is stained and a little wrinkled. But the instructions stop at how to put the dough together and bake it.
Everyone in the family already knows the rest since they’ve been making it for ages. All they need is a yearly reminder of the basics. So, the only change I’ve made to this recipe is outlining the implied information.
Pick the Right Filling
If you can find Solo pastry filling, that is the best. The moisture content is just right so that they don’t leak. I’m not paid to advertise for them, but I have included a link to their site so you’ll know what to look for.
Regular pie filling is much runnier, and the fruit is much chunkier. If you feel like using fruit preserves or pie filling, like Comstock or something similar, you’ll want to blend it a bit to break the fruit up. Then you’ll cook it down with a bit of cornstarch until it’s thicker and more gelatinous.
Similarly, if you feel like making your own filling from your own jam recipe, cook it down much further than you usually do and possibly add more pectin or cornstarch, if you want.
Shaping Your Kolaczkis Correctly
A quick Google search shows that the way my husband’s grandmother made her kolaczkis is different. A lot of folks cut these out into squares and fold the corners together. We cut our dough into circles.
It looks easy and yet we’ve messed the shape up so many times. You’ll think you’ve pressed the sides together tightly enough that they won’t come unfurled in the oven. So, the first thing I’ll tell you about shaping your kolaczkis correct is this: even if you mess them up, they will still taste great.
To shape these, you need to roll them out very thin. You don’t need to be able to read a newspaper through the dough, but you do want it about the thickness of a birthday card in an envelope. Then use a 3-inch biscuit cutter to cut out circles. My husband used to use a pint glass to cut the circles out, just in case you don’t have a biscuit cutter.
How to Fold a Kolaczki
The folding is about the only “complicated” part of this.
- Place half a tablespoon of filling in the center of each circle.
- Using your finger, brush a little egg white on one side of the circle.
- Fold two sides together as if you are folding up a taco, using the egg white as a kind of glue to seal.
- Pinch the sides firmly together.
- Roll the pinched edge down on itself, and gently press the roll down. You may use a little more egg white to hold the roll down.
There you go. The ingredients list is short, and the procedure is pretty simple once you get the hang of it. And the final product is so incredible – a flaky little pastry so light it’s impossible to eat just one.
If you’re hosting a cookie exchange, I’d recommend including these alongside some of my other favorite cookie recipes.
Comment below if you have questions, concerns, or opinions. And tag me @ellejayathome on Instagram or Twitter if you share pictures from any of my recipes. I love to hear from you!
Kolaczkis
Equipment
- Stand mixer with paddle attachment
- Powdered sugar shaker or small mesh sieve
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup full fat cream cheese room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract optional
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 cans Solo brand pastry filling apricot, raspberry, and almond are best
- ½ cup powdered sugar more, if preferred
Instructions
- Whip together cream cheese and butter with vanilla using a paddle attachment until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.
- Sift together flour and salt. Fold into the creamed mixture. You may need to finish the work with your hand, as this is a thick dough.
- Form into a flat round, like you do with a pie dough. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Flour your work surface, and roll out your dough to slightly less than ⅛ inch thick. You'll want it nearly transparent or about the thickness of a birthday card in an envelope.
- Use a 3-inch round biscuit cutter to cut out as many circles of dough as you can. Collect scraps of dough, reform, roll out, and repeat until you've used up all of the dough.
- Spoon out ½ Tbsp of filling into the center of each circle.
- To seal, use your finger to brush a bit of egg white on one side of the dough. Fold that side over to meet the other edge of the circle. Pinch to seal. Then roll the sealed edge down twice and press into the cookie slightly. The roll should be sitting on top. (See photos in the blog post for help.)
- Arrange the kolaczkis onto a lined baking sheet. They don't rise or spread much, so they can be arranged somewhat closely.
- Bake for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Allow to cool completely on a wire rack. Dust generously with powdered sugar.
2 Comments
Cheryl
Thanks for sharing the recipe. I look forward to these every year we spend together.
Elle Jay
<3 Thank you!