May 8, 2018 by Mulberry Maids
Have you heard of kolachki? Have you wondered what they are? Perhaps your mother or grandmother used to bake them. Here is some history about kolachki in the United States.
At the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth, a large influx of Eastern European immigrants came to the United States to work in factories and coal mines and other jobs. They brought with them the traditions of their homelands. They came from places such as, Poland, Austria-Hungary, the Ukraine, Slovakia, and an historical region called Carpathian Ruthenia where my grandparents immigrated from.
One of the most delicious and delicate of foods that they introduced to the United States were kolachki. There are many spelling variants of the word, and I have always heard the word used in both the singular and plural. A kolachki is a small filled cookie used as a dessert. They are most often made during holidays such as Christmas and Easter. Mothers, grandmothers, daughters, sisters, cousins would get together to make these cookies. While the cookie dough is easy to make, it does take time to assemble them. The fillings include a walnut filling, lekvar (prune butter), poppy seed filling, and apricot or other types of jelly, and even certain types of cheeses. Most of the fruit fillings can be purchased in the grocery store. There are many variations of the recipe, but the dough usually is made with yeast or with cream cheese without yeast. I remember helping my mother bake kolachki during the holidays. The house would soon fill with the sweet smell of the baking cookies, and my brother and I could not wait to sample them. Here is Evan’s grandmother’s recipe.
Kolachki Dough
4 cups flour
Pinch of salt
1 small yeast cake or 2 ¼ tsp. of dry yeast
1 lb. of margarine or butter
4 egg yolks
½ pt. of heavy cream
Combine a little of the heavy cream and yeast. Mix all ingredients together, including the remaining yeast and also the yeast in heavy cream, until the dough does not stick to hands. Refrigerate overnight.
Take out one hour before rolling out. Roll out in powdered sugar to about 1/8-1/4 in. thickness. Remember that the dough will rise in the oven. Cut dough into 2-3 inch squares or use a cookie cutter. Put about ½ to ¾ tsp. of filling on each square. Bring two edges of the square of dough together, slightly overlapping – this is the seam. Press the ends of the cookie firmly down, and bake with the seam side down. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet, 350 degrees F, 12 to 18 minutes.
Walnut filling
1 lb. walnuts, finely ground
4 egg whites, beat until they form stiff peaks
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup sugar
Combine walnuts, vanilla, sugar. Fold in beaten egg whites. Add milk if the mixture is too thick.
Thank you to my mom, Susan, for the guest post!