Now (over 50 years later), we live north of Dallas, Texas, and Kolaches are a part of Texas food culture. Basically the same as I remember in Chicago, but with lots of different fruit or cheese (cream cheese) fillings, and a STREUSEL topping. So, I've included an optional streusel topping here. **
Instead of doing the kneading by hand, I adapted the recipe to use the dough hook on my Kitchen-aid mixer. There are 2 rise-times, but I put the Kolaches on top of my dishwasher and ran a load of dishes while I went to the grocery store (for the 1st rise). For the 2nd rise, I put the oven at 375 (which is where I needed to preheat it) and stuck a meatloaf in for dinner to cook an hour while the Kolaches did their 2nd rise.
I've also adapted the recipe to be made with Splenda, if you need a sugar-free option (although you should use the 1 tsp. of sugar at the beginning of the recipe, since the yeast needs it to activate correctly). And, please note that Kolaches do NOT contain sausage! Those are just a glorified "pigs in a blanket" ~ not a kolache!
Gram & Aunt Irene’s KOLACHES
(Cottage Cheese & Fruit Filling)
1 cup scalded milk (cool to lukewarm)……………….1 envelope yeast (2-1/4 tsp.)
TIP: I have much better luck w/yeast in a JAR, instead of individual envelopes)
1/2 cup sugar or regular white Splenda (not baking blend)
Dash of nutmeg…………………………………….1 egg
1/3 cup (a little over 5 TB) butter, room temp.
1 tsp. salt…………………………………………...4 cups flour
FILLINGS:
Jam or Preserves (Apricot {my favorite}, Raspberry, Blackberry, Peach, orange marmalade ~ can be sugar-free) ~ my grandmother made her own, but I had enough to do just making the Kolaches!
Cottage Cheese (recipe below)
Optional STREUSEL TOPPING (recipe below ~ traditional on TEXAS KOLACHE, but not on the kolache that my grandmother or Aunt Irene made)
EGG WASH: Whisk together 1 egg w/1 tsp. water
OPTIONAL Shiny Glaze: Whisk together 1 tsp. agave nectar or light corn syrup w/ 1/4 cup powdered sugar
***
Method:
Combine warm milk, yeast, and 1 tsp sugar; let sit for about 5 minutes.
Beat butter and remaining sugar together in mixer with paddle attachment. Add the egg and salt. Then, add the yeast mixture, nutmeg and milk. Turn mixer to low and gradually add the flour. Turn off mixer and switch to dough hook attachment. Combine and knead until dough isn’t sticky and somewhat comes together around dough hook (about 5 minutes).
Grease or spray (I use buttery non-stick spray) a bowl and add the dough (turning over to grease all sides). Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes, or until doubled. (I like to put on top of my dishwasher and do a load of dishes ~ on top of the clothes dryer also works.) Punch it down.
Line baking sheet(s) with parchment paper. You might want to grease or spray your hands for this: Divide dough into 12 equal pieces & form into smooth balls. (Just pull the dough tight on top and put all the wrinkles on the bottom. Make them equal size. If you have extra bits, knead them together to make a ball.) Put balls on baking sheets (6 to a sheet). Cover loosely with a clean dish towel and let rise for another 45 minutes or so (until almost doubled in size).
Use your knuckles to make a well in the center of each ball ~or~ dip the bottom of a jar into flour and then push down into the center of each ball (to make a well to put the jam into). Spoon a heaping TB of jam into each well and smooth evenly. Now ~ brush the exposed sides of the dough with the egg wash. Then sprinkle the STREUSEL TOPPING evenly over the kolaches.
Preheat oven to 375. Bake for 13-16 minutes, or until lightly browned. *** If you want a SHINY GLAZE, brush it over the exposed kolache dough ~or~ you can dust some powdered sugar over cooled kolaches.
Makes 12 big Kolaches
Optional STREUSEL TOPPING:
1/3 cup flour…………………………………………1/3 cup sugar~or~ regular white Splenda
3 TB butter, cut into little cubes
In a small bowl combine butter, flour, and sugar for streusel. Use fingers to mix butter in well.
***
Cottage Cheese Filling:
Drain liquid off of about 4 oz cottage cheese and mix well with 2 oz. softened cream cheese ~ mix this well with 1 egg yolk, 2 TB sugar and cinnamon to taste. Add some raisins (if desired) (I don’t remember raisins in Gram’s!)