Elsie Hroneks Kolaches Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease cookie sheets.
• Using a pastry blender or food processor, cut butter into cream cheese.
• In a small bowl, sift dry ingredients together except for confectioners' sugar.
• Work dry ingredients into butter/cream cheese mixture until you have an even, mealy texture.
• Knead to form a stiff dough. If the dough gets too soft, refrigerate for about five minutes before continuing.
• Roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness.
• Using a cookie cutter or glass, cut into about 3 inch diameter cookies. Keep re-rolling dough until you have used it all. Use your thumb to make a depression in each cookie. Place a 1/2 teaspoon of filling in the depression.
• Bake for about 20 minutes (until lightly golden). Let cool on a cookie rack. Dust lightly with confectioners' sugar. Store in an airtight container

Steps:

• In a standing mixer fitted with a paddle, or in a bowl using a hand-held beater, cream the butter, cream cheese, and sugar until well blended. Add the egg and mix until incorporated. Add the flour and mix until incorporated.
• Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill overnight.
• On a work surface sprinkled with confectioner's sugar, divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Working in 4 batches, roll the dough out to 1/4-inch thick. Using a 2 1/2-inch biscuit cutter, cut out small rounds and transfer them to a parchment-lined cookie sheet.
• Using your thumb, make a slight indentation in each cookie. Fill each indentation with the filling of your choice.
• Chill the cookies while you preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Bake the cookies until lightly browned, about 15 to 17 minutes.
• Dust with confectioners' sugar before you serve.

Steps:

• In a large bowl blend margarine and cream cheese together, by hand with a metal spoon. Slowly add flour until it is all incorporated and a dough is formed. The dough will be soft and sticky. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put in refrigerator overnight, or for several hours (until hard to the touch).
• Flour the countertop. Take a handful of dough out of bowl returning the unused portion to the refrigerator (continue this process until all mixture is used). Roll handful of dough out into an approximately 1/4-inch thickness. Take a 2 by 3-inch diamond shaped cookie cutter, and cut as many diamonds as possible (size of kolachky should be two bites, so the cutter cannot be large). Take leftover dough and roll out again, cutting more diamonds. Repeat until all the dough is used.
• Place the diamond cut out onto the palm of hand. Put a 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of fruit filling (apricot or strawberry or raspberry or prune flavors) into the center of the diamond shape.
• Dip your finger in a little bit of water, put on one side of diamond. Fold lengthwise and seal the tops of the kolachky together to create a 3-dimensional diamond shape. Place on cookie sheets and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 to12 minutes.
• DO NOT USE Super heat cookie sheets or any of the new non-stick coated cookie sheets. They will bake too quickly and burn the bottoms of the kolachky before you realize it. YOU MUST USE ANY KIND OF CHEAP COOKIE SHEETS usually bought at a grocery store. Cover the cookie sheet with foil or parchment paper. Do not grease the foil.
• Look at your kolachky every few minutes, while baking, as ovens vary in heat distribution. The later batches may cook faster than the first ones. Check the BOTTOMS of the kolachkys. They are done when the BOTTOMS are soft golden brown. The tops may not look done, but they ARE! Remove from oven, wait 3 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack. When ready to serve, sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Steps:

• To make Filling: Combine apricots and water in heavy saucepan and cook covered over medium heat for 10 minutes or until apricots are soft. Cook UNCOVERED 5 to 10 minutes or until most of the water has been absorbed.
• Mash apricots, stir in 2 tablespoons of sugar and let filling cool. Set aside.
• To make Dough: Cream butter and cream cheese until fluffy; add 3/4 cup sugar and beat well. Add flour and mix well. Shape dough into ball and chill 1 hour.
• Turn dough onto well-floured surface, working with only half the dough. Roll into 1/8 inch thickness and cut into 2 inch squares. Spoon 1/2 teaspoon of apricot filling into the center of the square. Bring four corners to center, pinching to seal.
• Bake at 400 degrees F for about 15 minutes. Optional - you may baste with butter halfway thru baking period.
• Optional - drizzle LIGHTLY with powdered sugar/milk frosting if you desire sweeter kolaches.

Steps:

• Dissolve yeast in water until foamy.
• Heat milk, pour over butter and sugar. Stir until melted. Add 2 cups flour, then beat until smooth.
• Add yeast, eggs and salt. Add flour until a soft ball forms. Grease top; let.
• rise. Punch down and let rise again.
• Stretch dough on floured board to about 1/2-inch thickness. Cut into rounds using a soup can. Put on greased pans and let rise.
• When nice and puffy, make indentations in center and fill with favorite filling like prune, apricot, cottage cheese or poppy seed. When risen to a nice puffy look, bake at 375 degrees F until a golden color - cook 15 minutes then check every 3 minutes thereafter.
• Prune Filling:.
• Cook prunes until soft. Grind and add sugar, vanilla extract and cinnamon. Stir well.
• Apricot Filling:.
• Cook apricots until soft. Grind and add sugar. Sweeter is better. Stir well.
• Cottage Cheese Filling:.
• Put cottage cheese in blender. Add egg yolk, lemon juice, nutmeg and 4 tablespoons flour and blend some more. Take out of blender and add raisins. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon flour and sugar.
• Poppy Seed Filling:.
• Mix together. Use enough cream to make it easier to put into kolaches.

Steps:

• Ham and Cheese Filling: In a bowl, combine 1 cup diced ham, 1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese, 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, and 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard.
• Stir to blend well.
• Refrigerate until ready to use.
• For Egg Glaze: In a small bowl, combine 1 egg white and 1 tablespoon water.
• Beat lightly to blend.
• For kolaches:In a large bowl, combine 1 cup flour, cheese, sugar, undissolved yeast, and salt.
• Heat water and butter until very warm (120º to 130ºF).
• Gradually add to flour mixture.
• Beat 2 minutes at medium speed of electric mixer, scraping bowl occasionally.
• Add egg and 1 cup flour; beat 2 minutes at high speed.
• Stir in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough.
• Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes.
• Cover; let rest 10 minutes.
• Divide dough into 16 equal pieces; shape each into a ball.
• Cover; let rest 15 minutes.
• Place balls on greased baking sheets 2 inches apart.
• Make a deep and wide indentation on each ball by pushing outward toward edge, leaving 1/2-inch ridge around outside.
• Fill with Ham and Cheese filling.
• Cover; let rise in warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• Brush surface of dough with Egg Glaze.
• Bake at 375ºF for 15 minutes or until done.
• Remove from sheets; serve warm.
• Refrigerate leftovers.
• BAKING TIP:When you use two baking sheets or pans in the same oven, be sure to stagger them.
• Heat rises and stacking one pan directly above another causes the bottom pan to bake faster than the top.
• Bakers should also rotate the sheets (top to bottom and bottom to top) and turn the sheets 180 degrees (back to front) halfway through baking.

Steps:

• ---ToPrepare Prune Topping---.
• Cook prunes in water until soft.
• Beat until well mashaed.
• Add sugar and cinnamon to taste.
• Set aside and allow to cool.
• ---Kolaches---.
• Put yeast in 1/2 cup warm water with 1 tsp sugar.
• Scald 1 1/2 cup milk.
• Add 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup butter, and 2 tsp salt to scalded milk in large bowl Beat in 2 cups flour.
• Add beaten egg yolks and remaining 3 cups flour.
• Put on flat surface and knead.
• Put in greased, large bowl and let rise until doubled in size.
• Make into large walnut-size balls and place on greased cookie sheet.
• Dip finger in melted buter and make a'well' in top surface of the balls.
• Fill with prune filling and let set for approx 10 minutes.
• Bake in 375 degree oven for approx 15 minutes.
• Remove from oven and brush bread surface with more butter.
• Optional: Sprinkle top with coconut.