Published: · Modified: by Petra Kupská
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Come and try my small Czech kolacky cookies made from flaky cream cheese dough! Filled with jam and dusted with icing sugar, they melt on your tongue the moment you put them in your mouth.
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What Is Kolacky?
Kolacky is an original Czech name for small, bite-sized sweet pastries with different kinds of filling. The most common filling is jam, poppy seed, or nut filling. Fresh cream cheese (called tvaroh in Czech) or yeast dough is usually used to make kolacky cookies.
The best thing? This recipe uses fresh cream cheese dough that is very easy to make. You only need three ingredients: unsalted butter, flour, and cream cheese.
Spelling
In Czech, the word kolacky is correctly spelled "koláčky". It is a diminutive of the word kolache (koláče), a well-known Czech pastry.
The word koláčky is plural, i. e. 2 and more pieces. The singular (one piece) of the word is koláček.
Curious how to pronounce the word koláčky? Listen to the short audio clip I recorded. You will hear the Czech pronunciation of the word koláčky (I am a native Czech).
In the Anglo-Saxon world, people also know kolacky as kolachy cookies, kolachys, kolachkey or in Polish as kolaczki.
Ingredients
Cream cheese dough:
- Unsalted butter; softened at room temperature
- Cream cheese; at room temperature. Authentic Czech recipe calls for "tvaroh" (a kind of fresh cream cheese), but any flavor-neutral cream cheese will also work well. Czech tvaroh is sometimes substituted for farmer's cheese in the US, but it is quite dry, so I would instead go with classic cream cheese in the case of this recipe.
- All-purpose flour; the exact amount of flour added to the dough will depend on the liquid content in the cream cheese
Kolacky filling
- Jam; use any thick jam or pastry fruit filling. My choice was plum butter (in Czech povidla or in Slovak lekvar), a traditional Czech fruit filling for sweet pastries.
Next, you'll need powdered sugar to dust the baked kolacky cookies.
✅You’ll find the exact amount of ingredients below in the recipe card, which you can also print out.
Instructions
STEP 1: Take the butter and cream cheese out of the refrigerator in time for them to come to room temperature.
STEP 2: Put the butter, cream cheese, and flour in a larger bowl. Start mixing the ingredients with a fork first. Only when the dough has come together in a homogeneous mass, knead the dough to smoothness with your hands.
STEP 3: Wrap the dough in cling film and place in the freezer (not the fridge) for 10-15 minutes, but not any longer.
STEP 4: Lightly dust the work surface with flour to prevent the dough from sticking to it. Roll the dough into as regular a rectangle as possible, which should be 1/8 inch thick.
STEP 5: Cut the rolled-out dough into squares of approximately 2.1/2 inches. Place about 1 to 1.1/2 teaspoons of jam in the middle of each square.
STEP 6: Using a kitchen knife, lift opposite ends of the dough and fold them one by one over the filling. Finally, press the folded ends of the dough lightly together.
STEP 7: Carefully transfer kolacky cookies to a baking sheet lined with baking paper.
STEP 8: Preheat the oven to 340 °F (170 °C). Place the baking sheet with kolacky in the preheated oven and bake for about 15 minutes until golden.
STEP 9: Immediately after baking, dust with icing sugar and leave to cool.
Serving
Kolacky cookies taste best while still warm. Serve on a dessert plate with a cup of good coffee or tea.
The next day kolacky are softer and less flaky than when fresh straight out of the oven.
Tips for The Best Result
- When rolling out the dough, sprinkle it with flour. Also, press your hand into the flour and run it over the rolling pin you will use to roll out the dough. Yet, the finished dough should be still slightly sticky.
- You can also shape the cookies by cutting circles about 2 inches in diameter out of the dough. Place a teaspoon of filling in the middle, fold the circle in half over the filling, and close the ends with a fork to keep the filling from oozing out. Take a look at these crescent cookies to see the process.
More sweets:
- Moravian kolache – double filled sweet pastry
- Cream cheese coffee cake – with fruit
- Bublanina – Czech fruit sheet cake
FAQ
How to shape kolacky?
The base for kolacky is a dough in the shape of a square about 2 1/2 inches large. A filling, usually jam, is placed in the middle of the square. Kolacky are shaped by folding the two opposite ends of the square over the filling one at a time. The dough is lightly pinched together at the joint.
How to keep kolacky pinched together?
Try to leave the dough slightly sticky, do not sprinkle it with excessive flour when rolling it out. This will seal the dough when it joins over the filling and prevent it from opening when baking.
Another option is to brush the place where the dough ends join with a little beaten egg.
How to store kolacky?
If you have any kolacky leftovers, let them cool completely and store them in an airtight container. Store in the fridge, where they will keep for about four days. You can also freeze the kolacky cookies. They will keep in the freezer for up to 6 months in an airtight container.
Recipe card
Easy Kolacky Cookies
Come and taste small Czech kolacky cookies made from flaky cream cheese dough! Filled with jam and dusted with icing sugar, they melt on your tongue the moment you put them in your mouth.
5 from 8 votes
Print Pin
Prep Time: 45 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes
Total Time: 1 hour hour
Servings: 20 pieces
Calories: 123kcal
Author: Petra Kupská
Course: Sweet Pastry
Cuisine: Czech
Keyword: Cookies
Ingredients
Cream cheese dough:
- 1 Stick unsalted butter (110 g) at room temperature
- 4 ounces cream cheese (110 g) at room temperature
- 1 and ¼ cups all-purpose flour (160 g)
Filling:
- ⅔ cup pastry fruit filling (220 g)
Misc.
- 2 Tablespoons powdered sugar for icing
Instructions
Take the butter and cream cheese out of the refrigerator in time for them to come to room temperature.
Put the butter, cream cheese, and flour in a larger bowl. Start mixing the ingredients with a fork first. Only when the dough has come together in a homogeneous mass, knead the dough smooth with your hands.
Wrap the dough in cling film and place in the freezer (not the fridge) for 10-15 minutes, but no longer.
Lightly dust the work surface with flour to prevent the dough from sticking to it. Roll the dough into as regular a rectangle as possible to a thickness of ⅛ inch.
Cut the rolled-out dough into squares of approximately 2.½ inches. Place about 1 to 1.½ teaspoons of jam in the middle of each square.
Using a kitchen knife, lift opposite ends of the dough and fold them one by one over the filling. Finally, press the folded ends of the dough lightly together.
Carefully transfer kolacky cookies to a baking sheet lined with baking paper.
Preheat the oven to 340 °F (170 °C). Place the baking sheet with kolacky in the preheated oven and bake for about 15 minutes until golden.
Immediately after baking, dust with icing sugar and leave to cool.
Notes
- Makes about 20 kolacky cookies.
- SERVING: Kolacky cookies taste best while still warm. Serve on a dessert plate with a cup of good coffee or tea. The next day kolacky are softer and less flaky than when freshly coming out of the oven.
- When rolling out the dough, sprinkle it with flour. Also, press your hand into the flour and run it over the rolling pin you will use to roll out the dough. Yet, the finished dough should be slightly sticky.
- STORAGE: If you have any kolacky leftovers, let them cool completely and store them in an airtight container. Store in the fridge, where they will keep for about four days. You can also freeze the kolacky cookies. They will keep in the freezer for up to 6 months in an airtight container.
DISCLAIMER: Because I come from Central Europe, my recipes are based on metric units such as grams or milliliters. Check out how I convert metric units to the U.S. system:
Conversion chart
Nutritional Estimate pro portion
Calories: 123kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 18mg | Sodium: 22mg | Potassium: 26mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 217IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutrition Disclosure
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