Best Grandmas German Kolaches Recipes

GERMAN STYLE KOLACHES

Steps:

• In large mixing bowl pour hot water sprinkle yeast over hot water. Set aside. Heat milk until very warm to touch, add sugar and salt to mild. Stir until sugar is dissolved, add eggs and oil to milk mixture. Stir well. Pour milk into yeast in bowl and stir.
• Pour in 2 cups flour and mix well. Beat to remove lumps. Continue to add 2 cups flour at a time and mix well after addition. Cover with cloth, sit in a warm place and let rise for 1 hour or until double in bulk.
• Pour 1/2 dough onto floured board roll out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut with biscuit cutter. Place mini-cocktail franks or ground sausage onto one circle, top with the second circle and press edges together with fork.
• Place in greased baking sheet one inch apart. Brush tops with oil. Let rise for 30 minutes. Bake at 375ºF. for 15 minutes or until brown. Brush top with butter. Serve warm.

HOMEMADE KOLACHES

Steps:

• Add the lukewarm milk, sugar, cooled butter, eggs, and yeast to the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix everything together using the paddle attachment.
• Add 4½ cups flour and salt to the mixture. Mix on low just until the dough starts to come together. Use your hands to remove the dough from the paddle attachment. Remove the paddle and replace it with the dough hook. Mix (knead) on medium for 6 to 7 minutes until the dough is soft and is starting to pull away from the bowl, adding another ¼ to ½ cup of flour as needed.
• Remove the dough from the bowl and smooth it into a ball with your hands. The dough will be quite sticky. This is normal. Spray a large bowl with cooking spray and place the dough in the bowl. Turn the dough over to coat with oil all over. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm, non-drafty area until it has doubled in size, usually about 2 hours. Or, place in the refrigerator for overnight or up to 12 hours.
• On a floured work surface, roll out the dough to ½-inch thickness.
• Using a 3-inch cookie cutter, or an inverted metal can, or an inverted glass, cut rounds from the dough. Re-roll the scraps, and cut more rounds.
• Place each round on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, about 1 inch apart from each other, cover with a damp towel and let rise at room temperature until nearly doubled in size, about 45 minutes to an hour.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Using your thumb, press 1 large indention into the center of each round, leaving a 1/2-inch wide rim. Spoon about 1 tablespoon topping into the indentions.
• Bake until golden brown, about 15 to 25 minutes (depending on the size of the kolaches).
• Transfer to a wire rack and let cool
• In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese and sugar and mix until smooth. (A hand mixer works well).
• Beat in the yolk and vanilla.
• In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch, salt and cinnamon.
• Add the blueberries and lemon juice and cook over medium heat, stirring, until sugar dissolves.
• Reduce heat to low and simmer until thickened, about 8 minutes. Let cool.
• In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar and cornstarch.
• Stir in the reserved cherry juices and cook, stirring often, over medium heat, until the mixture thickens, about 8 minutes.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the cherries. Let cool.

GRANDMA SKEET'S PRUNE KOLACHES

Steps:

• Place the warm water, salt, egg and 2 tablespoons butter in the pan of a bread machine. Add bread flour, and pour 1/4 cup sugar on the edge of the pan. Make a shallow hole in the flour and add the yeast. Close the lid, and set machine for the DOUGH cycle.
• While the dough is mixing, combine the prunes, prune juice, 1/4 cup sugar, cinnamon, cloves and lime juice in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, and simmer until prunes are soft and the sauce has thickened, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and blend in a mixer or food processor until smooth.
• When the bread machine signals the end of the dough cycle, transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 20 small egg-sized pieces. Cover with greased plastic wrap, and set aside for 10 minutes.
• In a small bowl, mix together 1 cup sugar and 1/2 cup flour. Stir in melted butter and 1 teaspoon cinnamon to make a crumbly streusel.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a large baking sheet or line it with parchment paper.
• Shape the kolache dough into balls and place them on the prepared baking sheet. Press a shallow hole in the center of each one, and fill with prune filling. Top each of the kolaches with streusel. Let the kolaches rest until doubled in size, about 20 minutes.
• Bake until the tops are lightly browned, 14 to 16 minutes.

SOPHIE'S KOLACKY

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

GRANDMA'S EASY KOLACKYS

Steps:

• 1. Combine the softened butter and softened cream cheese until they are mixed together.
• 2. Add the flour to the butter and cream cheese mixture until all the flour is combined (do not over mix).
• 3. Form the dough into a ball and chill the dough overnight or freeze in the freezer and defrost before use.
• 4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
• 5. Divide the dough and in half. Leave one half in the fridge to stay cold. Roll the dough on a well floured surface to an 1/8 inch.
• 6. Using a square 2 1/2 inch cookie cutter or with a pizza cutter make squares. Note: They do not need to be perfect squares)
• 7. Once the squares are made add a teaspoon of your filling to each of the squares (do not overfill or the kolackys may burst open while baking.
• 8. To form the kolackys take two opposite corners and pinch them together (you should have a triangle shape).Fold the pinched corner down and pinch again to make sure it is sealed.
• 9. Place on a cookie sheet and baking the Kolackys for 7-9 minutes or until puffed and golden brown.
• 10. Remove the Kolackys from the oven and allow to cool before dusting with confectioner sugar.

OLD-FASHIONED KOLACHES

Steps:

• Scald milk. Add sugar and butter and stir to dissolve. Allow it to cool to warm, then add the yeast and let it begin to work. Add eggs.
• Put milk mix in a large mixing bowl. Measure the flour and salt into another bowl.
• With a mixer slowly work the flour mix into the dough bowl. When the dough becomes too thick for the mixer to handle, start working in the flour by hand.
• When dough starts to come together and leave the sides of the bowl, it's just right.
• Form the dough into a ball and cover. Let rise in warm place until double its size.
• Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface and knead gently until it comes together and is soft and elastic.
• Divide dough into egg-size pieces. Flatten and form into square or round. Make a depression in the center with your floured thumb.
• Fill the depression with 1 rounded teaspoon of filling. Let the filled kolaches rise about 20 minutes. Brush tops with beaten egg mixed with a little milk and sugar.
• Bake at 350° for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned.
• Sprinkle you fresh out-of-the-oven kolaches with powdered sugar before serving.
• FILINGS:
• Apricot: Place 1 lb dried apricots in a pan with cool water. Let soak several hours. Bring to slow simmer and add sugar to taste. Cook until very soft. Stir to get a smooth consistency.
• Prune: Made the same way as the apricot filling.
• Pineapple: Simmer well drained canned, crushed pineapple until it thickens.
• Poppy seed: 1/2 lb ground poppy seeds, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 cup sugar, 1 tsp vanilla. Add enough milk to make a thick mis. Let stand overnight to absorb the liquid.
• Cream cheese: 8 oz cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp lemon juice, 3/4 tsp vanilla, 1 tsp sour cream. Mix together until smooth.
• Sausage: Take a small piece of sausage and wrap dough around the piece and bake.
• You can use just about any fruit filling in the kolaches, just don't use jam or jelly. They liquefy with the heat in the oven.