Kolachkes are traditional Czech cookies filled with jam, cheese or nuts and dusted with powdered sugar. These kolachkes are popular in Chicago area bakeries and my family’s favorite Christmas-time treat!
I always seem to finish my holiday baking later than everyone else, but kolachkes are non-negotiable in my house at Christmastime. I’ve made them for years and, despite not being a confident baker, I’ve perfected a dependable version that our family loves.
Growing up in Chicago, my dad did the weekend cooking and Saturday shopping trips. He’d bring home specialties from Berwyn and Cicero — Rosen’s rye bread, prasky, veal knockwurst, houska, and kolachkes. Most of it didn’t interest me, but kolachkes were different: small pastries filled with cheese or apricot preserves, dusted with powdered sugar. I knew they were bakery-bought because they arrived on a cardboard plate, wrapped in white butcher paper and tied with string.
In the early 1990s I found a recipe that matched those bakery kolachkes — cookie-like rather than yeasted and puffy. The result is a tender, slightly flaky cookie that’s not as dense as the ones I remember, but still captures that familiar, comforting flavor.
The first time I made these I made three fillings: cream cheese, apricot and strawberry. My dad loved them — especially the cheese ones — and told me they were exactly the kind he’d always bought. That kind of approval from him was wonderful.
The dough is simple: butter, cream cheese, flour and a little cream. It needs to chill in the refrigerator overnight, which helps the dough handle and develop flavor. Typical fillings include fruit preserves, a cream cheese mixture, or a nut filling. At our house we favor cheese and strawberry jam — I used my homemade strawberry jam for this batch.
My dad looked forward to these at Christmas, and now my children do, too. They already worry there won’t be any when they come home next week. Don’t worry — there will be kolachkes. It wouldn’t feel like Christmas without them. Merry Christmas, Kelly 🍴🐦
Other holiday favorites we enjoy:
- Classic Buckeyes — peanut butter balls dipped in chocolate; irresistible.
- Peanut Butter Blossoms — peanut butter cookies topped with a chocolate kiss.
- Gingerbread — old-fashioned gingerbread cake with lemon glaze and ginger whipped cream.
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Kolachkes
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Ingredients
- 4 sticks unsalted butter softened
- 6 ounces cream cheese softened
- 3 cups all-purpose flour sifted
- 6 tablespoons whipping cream
- Confectioners’ sugar for rolling and sprinkling
- Jam jelly or preserves of choice
- Cream cheese filling optional, recipe follows
- Nut filling optional, recipe follows
Instructions
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Beat butter and cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer until light. Gradually beat in the flour and cream, alternating between them, until the dough is well combined. The dough will be very soft. Divide it into four portions, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate overnight.
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Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line baking sheets (no need to grease).
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Dust your work surface and rolling pin with powdered sugar. Roll one portion of dough to about 1/4-inch thickness. The dough is hard to roll at first but becomes easier; patch any small tears by pinching them together. Use a small round cutter (about 2 inches) to cut cookies and place them 1–2 inches apart on the baking sheet.
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Make a small depression in the center of each cookie. I prefer using the bottom of a powdered-sugar-dusted shot glass to create a uniform indentation. Fill each cookie sparingly with jam, preserves, cheese filling or nut filling — too much filling will overflow during baking.
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Bake until the bottoms are just lightly browned, about 12–15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack and dust generously with powdered sugar while still warm.
Recipe Notes
Nut Filling: Cook 1 cup coarsely ground walnuts with 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, 1/3 cup granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla until the nuts turn golden. Let cool before using.
Makes 7 to 8 dozen; recipe can be halved. Nutrition information applies to dough only.
Nutrition
3.8K
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