Ingredients
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1 cup (2 sticks room temperature) Butter unsalted
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6 oz Cream Cheese
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2-1/2 cups (300 g) All purpose flour
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About half a jar Red raspberry jam
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For dusting on top of the cookies Powdered sugar
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1 For sealing (lightly beaten) Egg whites
Directions
Kolache cookie recipes are everywhere if you are hunting for holiday cookies. They look so good I wanted to bake and taste these cookies that look like bowties. When reading about Kolache cookies, it seems like most Eastern European countries have a similar type, but some are the bowtie shape, and others are round. I found a web site A Trip Through Kolache History that you might find very interesting if you would like to know more about these cookies.
My favorite jam is red raspberry, so of course, this was my choice of jam for the cookie. But you can certainly use whatever your favorite jam is, and your variation will be beautiful and tasty.
My first batch, I was adapting from a recipe, but I did not like how they turned out. The thickness was wrong (1/4″), and the baker used water to seal the corners. So I made them my way, which turned out just the way I imagined they would be.
But I am not ashamed to show you my trials and tribulations when it comes to failed recipes. I believe that is how we learn and how we grow as bakers. When you can see the mistakes and make changes, you feel more confident about your baking skills.
As you can see, the dough is too thick at 1/4″, so when they baked, the cookie swings open. The other issue was the water did not hold the cookie dough corners together.
Here are the tools that I used:
Here are other cookies you might like to try:
Steps
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1
Done
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Weigh or measure the flour and set aside. You may use a stand or hand-held mixer to cream the butter and cream cheese together. Turn the mixer speed down and gradually add the flour. Incorporate the flour into the butter and the cream cheese mixture. You can always dump it onto a pastry sheet and finish kneading it together. Flatten out the dough and wrap in plastic wrap, put into the refrigerator for 2 hours. |
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2
Done
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Taking the dough out of the refrigerator, I break it into quarters. I used my hands to knead it a little, so it made it easier to roll out. Line your cookie pan with parchment paper and preheat your oven. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to 1/8" thickness. I have a cookie cutter that is 2-1/2 inch square-shaped, which made the perfect size. I kept rolling out the excess dough till I had 12 squares on a cookie pan. |
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3
Done
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Putting about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of red raspberry jam (you can substitute another favorite jam if you like) in the middle of the square cookie dough. Next, I take the end of a long teaspoon that you use for ice tea and hover over the jam. I then take the corner over the spoon end and dab the top with the slightly beaten egg white. Then bring the opposite corner over and press lightly to seal. I put the spoon between the jam and the cookie dough corners so I can press and seal without pushing all the jam out of the ends. I dab a little egg white on top of the pressed corner edges to make sure they seal. |
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4
Done
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Bake at 350° for 14-16 minutes or until they are lightly browned on the corner edges. Move them to a cooling rack after taking them from the oven. Dust them with powdered sugar after they have cooled. |
