Beti's Kolache

It was a special Christmas in 2012.  I have decided to share my special recipe handed down from my mother with my east coast family and now for anyone who wants to enjoy this special Slovak/American pastry.

    

Beti's Kolache

Ingredients:

Cold Yeast Dough
4 cups unbleached flour
1 pound unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, separated
1 cup sour cream
2 1/4 teaspoons dry yeast
about 1 cup confectioner's sugar and about 1 cup flour on hand

Walnut Mixture

1 pound walnuts, ground
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

Options: I have tried other ingredients such as whole wheat flour or adding 1/4 cup wheat germ/bran to the unbleached white flour, margarine instead of butter (it is less likely to burn if you are not watching very close), sea salt, low-fat or no-fat sour cream, skim milk or other milk or can milk, Splenda instead of sugar. All these work but sometimes you loose something else either in lightness or flavor; it is up to your own taste. This may be where you make your own style. There are many options for fillings instead of walnuts. My mother sometimes would use cooked prunes or preserves especially when we would "taste" too much of the yummy walnut filling and she ran out.

Procedure:

In a large bowl, cut butter into flour and salt (sifting makes no difference). In a smaller bowl, mix egg yolks, sour cream and yeast together. Add to the larger bowl with the flour and salt and mix well. I have never used a mixer but do it by hand; your choice. This makes a soft dough. Divide into 2-3 portions, wrap in wax paper. Refrigerate. They can be rolled-out as soon as you make the walnut mixture. These can also be wrapped in wax paper and refrigerated overnight and set out a little while before rolling the the next day. Butter will be harder to work than margarine, if cold.

Use a grinder for the walnuts. I use a cast iron manual one like Mom did. I had used an electric one for 7 years when we lived out at the farm because I also used it to grind meat and all baby food. It didn't last as long as the manual one. It is a good thing to have on hand. In a medium bowl, add the ground walnuts, sugar, milk, and vanilla extract. Mix well. Set aside. You could even do this the day before and refrigerate.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use 2 small bowls; one for extra flour, one for confectioner's sugar. Place a sifter nearby. Use board that has been floured first then sifted over with confectioner's sugar. You will do this for each dough portion, flatten out on the floured board by hand then flip over on more flour. The flour is to keep the dough from sticking, the confectioner's sugar is for sweetening the dough. Roll the dough ball 1/8 - 1/4" thin, cut into diamond shapes. You can use a 3" cutter like I do now or cut any size parallel lines then cut slant lines in between for a diamond shape size you want.

Fill each diamond shape with about 1 teaspoon walnut mixture. It should not extend very much outside the "baby-blanket" fold. If it does, just clean the filling up with your teaspoon and saving for the next one. It will expand so leave some room. The dough does not expand much so each kolache roll can be put on the cookie sheet very close but not touching. This fold is basically the two long sides of the diamond brought to the middle with a little crossover. If they do not stay put, pinch the dough a little for now. If you want to make them large with extra filling, you may need the full "baby-blanket" fold that includes the bottom folded in. Make it your own style.

Now hand beat the egg whites and brush on each kolache. This holds them together and helps seal in the mixture somewhat. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes. Watch closely; if you smell them, they are probably done. Golden brown is what you want. Remove almost immediately from pan onto cooling rack that has newspaper or sometime under it for cleanup. If any of the mixture comes out, take your teaspoon right away and scope it up and roll into a ball before it hardens. These extra 'walnut balls' were an added treat and quickly disappeared! When completely cooled, dust all with sifted confectioner's sugar. Enjoy.

There are many different recipes for Kolache dough and different fillings including cooked apples and a poppy seed/raisin filling I will try next year. I have had many requests for my Kolache and always have had great compliments. I had only given this recipe to family members and now will share it with anyone as it gives me a chance to share a special part of my Slovak heritage.

So here I have some photos of the actual process both from my home in Missouri and then at my niece's home in Virginia.

In my home, you can see all the actual ingredients used.  This year I tried using a new sugar substitute called Nectrise made by Splenda.  It worked out alright but not as sweet.  I also use whole wheat flour and it is good but heavier.  I make mine with a diamond-shaped cookie cutter so they are all uniform in size and I can better estimate how many I can eat per serving.

The rest of the photos were taken at my niece Amanda's home and included her husband and 7 children.  Also included were my other niece, Kristen who is visiting from California.  My brother John and his wife Corinne were also there.  It was a great time to share my recipe at Christmas.



  

The first batch, I showed them how to roll out the dough.

Then I showed them how to cut out diamond shapes without a cookie cutter.

Now Kristen's turn.

Amanda quickly learned to cut the diamond shapes using a knife.

  

Kristen steps up and starts filling the diamond shapes as Amanda continues.

Now both are making the special roll-up and placing on the cookie sheet to be brushed with beaten egg white.

The first batch is pretty as a picture!

After a sprinkling of confectioner's sugar, the kolache are divided up.  Notice the container with all the walnut balls.  Amanda had a lot of mixture remaining from a previous cookie bake and it was a great time to cook along with the regular kolache and made a yummy cookie all by themselves!

Now my mother's Kolache tradition at Christmas lives on as it is passed onto two more generations.