Every year at our house, we like to try at least one new goodie or cookie to add to our family favorites. If you’re like us, then you might like to give my personal favorite a try: the Kolachke. This Polish feast cookie tastes like a mini Danish with its buttery crust, jam filling, and vanilla glaze top. To make it even more unique, it’s leavened by yeast! This recipe was one I saw years ago on the old Martha Stewart Living show. I tweaked her sugar glaze slightly, and now use it for everything, from topping blueberry muffins to my cinnamon roll biscuits. Even if you don’t make the cookie, keep the glaze recipe for future reference!
Kolachke
(pronounced koh-LAHCH-key)
¼ cup sour cream, room temperature
2 ¼ tsp. active dry yeast
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup cold unsalted butter
2 cups all purpose flour
Jam preserves, any flavors
Vanilla Glaze
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons corn syrup
1 to 2 tablespoons whole milk/cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat oven to 400°. Mix sour cream and yeast together until yeast is dissolved and let sit for 10 minutes. Stir in beaten egg. In a separate bowl, shred butter into flour and use pastry blender to work in the butter, until it resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in sour cream mixture until dough comes together. My hands work best at the end, but don’t overwork the dough. Roll out the dough on a floured surface to ¼ inch thickness. Cut into 2 ½ inch rounds and place on a lined cookie sheet, about 1 ½ inches apart. Cover with plastic and let rise at room temperature for 15 minutes. Cookie will get slightly puffy. Then make a thumbprint or other indention in the middle of the cookie and fill with a teaspoon of your favorite preserves. Seedless jams work well. Be careful to not overfill, as jam will boil over when baking. Bake until the edges are just barely golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on the sheet for five minutes, then remove to a cooling rack. Once cool, drizzle glaze on top. Makes about 2 dozen cookies.
