Authentic Czech kolaches recipe---made with apricot, cream cheese, or prune filling. Small batch, makes 12 small kolaches.
I just found out that my parents used to host Thanksgiving breakfast and Thanksgiving dinner. I know I was around for all of it, but I don't have any memories of just how many kolaches I could shove in my mouth as a kid.
The primary reason they served two meals on Thanksgiving day is because my grandparents and great aunt would arrive early to help with all of the prep work. Since my great aunt owned a restaurant (I know I've talked about this before), they were happy to give her a much-needed break. There's something sweet and meaningful about feeding someone who normally spends their day cooking and feeding so many people.
What is a Czech Kolache?
Since my grandparents are Czech, I've always grown up around authentic Czech kolaches. If you've never had a kolache (pronounced KOE-lah-cha...don't say 'koe-lah-CHEE around me, please), it's similar to a soft, egg-y, buttery brioche roll with a fruit filling on top. The most common flavors are: prune, poppy seed, cream cheese, and apricot. I've also seen blueberry, cherry, and lemon.
I'm willing to talk about savory kolaches with eggs, bacon and sausage, but honestly, I didn't grow up on those. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the savory versions exist only in kolache shops. In all of my research for Czech recipes, I have never found a recipe written by someone's grandmother for sausage or egg-stuffed kolaches. But I could be wrong. My family is from Moravia in the Czech Republic; maybe other Czechs have savory ones? Let me know if I'm wrong.
Anyway, I scaled this recipe down from one that my grandmother clipped out of an old newspaper. I'm assuming she used this recipe because it was a smaller batch than most kolache recipes.
The truth is, my grandmother was the original one to scale down desserts. I inherited a mini 6" pie dish from her. She would frequently halve cake recipes to bake in smaller pans. She liked to make a half-batch of cake in an 8x8 pan instead of a 9x13 pan.
I'm not sure if it was because she was just cooking for herself and my grandfather, or if it was one of those leftover Depression-era traits, where an entire cake seemed so wasteful, but you should know that Dessert for Two comes from a very honest place. It's in my blood to make tiny desserts.
I wasn't privy to my grandmother's small-batch desserts when I was younger, but I'm very aware of it now. Every day that I wake up and have the unbelievable privilege of scaling down desserts as my actual job, I think about her. It all just makes sense to me, why I'm here doing what I'm doing, you know? It's a good feeling.
Kolache Recipe ingredients
- Milk. When baking, whole milk is best, but 2% is okay. Do not use anything less than 2%.
- Yeast. We’re using active dry yeast, the kind that comes in the jar. This recipe was not developed nor tested with any other kind of yeast. Once the jar of active dry yeast is open, it needs to be stored in the fridge.
- Sugar. Granulated white sugar.
- Flour. All-purpose regular flour, fluffed and scooped into a measuring cup leveled off with a knife.
- Butter. We need 6 tablespoons of melted unsalted butter.
- Egg. We only need 2 egg yolks for this recipe--do not add the egg whites to the dough. Save them for another recipe.
- Salt.
- For the fillings:
- Prunes. Dried plums (or prunes) if you’re making the prune filling.
- Honey. This is for making the prune filling. Omit if you’re not filling with prunes.
- Apricot Preserves. Technically, any type of preserves will work in these kolaches. Do not use jam, as it will boil and burn in the oven. Use a thick preserve that contains pieces of whole fruit for the best results.
- Cream Cheese. If you’re making the cream cheese filled version, you need softened cream cheese.
- Powdered Sugar. This is for sweetening the cream cheese filling.
How to make Kolaches
Anyway, DOUGH. Let's talk about kolaches. The best description of the dough is like challah...but richer! Kolache dough has loads of butter, eggs and milk. It's pretty frickin' glorious stuff.
When you're kneading the dough (just 10 minutes, I promise), the dough is supple and fun to work with.
Honestly, I made this entire recipe in 90 minutes. I used the 'proof' setting on my oven, and both rises happened in roughly 30 minutes.
Which brings me to a very important point: a lot of people think Czech kolaches needs at least 3 rises to be 'authentic.' This recipe has 3 rises, technically, since I activate the yeast with a portion of the flour. I've come across recipes with 5 rises, and well, that sounds great, but this recipe is pretty dang authentic. So, save yourself the time.
- First: make the 3 different fillings. If you want all of the kolaches to have the same flavor, triple one of the filling recipes. As written, this recipe makes 12 kolaches with 3 different fillings: 4 cream cheese kolaches, 4 prune kolaches, and 4 apricot preserve kolaches. For the prune filling: combine the prunes in a small saucepan with the honey, and add enough water to barely cover the prunes. Boil, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes. Mash them with a fork as they cook. They're done when most of the water is evaporated and it's thicker than jam. Set aside to cool. For the apricot filling: no work necessary! Just have the apricot preserves ready in a small bowl. Whisk it well to break it up a bit. For the cream cheese filling: stir together the room temp cream cheese with the powdered sugar until smooth. Set aside.
- Next, make the kolaches: warm the milk in a microwave-safe bowl for about 30 seconds until lukewarm. The target temperature is 110 degrees. Once it's at precisely 110, add the yeast, sugar and ⅔ cup of the flour. Mix together well and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size. For me, I place it in an oven on ‘PROOF’ and it doubles in about 20-30 minutes.
- After the first rise, we’ll enrich the dough: In another bowl, add the melted butter. Let cool briefly before stirring in the egg yolk. Add this to the yeast mixture and mix well. Add the remaining flour, salt, and mix very well.
- Next, knead the enriched dough for 10 minutes: The best way to knead is to smear the dough away from you with the heel of your hand, and then fold the dough back onto itself from the side with your other hand. Lightly flour the board and your hands as you go. At the end of 10 minutes, the dough will be soft, supple, and not sticky at all.
- Second rise: Grease a bowl with cooking spray and add the dough. Cover and let it rise in a warm place until it doubles in size (you can do this in the oven using the ‘proof' setting). (At the end of this rise, you could cover it and put it in the fridge to use the following day. It will deflate a bit, but it's okay). In the oven, this second rise takes 30 minutes on 'PROOF’ to double in size for me.
- Next, you want to evenly divide the dough into 12 equal portions. I do this by weighing the dough, and dividing it by 12. Roll each dough ball into a perfect circle (see photo).
- Line a 9" pie plate with parchment paper, and arrange the dough balls in it. At this point, I press gently on the dough to make a slightly oblong shape instead of a perfect circle (see photo).
- Let the dough rise until doubled (you can do this in the oven using the 'proof' setting).
- Finally, preheat the oven to 375. Once the dough balls have doubled in size, use your fingers to make indentations for the fillings. Go deeper than the indentations seen in the photos (the dough continued to rise while I was taking photos, making the indentations fill in slightly).
- Next, stir together the egg and splash of heavy cream to use as the egg wash for the rolls.
- Divide the jam fillings between the kolaches, and then brush with the egg wash gently (try not to get egg wash on the fillings).
- Bake the kolaches for 18-21 minutes, until nicely golden brown. Use a toothpick inserted into the center kolache to ensure the rolls are done. (In the testing process for this recipe, I accidentally under-baked a batch and the kolaches sunk in the middle, so make sure the inner kolaches are fully baked before removing from the oven).
- Let cool slightly, and then tear apart and serve.
Kolaches Recipe Tips and Variations
I like to make a pan of these and alternate flavors (4 of each: cream cheese, prune, and apricot), but feel free to triple one filling recipe to make an entire pan of one flavor.
To make the prune filling, I cooked dried prunes and honey until they were soft and mashable. For the apricot, I used a jar of very thick preserves. You don't want to use jelly or thin jam for kolaches because they tend to boil in the oven. Cooked dried fruit or very thick preserves are the best things to use.
My favorite kolache is prune (but poppy seed is a close second). If you're a kolache virgin, you're going to want to start with the cream cheese--trust me on this.
I posted a photo of these babies on instagram, and immediately, someone asked about the posipka (a very fine crumbly little mixture of flour, butter and sugar that's sprinkled on top of kolaches before baking). Admittedly, I love posipka, but I left it off for the sake of simplicity. I didn't want to dirty another bowl. But to the person who called me out on posipka, you're an amazing human, and you really know your kolaches! Bravo!
What to serve with this Czech Kolache Recipe
Kolaches are a breakfast meal all on their own. Serve with tea or coffee and some fresh fruit.
How to store Homemade Kolaches
Can Homemade Kolaches be frozen?
You can freeze already baked kolaches in freezer-safe bags. To defrost, let sit in the fridge overnight. Then, place in the microwave for 10-15 seconds until warm throughout.
How to reheat a Czech Kolache
The best way to reheat a kolache is in the microwave for 10-15 seconds. The microwave provides moist heat that will make the dough fluffy again. The oven or air fryer will dry out the kolaches--use the microwave!
Ok, I'm sharing my recipe for Czech kolaches below. The recipe makes 12 small kolaches in a regular 9" pie plate. The recipe is very easily halved, if 12 kolaches is just too much for you--I totally get it. If you cut the recipe in half, bake the rolls in a 6" pie dish instead.
Happy baking! Errrr, I should probably say šťastné pečení!
Homemade Kolaches (Czech Kolache)
Authentic Czech Kolaches recipe, makes 12 small kolaches.
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup milk (2% or higher is best)
- 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 2 large egg yolk
- ¼ + ⅛ teaspoon fine salt
For the filling:
- 6 prunes
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 4 scoops very thick apricot preserves
- 3 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoons powdered sugar
For the egg wash:
- 1 beaten egg
- splash of heavy cream (or milk)
Instructions
- First: make the 3 different fillings. If you want all of the kolaches to have the same flavor, triple one of the filling recipes.
- For the prune filling: combine the prunes in a small saucepan with the honey, and add enough water to barely cover the prunes. Boil, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes. Mash them with a fork as they cook. They're done when most of the water is evaporated and it's thicker than jam. Set aside to cool.
- For the apricot filling: no work necessary! Just have the apricot preserves ready in a small bowl.
- For the cream cheese filling: stir together the room temp cream cheese with the powdered sugar until smooth. Set aside.
- Next, make the kolaches: warm the milk in a microwave-safe bowl for about 30 seconds until lukewarm. The target temperature is 110 degrees. Once it's at precisely 110, add the yeast, sugar and ⅔ cup of the flour. Mix together well and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size.
- In another bowl, add the melted butter. Let cool briefly before stirring in the egg yolk. Add this to the yeast mixture and mix well. Add the remaining flour, salt, and mix very well well.
- Next, knead the dough for 10 minutes: The best way to knead is to smear the dough away from you with the heel of your hand, and then fold the dough back onto itself from the side with your other hand. Lightly flour the board and your hands as you go. At the end of 10 minutes, the dough will be soft, supple, and not sticky at all.
- Grease a bowl with cooking spray and add the dough. Cover and let it rise in a warm place until it doubles in size (you can do this in the oven using the 'proof' setting). (At the end of this rise, you could cover it and put it in the fridge to use the following day. It will deflate, but it's okay).
- Next, you want to evenly divide the dough into 12 equal portions. I do this by weighing the dough, and dividing it by 12. Roll each dough ball into a perfect circle (see photo).
- Line a 9" pie plate with parchment paper, and arrange the dough balls in it. At this point, I press gently on the dough to make a slightly oblong shape instead of a perfect circle (see photo).
- Let the dough rise until doubled (you can do this in the oven using the 'proof' setting).
- Preheat the oven to 375.
- Once the dough balls have doubled in size, use your fingers to make indentations for the fillings. Go deeper than the indentations seen in the photos (the dough continued to rise while I was taking photos, making the indentations fill in slightly).
- Next, stir together the egg and splash of heavy cream to use as the egg wash for the rolls.
- Divide the jam fillings between the kolaches, and then brush with the egg wash gently (try not to get egg wash on the fillings).
- Bake the kolaches for 18-21 minutes, until nicely golden brown. Use a toothpick inserted into the center kolache to ensure the rolls are done. (In the testing process for this recipe, I accidentally under-baked a batch and the kolaches sunk in the middle, so make sure the inner kolaches are fully baked before removing from the oven).
- Let cool slightly, and then tear apart and serve.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 219Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 87mgSodium: 72mgCarbohydrates: 26gFiber: 1gSugar: 7gProtein: 5g
Amber says
I just found this post at the perfect time! My family also makes kolaches for Thanksgiving (and Christmas) breakfasts. This year I was supposed to make the kolaches for Thanksgiving. And then 2 days before Thanksgiving I was in a car accident and too sore and hopped up on pain killers to knead or bake. So we had no kolaches! Since I didn't get my Thanksgiving kolaches I've been dying to have one and can't wait until Christmas, but figured I was SOL because my recipe is so big. I'm definitely making this recipe this weekend so I can get my kolache fix before Christmas! Thanks so much!
Donna says
Thank you SO much for posting a Bohemian recipe sized to fewer people! I'm half Bohemian (my "greats" came from Pisek south of Prague) and my Gram made sweet kolaches using prune, apricot and cream cheese fillings. I can't wait to try your recipe!
Marilu says
Hi Christina!
I just received this post via e-mail and I live it! These look absolutely delicious and I really want to try them!
Cathy H. says
I love the story with this post and how you came to be living (at least part of) your purpose. Your scaled down indulgences are fantastic! Thank you for the time you invest in writing/testing/tasting, etc., etc. :)
Krystal says
These look delicious! I’d like to make them for my family when I see them for the holidays. I’m thinking making them all cream cheese with a bit of fruit together; would that work? Probably not authentic that way but the thought of the combo makes me drool. Any ideas on how to make these ahead to make them more of an easy pop-in-the-oven-first-thing-Christmas-morning deal?
Alison King says
Yum! Do you happen to have a recipe for trdlo (spelling?) My boyfriend and I became obsessed with it when we visited Prague, but I can’t seem to find recipes and am not sure how I’d do the whole turning cooking thing anyway. Any ideas?
Christina Lane says
I don't, Alison! I'm sorry! But I'll ask my relatives :)
Christina Johnson says
I am so, so happy to see this recipe!! Czech is part of my family background, but we've all been in the U.S. for so long that the relatives from the "old country" with the recipes have all passed on. I would love to do some traditional baking, but I never really know what's a great recipe and where to get it. So, thank you for sharing your family recipe! I won't be able to make these this year (already baking/cooking too much for Christmas! gah!), but I think these are already on tap for next year. :-)
Also, I love that you use a prune filling!!! I am also part Polish, and we have pierogies on Christmas and do traditional Easter basket breakfasts on Easter morning; my favorite foods from each holiday are the prune pierogies and the prune babka! Everyone (besides my mom, who loves them too) thinks I am nuts for liking the prune fillings, but they are just so good and really say "holiday" to me because they are what I grew up with.
THANK YOU AGAIN FOR SHARING!
shawnna says
hey girl- these look amazing!
Mary Hummel says
I grew up in a small (250) town in Iowa with a large slavic population. These wonderful kolaches were a must for pot lucks, church socials, and especially Thanksgiving. I have several recipes from the local bakers for the dough but had to research to find the toppings. I found poppy seed filling on a web site, Toriavey.com, along with several others including prune, apricot, blueberry, cherry and posipka. Is this helpful?
Rose says
Hello Mary and anyone else interested in where to buy the filling for the Kolache. We were brought up in Illinois, suburbs of Chicago, eating the poppyseed and prune ones. Grandma immigrated to the U.S. when she was 18. She made them often. I buy mine at Walmart, Fareway, HyVee and Kroger. I'm going to try this recipe for a small batch. Yum!
Jana says
Hi Christina,
If you let your "kolache" touching each other as they bake, you are creating a unique version of Slovak/Czech "buchty" (with filling on the top rather than inside). The original "Moravske kolace" have usually farmer's cheese sweet filing inside, then fruit or poppy filling on top with posypka. They are rounded and spread on the baking sheet with enough space so that they do not touch each other when baking. The sides where posypka does not reach can be touched by melted butter with sugar and a bit of rum before baking and shortly after you take them out of oven. I have not heard of having to make the dough rise 5 times, I let it rise only once, and then once the kolache are arranged on the baking sheet, I let them rest for additional 20-30 minutes. If you do not feel like having posypka at all, you can always use a bit of powder sugar on top while the kolache are still hot.
Happy baking!
PS: http://makova-panenka.cz/recepty/dvojctihodne-kolace-nemuseji-byt-jen-s-tvarohem-a-povidly-ale-take-s-ovocem/
Christina Lane says
Thank you, Jana! You really know your kolaches! <3