Kolaches and Nine Fillings Preliminaries:- Mixing and kneading in a Cuisinart:- Baking open-faced Kolaches Baking diapered squares Preparing the Fillings Apple, Cherry or Blueberry Filling Apricot filling Coconut filling: Cottage Cheese filling Fruit filling: Nut Filling Pineapple filling Poppy seed Filling Prune filling Toppings for Kolaches: Posipka (Streusel): Simple Icing: Kolaches and Nine Fillings Preliminaries:- Peel 6-8 potatoes, wash and cut into chunks having no edge longer than about 1 inch. Place potato chunks into a pressure cooker with slightly more than one cup of water and steam cook for about 8 minutes. Cool cooker with cold water. Drain and SAVE the potato water. Add salt, butter, and a small amount of milk to the steamed potato chunks and mash until smooth. Stir 1 package of dry yeast in 1/2 cup of the potato water to which 1 Tbsp of honey was added. (Take care that the water is not too hot.) Let stand. Place 1/4 cup of Fleischmanns Sweet unsalted 100% Corn oil spread or equivalent shortening into the microwave and heat (on low) until it becomes a soft liquid. Place 1 whole egg and one egg yolk into a bowl and beat until smooth in texture. Mixing and kneading in a Cuisinart:- 1/2 cup mashed potatoes 2 eggs (beaten) 3 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1/4 cup soft (melted) margarine 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup milk 1 tsp salt 1/2 cup activated yeast mixture 1/8 tsp mace The above indicated quantity of flour is about 1 cup less than what will actually be needed. Mix until the dough becomes a gooey paste. Then add incremental portions of extra flour to the Cuisinart and continue mixing -- this is equivalent to kneading. Add flour until the dough is no longer sticky. Transfer the dough to a floured bowl; cover and let rise for about 1 hour; you can put it into the refrigerator until the next day. Prepare the fillings. Baking open-faced Kolaches Form Ping-Pong sized balls from the dough, place on a greased cookie sheet. Brush with melted butter, cover and let rise until double in size. Press down the center only and insert about 1 Tbsp filling. Cover and let rise. Bake 8-10 minutes at 450 degrees F; take out of oven when they are golden brown. One batch of dough will make about 4 dozen open-faced Kolaches. Baking diapered squares Turn dough onto lightly floured board; pat out about 1/4-inch thick. Cut into 2-inch squares with a pizza cutter. Put about 1 Tbsp filling into each square. Stretch opposite corners to center and pinch together. Place on greased baking sheet far enough apart so Kolaches do not touch while rising. Cover with plastic wrap; let rise 30-45 minutes. Brush with beaten egg. Bake in 400 degree oven 10 minutes until nice and brown. Remove from oven and brush with melted butter. Preparing the Fillings Apple, Cherry or Blueberry Filling Use the pie fillings available in 21 oz. (1 lb. 5 oz.) 595 gr cans. If the apples slices are too large, just cut them into smaller pieces. Apple filling: Cook sweetened apples until thick. Flavor with cinnamon or grated lemon rind. Add a pinch of salt and Tbsp of butter for each cupful of apples. lace spoonful in hollow of Kolache and sprinkle with coconut or chopped pecans. Apricot filling 1-16 oz. pkg of dry apricots 1 cup water 1/2 cup sugar Cook apricots with sugar in the water using low heat. Stir constantly (a potato masher is useful for this task) until smooth and thick. May be prepared before starting kolache dough and stored in a freezer. Coconut filling: Mix together 1/2 cup brown sugar (packed in cup), 1/2 cup coconut and 3 Tbsp butter. Cottage Cheese filling 1 lb. cottage cheese 2 egg yolks mixed with 3 Tbsp butter grated lemon rind 1/2 tsp vanilla sugar to taste 1/2 cup raisins which have been washed in hot water Mix all ingredients together. If the cheese was not the real dry kind, you may add a little cream of wheat to thicken it. This mixture should stand a while. May be prepared before starting kolache dough. Cottage Cheese filling: 4 cups of well drained cottage cheese, 3/4 cup sugar, 2 eggs, 1/2 tsp vanilla, and 1/2 tsp salt, Mix well. Add enough thick cream to make like thick jam. Fill Kolache and let rise and bake. Ice after baking and sprinkle with coconut. Will fill 4 doz. or more Kolaches. Apple Fruit filling: 2 cup chopped apples, 1 cup raisins, 1 cup brown sugar (packed in cup), 1/2 cup water, 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon. Boil about 15 minutes until thick as mincemeat. Cool before using. Nut Filling 2 eggs 3 1/2 tsp vanilla 3/4 cup sugar 2 cup ground nuts 1/4 cup butter Beat egg yolks and half of the sugar. Beat in the soft butter until quite stiff. Beat egg whites until stiff and add remaining sugar a little at a time. Fold into egg yolk mixture. Add vanilla and nut meats. Pineapple filling 1 13 oz. can of crushed pineapples 1/4 cup water 1/4 cup sugar 1 Tbsp cornstarch (level) Cook until thick, stir in 2 Tbsp. butter while warm. Cool before using. Top with the following: 3/4 cup flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1/3 cup butter mixed together until ingredients are crumbly. Poppy seed Filling Put 1/4 lb. freshly ground poppy seed into a small pan, add 1/2 cup or less of water to moisten and cook through a little. When thickened, pour enough milk, about 1/2 cup, to cover. Continue cooking slowly for about 10 minutes being careful that it does not scorch. Stir frequently! Add 1 Tbsp butter, 1/2 tsp vanilla, 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 cup sugar. Continue cooking for about 5 minutes and remove from heat. If the mixture is too soft, add crushed vanilla wafers or graham crackers. Homemade Poppy seed filling: 1 cup ground poppy seed, 1/4 cup milk, 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice or 1/2 tsp vanilla, 1/4 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 cup sugar. Blend all ingredients and simmer for 5 minutes. Let cool before filling Kolache. Will fill one dozen or more. Prune filling 1-16 oz. package of pitted prunes 1 cup water 1/2 cup sugar 1 tsp lemon juice 1 tsp lemon rind 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp allspice Cook prunes with sugar in the water using low heat. Stir constantly (a potato masher is useful for this task) until smooth and thick. Add lemon juice and spices. May be prepared before starting kolache dough and stored in a freezer. For a crunch topping: 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 Tbsp butter and 1/8 tsp cinnamon mixed together until ingredients are crumbly. Homemade Prune filling: Cook 1 lb. prunes until very tender, remove seeds and sweeten to taste. Add 1/8 tsp cloves and grated rind of 1/2 lemon, if the flavor is desired. Cook until quite thick. (A little vanilla improves the taste.) Toppings for Kolaches: Posipka (Streusel): 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup flour, 1/3 cup melted butter. Mix together until crumbly. Sprinkle on top of Kolache before baking. (Much improved by addition of a few chopped nuts or coconut). Simple Icing: 1/2 lb. powdered sugar, 1 tsp vanilla. Sweet cream, enough to make thin enough to spread with a spoon. To be applied after Kolache is cool. For extra glamour, add few chopped pecans or shredded coconut after icing. -- ~~Rec.food.recipes is moderated; only recipes and recipe requests are accepted for posting. Please read the FAQ posted each week. Please send recipes, requests, questions or comments to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please allow several days for your submission to appear.
