Happy Black Friday! I, for one, will be avoiding brick and mortar stores at all costs today. Having worked more than a decade in the retail industry I remember the mayhem that could ensue with those door buster deals. And don't even get me started on the parking drama. Thanks, but I'll pass! I'm much rather stay at home and bake.
Kolaches have been on my baking bucket list for quite some time now, but life seemed to get in the way and it fell by the wayside. No better time than the present to give them a try. I first became aware of these Czech pastries on an episode of Cook's Country. Apparently they are quite popular in Texas and some Midwestern states. Who would have known?
What really intrigued me about the kolaches was the combination of a soft, buttery bread filled in the center with cream cheese or fruit. Normally you see that combination in a laminated dough, like a Danish. I decided to make my kolaches with cream cheese and fruit because two fillings are obviously better than one, right? For the cream cheese filling I used a recipe I found for cheese Danish from the NY Times. For the fruit filling I had to go with my all-time favorite, pineapple!
The kolache dough was a dream to work with, i.e., really pliable and easy to shape. Creating the round indentations in the center of the dough balls was a snap with a greased 1/3 cup measuring cup. To fill the kolaches with limited mess I used pastry decorating bags but you can easily substitute with Ziploc bags. A brush of egg wash and a generous sprinkle of streusel and the kolaches were ready for the oven.
The smells emanating from the oven while the kolaches baked were absolutely intoxicating and I couldn't wait to see how they turned out. While they looked great I was really hoping that they tasted even better. I'm very happy to report I wasn't disappointed! The buttery bread was so soft and light and the duo of cream cheese and pineapple fillings was perfect. No need to fly to Texas, I'll definitely be baking these kolaches again.
