Apricot Kolaches & Christmas Cookie Baking
I finally got around to some Christmas cookie baking this weekend, and the highlight for my gang is the Apricot Kolaches.
Mine are not quite as perfect and beautiful as Grandma used to make, but they are getting thumbs ups around here. Apricot Kolaches are a traditional Polish tender cream cheese pastry cookie with a sweet-tart apricot filling. Grandma was 100% Polish, and her cooking and baking were like none other!
I remember Grandma painstakingly measuring each 2 inch by 2 inch square so that every singly one looked exactly the same. I don’t have nearly the patience, but I smile remembering those days in the kitchen with her. I can also now relate to the aching back and feet she had at the end of the day after rolling, cutting, filling, folding, baking, cooling, packing up… And I wish I had a young Jodi to rub my feet and massage my legs with Jergen’s cherry almond lotion like I did for Grandma in the evening after an all-day baking session.
But the joy on Marty’s and Nick’s faces and the “Mmmmm’s” that escape their lips between bites make it all worth it!
(and then I have to hurry up and freeze some or they would be gone quicker than it takes me to clean up the dishes!)
I also made some of my Jodi’s Almost Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies – a perennial favorite around here…
…as well as some with dried blueberries and white chocolate chips using the same recipe (another of Marty’s faves).
And it wouldn’t be Christmas without some Peanut Butter Blossoms…
And gotta have some Pittsburgh Thumbprint cookies too. I made a batch with chocolate fudge and another with colorful sprinkles and green icing centers.
Here is the recipe I use for the Apricot Kolaches.
(The Chocolate Chips and Pittsburgh Thumbprints can be found by following the links to previous posts.)
APRICOT KOLACHES
2 8-oz blocks of cream cheese, softened
2 cups (4 sticks) butter, softened
5 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups apricot preserves or apricot filling (I use Baker’s)
1 Egg, beaten
Confectioner’s (Powdered) Sugar, for dusting
Beat cream cheese and butter on medium-high speed of stand mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Turn mixer on low, and gradually mix in the flour until a smooth dough forms.
Knead dough on lightly floured work surface, and gently form a ball. Divide dough into fourths, flatten, and wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 4 hours.
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line cookie sheet or baking stone with parchment paper. Working with one piece of dough at a time (after bringing back to room temperature from refrigeration), roll out to approximately 1/8 inch thick rectangle. Trim edges and cut dough into 2 inch squares.
Spoon about 1/2 teaspoon of apricot filling into the center of each square.
Fold one corner into the center, dab with the beaten egg, then bring the opposite corner into the center and press firmly to seal.
Place on parchment-lined cookie sheet, and bake for approximately 10 minutes.
Dust with confectioner’s sugar and cool on wire rack.
These cookies freeze well, and thaw quickly.
This recipe makes about a million …. or at least feels like it when you are making them! 🙂
I hope you and your family will try these and enjoy them as much as we do.
Cheers & Sweet Hugs,
Jodi
Those Kolaches look amazing!
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☺️thanks. They are a labor of love and remembrance of my grandma ❤️
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They look so pretty! What special memories they hold for you! 💕🎄😘
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They really do. ☺️❤️
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They look beautiful and are so special!
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☺️❤️
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I would really like to try these Jodi!
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I hope you will 😉👍❤️
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yummmm
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I love the apricot thingies – might have to try those…. !
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They aren’t hard. Just a bit tedious. Well worth it though 😉
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These look great and I am sure they are tasty as well. Gary
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👍😉
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Oh my, everything looks so delicious, Jodi. I always loved the cookies my mother made at Christmas. There is something so special about Christmas cookies, they leave lasting memories of happy times.
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Isn’t that so??!!❤️🌲
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They all look so divine! You are the cookie queen! YUM!
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☺️
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Thanks for sharing this recipe. I hope to make these. I hope you have a nice holiday.
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Thank you! Hope you enjoy!
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This looks gorgeous!
A Merry Christmas to you and yours, Jodi, see you next year❣️🎄🤶❤️🌿❤️🌿🎅
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Merry Christmas Dina!
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I will be baking cookies later this week Jodi, and your kolaches are surprisingly easy! I was expecting a much more complicated recipe for something so pretty!
Jenna
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Right?! Simple ingredients – just a little tedious to fill and fold and seal, but all in all no that difficult!
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I don’t even LIKE apricots and how I want some.
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You can fill them with your favorite flavor 🙂
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Mmmmmmmmm…..black rasberry. Black cherry. Oh the possibilities!
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Looks too yummy………..loved it. 🙂
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Thanks!
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Lots of yummy little goodies to eat here 🙂 I have yet to have an apricot kolache. 🙂 Your kolaches look so divine Jodi 🙂
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☺️
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Thanks for posting these again, Jodi! I already made the kolache cookies, and they taste so good. (Although I did learn the hard way not to skip the step with the egg whites. That really is what keeps them folded together. One day I need to stop looking for shortcuts when I’m cooking….) But they are great cookies and I think I’ll be making them every year!
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lol – you are right – the trickiest part about making these is assuring you “seal” the corners so they don’t pop open. The most tedious part, but important. Enjoy them! ❤
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So glad I found this recipe! I am making cookies for my son’s wedding (in Pittsburgh) and my future daughter-in-law asked for these specifically! Do you dust with powdered sugar before freezing or after?
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Yay!! I just made some for a wedding this week too 👍😉. I dust with powdered sugar before freezing. Enjoy!
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