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If you’re after a buttery, flaky treat that melts in your mouth, look no further than kolachy cookies. These traditional Eastern European pastries are made with a simple dough of butter, cream cheese and flour, then filled with jam and sweetened cream cheese. Their elegant look and rich flavor make them perfect for holidays, cookie swaps or just a cozy baking day. You only need a few ingredients, and they’re easier to make than they look.
Kolachy cookies are soft, flaky pastries with a sweet and delicious jam and cream cheese filling. They’re festive, nostalgic and perfect for any cookie tray.
Love festive baking? Also try Italian chocolate roll cookies, canestrelli cookies, Italian fig cookies, and cinnamon lattice cookies.
Why You’ll Love It
Easy to make: No specialist bakery knowledge is needed for making these tasty sweet snacks. In fact, you’ll love how straightforward the recipe is.
So delicious: The main reason these are so popular is their incredible flavor. Anyone who loves sweet treats is going to enjoy homemade kolachies.
Versatile: You can fill kolache cookies with any filling you want, so feel free to experiment with different flavors!
Kolachy Cookie Ingredients
A complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Unsalted butter: For richness in the pastry.
Cream cheese: Used in both the dough and filling for tang and softness.
All-purpose flour: Gives the dough structure without making it heavy.
Powdered sugar: Sweetens the filling and adds a pretty finish on top.
Jam: Adds color and fruity sweetness in every bite.
How to Make Kolachy Cookies
For more detailed instructions with weights and measurements, jump to the printable recipe card.
Make the dough: Cream together the butter and cream cheese, then mix in the flour.
Chill the dough: Divide into 2 balls, then wrap and refrigerate for a few hours.
Prepare the filling: Combine powdered sugar with cream cheese until smooth.
Roll and cut: Roll out the dough thinly, then cut into squares.
Fill and fold: Add a small amount of filling and jam, then fold and seal the edges.
Bake the cookies: Bake until golden, then dust with powdered sugar.
Substitutions and Variations
Try different jam flavors: Apricot, raspberry or blackberry all work well. You could even use homemade blueberry jam, orange and cranberry jam or cherry jam.
Make it nutty: Add finely chopped walnuts to the filling for texture.
Go citrusy: Mix in a little lemon or orange zest with the cream cheese.
Use puff pastry: For a shortcut, use ready-made puff pastry instead of homemade dough.
Serving Suggestions
With a festive cocktail: If you’re making a batch for Christmas then consider making Santa hat cocktails or some white Christmas punch to go with them.
With other sweet treats: Enjoy some reindeer cookies, melted snowman cookie bark or Christmas tree cupcakes too.
How to Store Kolachy Cookies
Store: After baking, let the cookies cool to room temperature. You can store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4 days.
Freeze: You can also freeze these kolacky cookies in an airtight, freezer safe container for several months. Because of the jam filling, for best results place parchment paper between layers.|
Thaw: Defrost on the counter for an hour or so, or overnight in the fridge.
Top Tips
Keep the dough cold: Cold dough is easier to handle and keeps its shape better.
Seal with water: Lightly wetting the corners helps keep them folded during baking.
Don’t overfill: Too much filling will cause them to burst open in the oven.
Use parchment paper: This prevents sticking and makes cleanup easier.
Kolachy FAQs
Yes, you can freeze kolachy cookie dough ahead of Christmas baking. Wrap dough well in plastic wrap and place in an airtight freezer safe container. Defrost it in the refrigerator overnight before using to bake cookies.
Kolachy cookies originated in central Europe as a wedding dessert and later became popular in parts of the US and South London. The name comes from the Old Slavic word kolo, meaning wheel, which explains their sometimes circular shape. Czech immigrants brought them to the US in the late 1800s, and today they’re enjoyed in both sweet and savory forms, especially during the holidays. Different spellings like kolache, kolacky or kolaczki reflect regional and linguistic variations.
A lot of people in the US actually call sausage-filled Czech pastries ‘kolachys’ but technically those are ‘klobasniky’ which have a similar shape and pastry type. However, klobasniky were invented by second generation Czech-Texans.
To keep them pinched together, leave the cream cheese dough slightly sticky. Don’t sprinkle it with excessive flour when rolling it out. This will seal the dough when it joins over the filling and prevent it from breaking open during baking.
Kolachy Cookies Recipe
Kolachy Cookies
Ingredients
For the Cookies
- 1 Cup unsalted butter
- 8 Ounces cream cheese
- 2 ¼ Cups all purpose flour
For the Filling
- 4 Ounces cream cheese
- 2 Tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1 Cup jam, I used strawberry
Instructions
- In the bowl of a mixer, cream together the butter and cream cheese until fluffy.
- Slowly mix in the flour to incorporate. You might not need it all.
- Remove the dough and separate into 2 pieces. Make 2 dough balls, wrap in plastic wrap and then refrigerate for a few hours.
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Prepare baking sheets with parchment and set aside.
- For the filling, mix the powdered sugar with the cream cheese until combined.
- Roll out one dough ball and make it as thin as you can.
- Cut the dough into a big square and then remove the edges. Next, cut it into 2-inch squares.
- On the diagonal of each small square, apply about half a teaspoon of the cream cheese mixture and the same amount of jam. Fold one edge in and then the other. Seal the edges with water.
- Bake for approximately 12 minutes. Sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar before serving.
Notes
Seal with water: Lightly wetting the corners helps keep them folded during baking.
Don’t overfill: Too much filling will cause them to burst open in the oven.
Use parchment paper: This prevents sticking and makes cleanup easier.
Nutrition
Kolachy cookies are a nostalgic treat that combine buttery, melt-in-your-mouth pastry with a burst of fruity filling. With just a handful of ingredients and simple steps, they’re easy to make but taste bakery-quality. Dust them with powdered sugar for a pretty finish, and serve at gatherings, celebrations or just as a sweet pick-me-up with your coffee. These cookies are tasty, versatile and memorable.
Other Recipes to Try
Bella Bucchiotti
Bella Bucchiotti is a Canadian-based syndicated food, travel, and lifestyle writer, photographer, and creator at xoxoBella. She founded xoxoBella in 2015, where she shares her love for food, dogs, sustainability, fitness, crafts, outdoor adventures, travel, and philanthropy to encourage others to run the extra mile, try new recipes, visit unfamiliar places, and stand for a cause. Bella creates stress-free and family-friendly recipes for weeknight dinners and festive feasts.
These cookies were a hit! The flaky dough made them melt in your mouth.
These cookies were a holiday hit, everyone loved them!
My recipe calls for simmered dried apricots. Jam would be great, but, that apricot is delicious too.
Yum, I have to try that next.
One of my favorites!!
These look so yummy! I need to make them this weekend
I’ve never tried these! They sound delicious, I need to make them