Quick & Easy Kolache Recipe
Kolaches: Harbingers of Happiness
Reading Time: 3 minutes
Make delicious kolaches with this quick & easy kolache recipe with fruit filling that is perfect for any potluck or gathering.
by Dorothy Rieke
Satisfaction feeds on the thrills of accomplishment, the realization of blessings, and our gratitude. Recently, I felt satisfaction, which radiated into excellent happiness when I baked kolache for a neighbor.
I was first introduced to kolache when they were served for school lunches in a Bohemian community where I taught. The school cooks were experts at making these light, delicate rolls with fruit-filled centers.
I soon learned that one must use a well-tested recipe, employ certain skills, and follow directions to make these. My first attempt created hard, dry, flat, and unappetizing kolache that could have served as frisbees.
Not one to give up, I eventually learned the secrets to making the highly delicate rolls similar to those I’d tasted. Because kolache required no kneading, I often made them for potlucks, coffees, and other social occasions.
I’ve contributed different foods to the annual firefighters’ potluck in past years, though these kolache have been the clear favorite. One of the men explained to my husband, “I’m taking one of these to Dad. He said he didn’t feel well enough to attend, but if there were kolache, he wanted one.”
After my husband told me of the incident, I received a phone call thanking me for the treat.
Several days later, on a sunny day perfect for making yeast rolls, I mixed up a batch of kolache. We took some that were warm from the oven to our neighbor. The reception of the gift, bringing smiles and a grateful attitude, all attested to the fact that we had brought “happiness” with us. Indeed, happiness was there.
Creating happiness is usually easy if we take the time to act. Smiles, phone calls, greetings, or small gifts are harbingers of happiness. It doesn’t have to be a special occasion to give the gift of happiness, but helping others makes it a special occasion.
Quick & Easy Kolache Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 package of yeast (2-1/4 teaspoons)
- 3/4 cup milk, warmed
- 1/4 cup shortening
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
- 2 egg whites beaten stiffly
- Fillings such as apricot, cherry, peach, date, or apple. Fillings can be purchased in plastic tubes or canned pie filling may be used.
- 3 cups all-purpose flour. Note: using 1/2 cup high gluten bread flour and 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour improves this product.
Instructions:
- Dissolve 1 package dry granular yeast in 1/4 cup lukewarm water. Heat the milk to lukewarm. Pour the milk into a large bowl. Add the shortening, sugar, and salt. Add the yeast and water to the liquid ingredients.
- Add 2 cups of unsifted all-purpose flour and beat well. In separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff and add to mixture. Add another cup of unsifted all-purpose flour.
- Cover and set aside to rise in a warm place. Roll out on a lightly floured board to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut into 2-inch rounds with a cookie cutter. Press fingers in center of each round to make a large enough depression to hold 1 teaspoon filling. Place on a baking sheet. Let rise, covered until double in bulk.
- Bake at 375 degrees F for 15 minutes until lightly browned. Remove from oven. If desired, you may dribble vanilla/lemon powdered sugar icing over the tops.
Dorothy Rieke, living in southeast Nebraska, is married to Kenneth and has one daughter. She has lived on farms all her life and has raised both chickens and turkeys.
Originally published in the March/April 2024 issue of Countryside and Small Stock Journal and regularly vetted for accuracy.
