KOLACHE TEXAS RECIPES

Steps:

• Heat milk in a small saucepan over medium heat until it begins to bubble. Remove from heat immediately. Stir sugar, salt, and 1/4 cup butter into the milk and stir until sugar is dissolved. Set aside to cool to room temperature, about 10 minutes.
• Combine warm water and yeast in the large bowl of a stand mixer and stir until dissolved. Stir in cooled milk mixture, eggs, and 2 cups flour. Beat using the dough hook attachment until smooth. Add remaining flour, mixing as you go, just until dough is elastic and slightly stiff, but not dry.
• Turn dough out onto a floured board and knead until smooth and very elastic, 10 to 15 minutes. Coat dough lightly with butter or oil and place in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let sit in a warm place to double in size, about 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, cut sausages in half and pat dry; this is important. Thinly slice Cheddar cheese block from the short end so that each slice of cheese is about the same length as the halved sausages.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly oil a baking sheet.
• Turn risen dough out onto a very lightly floured board. Roll into a log, cut into 5 equal pieces, and cut each piece into quarters to make 20 equal-sized pieces of dough. Use the palm of your hand to flatten and press 1 piece into a circle or oval. Place the circle on the board and add 1 piece of Cheddar cheese topped with 1 dry halved sausage. Roll dough around fillings and very tightly pinch all seams together to seal. Smooth seams down and place kolache on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough and filling to make 20 kolaches.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden, 12 to 15 minutes.

Steps:

• Sprinkle yeast over warm water; stir to combine. Set aside. Place butter and shortening in a large microwavable bowl, and microwave on HIGH until melted, about 1 minute. Stir to combine. Whisk in lukewarm whole milk and yeast mixture.
• Transfer mixture to bowl of a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment. Sift 3 cups of the flour over mixture. Add evaporated milk, sugar, salt, eggs, and egg yolk. Beat on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Remove whisk attachment; replace with dough hook. Gradually add remaining 3 cups flour; beat on medium speed until dough is smooth, about 2 minutes. Let sit at room temperature 5 minutes; beat on medium-high speed until elastic and very smooth, 10 minutes.
• Brush top of dough with 1 tablespoon of the melted butter. Cover bowl with plastic wrap; let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Punch dough down, and re-cover. Let rise until doubled, about 30 more minutes.
• While dough rises, prepare desired Filling. For Apricot/Plum Filling: Place apricots or plums in a heavy saucepan. Cover with water; bring to a boil over medium-high. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until the fruit is soft and tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat, and let fruit cool completely in liquid, around 15 minutes. Drain and discard liquid; place in a food processor. Add sugar, melted butter, vanilla, and cinnamon. Process until smooth, about 30 seconds. For Poppy Seed Filling: Stir together poppy seeds, sugar, and flour in a medium bowl. Heat milk in a heavy saucepan over medium-high until milk just comes to a boil, 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low; add poppy seed mixture to milk. Cook, stirring constantly, until thick, about 1 minute. Remove from heat, and stir in butter and vanilla. Cool completely, about 15 minutes. For Cream Cheese Filling: Combine cream cheese, sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla or almond extract in bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium speed until completely smooth and combined, about 1 minute, stopping to scrape the sides and bottom of bowl as necessary.
• Generously flour a work surface. Gently roll dough out to a 1-inch-thick rectangle (about 18 x 14 inches). Using a 2-inch round cutter, cut out circles, and place 1 inch apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Brush tops with 2 tablespoons of the melted butter. Let rise in a warm place until almost doubled in bulk, about 20 minutes.
• While dough rises, make the Posypka (Streusel Topping): Use a pastry cutter or your fingers to combine sugar, flour, butter, and vanilla or ground cinnamon to form a crumbly texture. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
• Use your fingers to make 1 small indentation in center of each dough circle, and fill each with about 1 tablespoon Filling. Sprinkle each kolache with 1 to 2 teaspoons Posypka. Let rise until doubled in size, 20 to 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Position racks in top third and lower third of oven. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes, rotating baking sheets between top and bottom racks halfway through the baking time. Remove from oven. Brush with remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter. Transfer kolaches to wire racks. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.