Blueberry Kolaches Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What makes a kolache a kolache? ›

Kolaches are Czech pastries made of a yeast dough and usually filled with fruit, but sometimes cheese.

In appearance, they resemble a danish, but there is a difference: danish dough is light and flaky whereas a kolache tends to be slightly more dense and sweet with the dough being similar to brioche.

A kolache is a pastry traditionally eaten for breakfast, and found in the Central and Southeastern regions of Texas. The fluffy dough has a consistency like that of a yeast roll and is stuffed with variations of sweet or savory ingredients.

The most common flavors are: prune, poppy seed, cream cheese, and apricot. I've also seen blueberry, cherry, and lemon. I'm willing to talk about savory kolaches with eggs, bacon and sausage, but honestly, I didn't grow up on those.

Czechia, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, and Croatia all made their own versions of kolache, with various spellings (and the Russian kulich can be seen as its Orthodox cousin). Bohemians and Moravians paired the pastry with povidla, a kind of plum butter.

In Texas, klobasnek are often called kolaches by people not of Czech origin whereas Texans of Czech ancestry refer to the savory doughs as klobasnek.

Klobasniky (Savory Kolaches)

kolache (plural kolaches) A pastry consisting of a filling (typically fruit or cheese) inside a bread roll, popular in the United States.

Kolache dough is enriched with A LOT of butter and A LOT of egg. It is a pretty sticky dough and because of that, I find that it benefits from a long overnight rise in the refrigerator. This makes the dough much easier to handle, shape and work with so that it is not over-floured and tough.

While kolaches are a Czechoslovakian creation that arrived here in Texas in the 1800s along with thousands of Czech immigrants, the sausage-filled impostor is unique to Texas, and actually called a klobasnek (pronounced CLOW-boss-neck).

What is ranchero kolache? ›

The #1 seller in our egg offerings. Scrambled eggs mixed with ground ham, picante sauce, cheese and jalapeños will kick start your day in the right direction.

The traditional 'big three' flavors are apricot, prune, and cheese. South Texans think of meat fillings when they think of kolaches, but traditionally kolaches are only filled with fruit. Dough filled with meat are klobasnek, wrapped in flakier, more buttery dough than the one used to make kolaches.

Smith said one kolache only contains between 100 and 250 calories, depending on the size and filling. Compared to a plain doughnut, which ranges between 160 and 300 calories before any filling or icing is added, it definitely makes more of a mark in the healthy arena.

For the dough

Whisk flour, yeast, and salt together in bowl of stand mixer. Whisk milk, melted butter, sugar, egg, and egg yolks in a 4-cup measuring cup until sugar has dissolved.

Texas Kolaches—savory beef/pork and cheddar sausage is surrounded by fluffy bread dough and baked until browned.

Kolache is the plural form of kolach, which indicates one, single pastry despite many Texans still adding an extra “s” to indicate many “kolaches” (plural).

In some places, particularly Texas, you'll hear the word kolache used for a savory, sausage-based snack called klobasnek. Sometimes a klobasnek is called a sausage kolache. While many people will know what this means, it's not strictly true (and a lot of Czech Americans don't like it!). Kolache are always sweet.

By the early 1900s more than 9,000 Czech people had immigrated to Texas. They brought with them recipes for koláč—hand-sized circles of yeasty baked dough, imbued with fillings like apricot, prune, and sweetened soft cheeses.

Kolaches are a traditional Czech dessert. The name originates from the Czech word “kolo,” which means “circle.” In Czech, a single one is called a kolache, and more than one is called kolaches – though in America, you may hear them called kolaches.