Texas Cream Cheese Kolaches
A delicious Texas pastry tradition with Czech roots.
A kolache is a Czech pastry, right? It is. But Texas, believe it or not, has become known for them too. The Lonestar State has a style of making them that’s all their own and they can be found in bakeries and roadside stands across the state. Like the saying goes, everything is bigger in Texas, and that’s true of their Kolaches too. The Texas Kolache tradition originated with Czech immigrants who settled in central Texas, and over the years the Texas Kolache has become a taller, fluffier pastry than the original. You can stuff them with preserves, jam, even sausage, but here they’re filled simply with a silky cream cheese mixture that’s hard to resist.
What Ingredients Do You Need for Texas Cream Cheese Kolaches?
There’s the dough, the filling, and the topping (posypka), but they share many ingredients. You’ll need:
- Flour.
- Butter.
- Sugar.
- Eggs.
- Milk
- Cream cheese.
- A pinch of cinnamon.
- Active dry yeast.
How do You Make Texas Cream Cheese Kolaches?
These involve a few rises so they take some patience, but don’t be intimidated. It’s a yeasted dough, but a forgiving one!
The first step is to mix your yeast with some warm water and sugar to make sure it’s still active. I like to do this and just let it sit while I start to mix the other ingredients. By the time I come back to it, it should be nice and bubbly. If your’s isn’t, that’s usually an indicator that your yeast is dead.
While the yeast starts working, whisk together the sugar, milk, some melted butter, and an egg yolk in a mixing bowl. Mix in the yeast mixture once it’s ready.
Add the flour just a cup at a time, stirring it all together with each addition. The dough will be sticky, so you want to dust your countertop generously with flour before turning your dough out onto it. Knead the dough for about ten minutes. It will still be sticky but should become smooth.
Grease a big bowl with butter or oil, then place the kneaded dough ball in it, cover the bowl and leave it in a warm spot for about an hour. It should about double in size during that time, but again, this dough is pretty forgiving if it hasn’t and you need to move on.
Punch the dough down to de-gas it a bit and then roll it into a log shape. Cut it into 12 equal-ish rounds and then roll each one into a ball. Grease a 9×13-inch pan and place the balls in it lined up in rows of three and brush the tops with some melted butter. You guessed it: more rising. Let it rest for 30 minutes this time; this helps to relax the dough before you make some indents.
Go ahead and make the filling by beating together the cream cheese, sugar, an egg yolk, and some vanilla. Using the bottom of a quarter cup measuring cup, press down on each dough ball to create a well. Spoon some of the filling into each well, about a tablespoon or so. Brush the sides with some melted butter and then it’s time for the topping, or posypka.
A posypka is a little finer than a streusel but the same general idea. Stir together some sugar, cinnamon, and flour and then cut in butter until you have fine crumbs. Sprinkle about a teaspoon of the mixture over each kolache. And then… one final rise!
Cover the kolaches and let them rest again for an hour or two. They should rise enough that they’re mostly touching each other in the pan and should look puffy. The final wait is just for a quick 30 minute bake. After that, you’ll have sweet fluffy dough with a silky cream cheese center. They’re irresistible for breakfast, dessert, or an anytime snack!
Texas Cream Cheese Kolaches
For the dough:
- 1/4 cup warm water
- 1 packet (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick), melted, plus more for brushing dough
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg yolk
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
For the filling:
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the topping:
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons butter
Preparation
- In a small bowl, stir together the warm water, yeast, and a pinch of the sugar. Let rest for 5 minutes. Yeast should be bubbly. If not, your yeast might be too old.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, milk, melted butter, and egg yolk. Add the yeast mixture and whisk to combine.
- Add the flour 1 cup at a time, stirring in between each addition until a sticky dough starts to form.
- Dust a countertop or work surface generously with flour, then turn dough out and knead dough for 10 minutes. It will be sticky.
- Grease a clean bowl, then place dough in it, cover, and let rise for 1 hour.
- Punch dough down to de-gas, then roll it into a log and cut it into 12 equal slices. Roll into balls, then place into a greased 9x13-inch pan. Brush the tops with melted butter, then cover and let rise 30 minutes.
- While dough rises, make the filling:
- In a clean bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla.
- Make a well in the center of each dough ball by pressing a 1/4 cup measuring cup dusted with flour into the center. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the filling into each well. Brush sides with melted butter.
- To make the topping, stir together flour, sugar, and cinnamon, then cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle a teaspoon or two over each kolache.
- Cover and let rise 1-2 hours more.
- Preheat oven to 350°F, then bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool 1 hour before slicing and serving. Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from My Tx Kitchen.