These cookies are a big tradition for us-they are my husbands absolute favorite. He has Czech heritage & his mother has made them his entire life. The word Kolache can mean quite a few different things depending on what region of Europe your family is from. To us they mean cookies! The best way to describe these cookies is that they taste like little bites of pie. The cookie itself is not sweet, but its flaky soft and tender. The jam in the center adds the sweetness & a dusting of powdered sugar at the end is optional. They taste great with or without it. Don't be surprised if you come back to make them a second time before christmas- they will disappear fast. You can also cut these cookies out in a square shape and fold the edges in to make them look like a little bow almost. But, for the sake of simplicity and following my husbands family tradition I usually just opt to make them circular. As always- please use the gram measurements for accurate results.

I also have a grain free version of this recipe that I am posting here in the club created a few years back! :) If that is your preference or dietary need you will be able to find those here in the club as well!

I’m having some issues with my dropbox this week and as a result at the moment cant get all my beautiful photos of these cookies posted! But once I get it working I will be updating this post with more :)

Better Batter Original Blend: I opted for this flour as I have found its a dream for bread recipes and is rises so nicely! Natalie (the company owner) has since released a new artisan blend that does not have any gum in it. It uses psyllium husk instead. I bought a bag- but have not done enough testing with it to know if it will sub properly cup for cup in my bread recipes using the original blend.

I typically buy my better batter on amazon. This time of year it seems to sell out as Amazon keeps running out of stock for a day or two! But, I believe Walmart carries it in the store & I have ordered it from the Walmart website to ship to my house. I’m always nervous to order from Walmart (Never do store pickup haha. Its always a nightmare at my store anyways). But, shipping direct to my house seems to be pretty quick and dependable.

Better Batter so kindly offered me a 35% off promo code to share with all of you! This can be used as often as you would like for every single purchase made directly on BetterBatter.com Use the code: BakingAngell35

Gluten Free & Egg Free European Kolache Cookies

Author: Brittany Angell

Prep time: 20 MinCook time: 18 MinTotal time: 38 Min

These cookies are a big tradition for us-they are my husbands absolute favorite. He has Czech heritage & his mother has made them his entire life. The word Kolache can mean quite a few different things depending on what region of Europe your family is from. To us they mean cookies! The best way to describe these cookies is that they taste like little bites of pie. The cookie itself is not sweet, but its flaky soft and tender. The jam in the center adds the sweetness & a dusting of powdered sugar at the end is optional. They taste great with or without it. Don't be surprised if you come back to make them a second time before christmas- they will disappear fast. You can also cut these cookies out in a square shape and fold the edges in to make them look like a little bow almost. But, for the sake of simplicity and following my husbands family tradition I usually just opt to make them circular. As always- please use the gram measurements for accurate results.

Ingredients

6 Ounces Cream Cheese
8 Ounces Slightly Softened Salted Butter ( 2 Sticks/16 tbsp)
2 1/2 Cups (301 g) Better Batter Original Blend.
About 1/2-cup Jam of Choice (We use raspberry or a berry of any kind and then also apricot jam)
Optional: Powdered sugar to sprinkle on after they cool.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment. Set aside.
Add to the bowl of a stand mixer the cream cheese and butter. Beat on low gradually increasing the speed to high using the paddle attachment. Whip on high for about 30-45 seconds.
Add in the flour and mix on low again gradually increasing the speed until a smooth thick dough forms.
Place a large sheet of parchment on your counter & sprinkle some better batter flour on it to prevent sticking. Add your dough and sprinkle some flour on top of it. Roll it out to roughly 1/4 inch thick (or a little thicker). Using a 2 inch wide rough cookie or biscuit cutter- cut out about 33 circles total. This will require rolling out the dough several times to use all if it. Place half of the cookies on each prepared cookie sheet.
Using a spoon or adding the jam to a small ziplock bag or piping bag with the tip cut off. Add about 1- 1 1/2 tsp of jam to the center of each cookie.
Bake one sheet at a time on the middle rack of your oven for 15-18 minutes until the bottom edges are golden brown. Allow to cool completely and then sift on some powdered sugar. Store at room temperature in a sealed container or freezer for another day.

Notes

Dairy Free Directions:

I have made these cookies Dairy Free before. While they tasted good for sure the texture did change some. They do taste best using regular cream cheese. However, if you are allergic to dairy and really want to give them a go- then I would suggest using tofutti vegan cream cheese. I find it is the closest to the real thing. Daiya is not edible (sorry but its true) & kite hill is delicious for a bagel but it does not bake in a comparable way to regular cream cheese.

For the butter I always recommend earth balance buttery sticks as I find they perform the closest to real butter!

When making these cookies dairy free I find they taste best the next day when they have had a chance to full cool and set up properly. They are still enjoyable even with the changes in texture.