Marian,
I am not Czech, but my aunt is and her mother was a wonderful cook. She was diabetic and could not eat them, but made literally hundreds of kolaches everyday for other people. I have never tasted any that compared to hers. When I was young, she tried to tell me how to make them. She never really measured anything so she did the best she could to cut down to normal proportions a recipe that I could follow. I hope this will help you some. I posted a request for kolaches earlier, because I like to try different recipes. I also have several Czech recipe books that I bought at a polka fest that comes to our town every year. The recipes were translated to English from a Czech recipe book. I will give you the recipes from them. If there is anything else I can look up for you, just let me know. Marcell


Mary Puska's Kolache Dough &
Cottage Cheese Filling


1 pkg. dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water

1 cup scalded milk, cooled to lukewarm
1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
3-3 1/2 cups flour
1 egg, beaten well

Dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup water. Mix milk, butter, sugar, salt, and half of flour; add yeast. Mix well; let stand about 20 minutes.
Add egg and enough flour to be sticky but not stiff (soft dough). Beat till smooth.
Let rise; beat down.
Let rise again; beat down.
Roll out 1/2 inch thick and cut like biscuits. Put on greased cookie sheet and let rise.
Lightly press down middle with fingers and add filling and topping. Let rise again. Brush with melted butter and bake at 350o till light golden.

Cottage Cheese Filling

Warm carton of cottage cheese till white liquid sort of dissolves; drain. Add 1 egg yolk, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 Tbls. flour and 1 Tbls. butter.

Topping:

1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter

Mix until it looks like cornmeal. Sprinkle over kolaches.


These are from the books.


The Best Kolaches
(Nejlepsi Kolace)

1 Tbls. sugar
2 pkgs. yeast
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups warm milk
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbls. soft butter
2 tsp. salt
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
6 1/4 cups sifted flour

Dissolve sugar and yeast in warm water. Add remaining ingredients and mix until dough is elastic. Place the dough in a greased bowl; let rise in warm place until doubled in bulk. Roll out on floured board. Pinch off small pieces of dough and make into balls; place in greased pans. Brush with melted butter. Press centers down with two fingers and fill with desired filling. Sprinkle with streusel topping; let rise again until light. Bake at 400o for about 25 to 30 minutes . The dough balls may be frozen on cookie sheet. Put into freezer bags and use as desired.

Fruit fillings:

Combine 1 pound of dried fruit (prunes, apricots, apples, etc.) and 1/3 cup water. Cook on very low heat until tender. Mash up fruit and sweeten with 1/2 cup sugar or more to taste.

You can also add cinnamon, nutmeg, or mace to taste to any of the fillings and raisins to the cottage cheese filling.

Poppy Seed Filling #1

Grind seed in grinder or pound in cloth bag with hammer. Add enough milk to soak seed. Simmer very slowly until most of the milk is boiled out. Add sugar to taste. Add a little flour very slowly and stir until it thickens. Add desired flavoring (almond or vanilla). Cool. Chopped pecans or coconut may be added, if desired.

Poppy Seed Filling #2

1 1/4 cups milk
3 cups ground poppy seed
6 Tbls. sugar
1/4 tsp. allspice

Bring the milk to a boil and add the poppy seed. boil yntil thick and add sugar and allspice. Cool.

Poppy Seed Filling #3

1/2 cup ground poppy seed
1/2 sugar
pinch of salt
1 tsp. flour
1 cup milk

Combine all ingredients and cook slowly until mixture begins to thicken. Add 1/2 tsp. vanilla and let cool.


Cabbage Filling

1 head cabbage
2 Tbls. butter
2 Tbls. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Shred a small head of cabbage. Melt butter in a large skillet. Put in shredded cabbage; add rest of ingredients. Saute until limp. Cool and fill kolaches or kolache pie and top with crumble topping.

Crumble topping:

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
3 Tbls. butter

Mix sugar and flour. Melt butter and pour over while cutting in with a fork.


For filled kolaches:
Take portions of dough and mold out flat on a floured board and place about 3/4 tsp. prepared filling in center and fold up side of dough pinching it together to seal in filling. Place seam side down on greased pan and brush tops with melted butter and let rise. Bake at 350o until brown. Sugar may be sprinkled on top after baking.

Pies:
Using same dough, roll out enough dough to fill a pie plate. Top with one or the fillings, (Mrs. Puska always made hers out of dewberries), sprinkle with the crumb topping, let rise, and bake until crust is brown.

Rolls:
Roll out dough as you would for cinnamon rolls. Spread with desired filling; roll up. You can either pinch the ends together and fold under, then place on a greased cookie sheet, brush with melted butter, let rise and bake. Or you can roll up the filled dough and cut like cinnamon rolls, place on greased pan, brush with melted butter, sprinkle with topping if desired, let rise, and bake.



Fried Cabbage
(Smazeny Zeli)

Cabbage, shredded
salt and pepper
1 tsp. sugar
1 Tbls. (or more) vinegar

Heat some fresh bacon grease in a frying pan. Add the cabbage. Fry it until it begins to brown and looks cooked. Cook over medium heat and stir often. Add rest of ingredients; cover and steam until done.