Polish Kolaczki

Polish Kolaczki, the last batch of Christmas cookies for 2019.

I seem to refine this recipe every year. This year I discovered the value of putting the discs of dough between layers of parchment paper. It made rolling out the dough much easier. I would take one disc out of the refrigerator at a time, dust it with the sugar mixture and roll out the dough between the paper. It worked great! 

Adam’s Polish Kolaczki

Ingredients

For the Pastry:

2 ¼ cups all purpose flour

½ teaspoon salt

8 oz cream cheese

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/3 cup granulated sugar and 1/3 cup of confectioners' sugar for rolling

1 can Solo brand Apricot filling

Sift flour and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside.

Beat the cream cheese and butter together with a stand mixer or a hand mixer until completely incorporated and creamy (3-5 minutes).

Reduce the speed of the mixer and slowly add in the flour. I used 5 additions and completely mixed in the flour each time. The dough will be soft but not sticky.

Divide the dough into 4 equal parts and flatten each to ¾” thick. Place discs between layers of parchment paper and refrigerate until hard, at least 2 hours.

Pre-heat the oven to 375°. Move the oven rack  in the center of the oven.

Sift together the granulated and confectioners' sugars.

Take one of the disks of dough from the refrigerator and lightly dust both sides with the sugar combination. Spread granulated sugar on your pastry board or work surface between layers of parchment paper. Roll out pastry to about 1/8” thick. 

With a pastry wheel or sharp knife, trim the dough into 2" squares.

Place a dollop of filling into the center of each square. I used ½ teaspoon to ¾ teaspoon for each.

Gently grab two opposite corners and fold one over the other, gently pressing down to try and seal them together. 

Gently move it to a parchment covered baking sheet. Repeat with all remaining squares, placing them about 1” apart.

Bake 12-14 minutes or until the bottom edges are golden. Do not overbake.

Let cool about 10 muntes on the pan on a wire rack and then move them gently to a wire rack to cool completely.

When cool, dust with confectioners' sugar. It was recommended to me to wait until I was ready to use the cookies before dusting them dusting them with the confectioners' sugar.

Walnut Filling

For the Walnut Filling:

2 cups freshly ground walnuts (finely)

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup of boiled milk

2 tablespoons melted butter

Mix filling in a medium bowl. The mixture should be thick. If the filling is not spreadable, use the rest of the milk. I used all of it. It will thicken as it sits.