Christmas kolaches

I had a great Christmas and I hope you ladies did too. I cant wait to hear how the eggnog pie was.

Here was our Christmas dinner rundown

Prime rib with horseradish cream and au jus with popovers made from the drippings, Dijon honey glazed ham, roasted asparagus, mushrooms, parsnips, and fingerling potatoes, mac and cheese and buttermilk pie with cranberry sauce. I have to say it was one of the best meals i have made in awhile.

Breakfast was a fresh baked batch of kolaches I had prepped the day before. These made me really happy, the dough was easy to put together, very rich and a dream to work with. I think it would be a good cinnamon roll dough too. I have been though West, TX a couple of times where there is a Czech population and known for their kolaches and I would dare to say they are a good as any of those I have tried there.

I substituted a cup of buttermilk for the sour cream and no water and added a bit more flour. I filled mine with some extra cranberry sauce, and a quick cream cheese filling. (Any jam or fruit filling would work) And for the sausage kolaches I pick up a package of cheddarwurst and jalapeno chedderwurst.

I got the dough recipe from King Arthur flour website

DOUGH
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine*, melted
2 teaspoons instant yeast OR 1 packet active dry yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water
2 large eggs
4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

DOUGH: Warm the sour cream gently, and combine it with the sugar, salt, and butter or margarine in a large mixing bowl. Cool the mixture to lukewarm (if it isn’t already that temperature), and add the yeast (if you’re using active dry yeast, dissolve it in the water first), warm water, eggs, and flour. Mix and knead the dough, using your hands, a mixer, or a bread machine, till it’s soft and smooth. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and refrigerate the dough overnight. Note: This dough won’t rise much, so don’t worry about having to put it in a huge bowl.

Cream cheese filling
1/2 block cream cheese -soft
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp citrus zest -I had a combo of oranges and limes
Combine everything until smooth. Set aside for next day

Next day, remove the dough from the fridge, and divide it into about 20 pieces, each 1 3/4 ounces, about the size of a golf ball. Place the pieces on lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheets, leaving about an inch between them. Flatten the balls till they’re about 1/2-inch thick, cover them with a proof cover or lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow them to rest for 30 minutes.

For the sausage varieties -I just rolled the dough out about a 1/2 inch thick into a large rectangle and then cut those into strips about the same width of the sausage. Then roll around the sausage and pinch the seam close

STREUSEL TOPPING: In a small bowl, mix together 3/4 c. flour, 1/2c. sugar, then add 1/2 stick soft butter, stirring till crumbs form.

ASSEMBLY: Using your fingers, make a wide, deep indentation in the center of each flattened dough ball. Don’t be afraid of being decisive here; you want to make a deep enough indentation that it doesn’t just disappear as the buns rise and bake. Place about 2 tablespoon of the filling into each bun; crumble a little of the streusel on top. Cover the kolaches, and allow them to rise for about an hour; they won’t necessarily double in bulk.

Bake the kolaches in a preheated 350°F oven for 15 to 20 minutes, till they’re golden brown. Remove them from the oven, and serve warm, or at room temperature. Yield: about 20 kolaches.