Kolache fillings

Kolache – Fillings

Ingredients -

CRUMB TOPPING "POSIPKA":
1 cup flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 stick margarine or butter melted.
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CHERRY FILLING:
16 ounce can tart water-packed, pitted red sour cherries
1 cup sugar
1/2 stick margarine
3 heaping tablespoons Minute tapioca
1 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
red food coloring (optional)
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PRUNE FILLING or APPLE FILLING:
16 ounce package dry pitted prunes OR apples
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons canned milk
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APRICOT FILLING or PEACH FILLING:
12 ounce package dry apricots OR peaches
1 cup sugar
8 ounce jar apricot preserves or peach preserves
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons margarine
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PINEAPPLE FILLING:
16 ounce can crushed pineapple
1/2 stick margarine
3 tablespoons canned milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 heaping tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
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CHEESE FILLING:
8 ounces small curd cottage cheese
8 ounces cream cheese
2 egg yolks
1 heaping tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest (optional)
1/2 cup sugar
1 heaping tablespoon Minute tapioca
1 teaspoon vanilla
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POPPY SEED FILLING:
1 cup poppy seed, ground (see directions for options)
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
pinch salt
1/2 stick margarine
2 heaping tablespoons flour
1/2 cup sweet cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
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SAUSAGE:
Eckrich Skinless Polish Kielbasa OR your favorite Polish style sausage, pre-cooked

Directions -

CRUMB TOPPING: This resembles the topping on top of a “Dutch Apple Pie”. mix flour with sugar and add melted margarine, enough to make crumbly and buttery, but not soggy. This should be placed on kolache filling as you fill each pan before baking and final rising. You will still want to brush with cream and sprinkle with sugar as directed in the Kolache – Dough recipe.

TIP: Make fillings the day before, do not refrigerate, except for the cheese filling; they should be at room temperature or your dough will not rise around the cold filling…take cheese out of fridge prior to making dough so it too will come to room temp. Also, do not make your poppy seed filling the day ahead, it gets too thick in the fridge and will sour if left out, so it gets made usually while my dough is doing its first rising. Of course you can purchase canned pie fillings of even special “Solo” brand fillings…I don’t think they taste as good as the ones you will make. If you do choose to use the canned fillings, please season and “doctor” them up by adding extra margarine, cream/canned milk, vanilla, and/or cinnamon if called for in my recipe. Also, if you decide to make the 12 dozen batch dough you will want to double or even triple some of your favorite filling recipes. When you double or triple, you don’t always have to double or triple the other ingredients called for…taste and adjust sugar and other ingredients as you go.

CHERRY FILLING: Bring cherries to a slow simmer. Mix flour, sugar and tapioca together. Add to cherries. Add margarine. Bring to a slow boil and cook, stirring for about 10 minutes or until thickened. Add vanilla. Taste as you go. If you are increasing amount you will not need larger amount of margarine, taste for sweetness before adding entire amount of sugar…and you may need to add more flour and/or tapioca to thicken.

PRUNE OR APPLE FILLING: Place prunes or apples in heavy sauce pan and cover with water. Cook for about 1 hour or until tender, adding water as needed to keep prunes just barely in water. COOK VERY SLOWLY OR IT WILL BURN. Near the end, you will want some of the liquid to reduce. Let cook; drain any excess liquid (you shouldn’t have any really) and take out seeds if you did not buy pitted prunes. Mash with potato masher or mixer. Add vanilla, cinnamon, sugar and cream to taste.

APRICOT OR PEACH FILLING: Cut apricots or peaches in very small pieces with a pair of scissors (spray scissors with “Pam”). Place in heavy sauce pan and cover with water. Cook about 1 hour or until tender, adding water as necessary. COOK VERY SLOWLY OR IT WILL BURN. Near the end, you will want some of the liquid to reduce. Cool and drain excess juice (you shouldn’t have any really). Mash with potato masher or mixer. Add sugar, vanilla, butter and preserves. Adjust to personal preference. If you think it is too thin, add a tablespoon or two of Minute tapioca while still warm and it will thicken over night.

PINEAPPLE FILLING: Combine sugar and flour. Add to pineapple, margarine and milk in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a slow boil and cook, stirring, until thickened. Add vanilla. Adjust to personal preference.

CHEESE FILLING: Mix all ingredients together in a blender, food processor or mixer. (I like the consistency using a mixer.) The original Czech version calls to use only dry curd cottage cheese, that’s hard to find in this day and age so this recipe bears a close resemblance. I really like using half cottage cheese and half cream cheese and have started doing this instead of using only cottage cheese or cream cheese by itself. The rest of the ingredients stay the same. Also, I usually use about 16 ounces of cottage cheese and 16 ounces cream cheese; increasing other ingredients accordingly. Some times mother would add raisins to this filling, if you like raisins, you can add…my family doesn’t like the raisins in it.

POPPY SEED FILLING: If you have a grinder, grind your poppy seeds…you will almost double your volume. some people grind in a blender, I have not had any luck doing this. If you did not grind your poppy seed, then you will need to soak in milk to cover over night in the refrigerator, drain, then follow remainder of directions. Place in heavy iron skillet and add milk, salt; simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add sugar and margarine and continue to simmer for about 30 more minutes. If mixture gets too dry, add a little extra milk…and you will have to do this. Make a paste of flour and cream. Add slowly to poppy seed mixture and continue to cook until mixture becomes the texture of thick gravy. Add vanilla and let cool.

If you use canned poppy seed, you will need to add vanilla and cream, salt, etc., in order to make it taste good. My family would rather not eat poppy seed if they have to eat the canned.

Poppy seed kolaches are not filled on top like regular fruit ones, but placed in the inside. To do this, make ball of dough, mash into an oval flat shape, place filling in center, close up, or pinch together dough to make an oval football shape. Place seam side down on pan and brush with butter. Make three small slits using scissors, if scissors are held at the correct angle (45 degrees), you will get three little “v” shaped slits. Let rise, bake, brush with cream and sprinkle with sugar just like you do for other kolaches.

SAUSAGE: I usually use Eckrich Skinless Polish Kielbasa, but you can use your favorite sausage. I cut 3 to 4 inch long pieces and then cut length ways into quarters, making 4 pieces of sausage each 3 to 4 inches long. Flatten out a small ball of dough, place sausage in center, wrap and seal dough around sausage. Place on pan, brush with butter. Let rise, bake, brush with canned milk…but do NOT sprinkle with sugar like you do other kolaches.