Apricot Polish Kolaczki Cookies Recipe

These Polish Kolaczki Cookies are soft and fluffy with a delicious apricot filling perfect for the holidays. Not a fan of apricot? You can fill this traditional cookie with any filling you like!

Apricot Polish Kolaczki Cookies

This Polish kolaczki cookies recipe uses a cream cheese pastry dough that will result in a pillowy and perfectly flaky pastry that can be filled with any filling you desire. When researching the history of kolaczki cookies I found that, like sugar cookies in Western Europe, most Eastern European countries have some version of these kolaczki cookies and use everything from apricots to raspberries or even chocolate spreads for the sweet filling.

How To Make Polish Kolaczki Cookies

Polish Kolaczki cookies are very simple to make, but do involve a few steps and overnight chilling of the pastry dough to get the desired texture and consistency.

Make The Dough

In a large mixing bowl combine the cream cheese and butter until smooth.

Next, slowly add the flour and salt to the mixer until well blended and a dough forms. Once a dough has formed remove the dough from the mixing bowl and roll it into a ball.

Chill The Dough

Next, wrap the dough in parchment paper and chill the dough overnight in the refrigerator (or for a minimum of 1 hour).

Make The Filling

While the dough is chilling make the apricot filling by combining apricots, 2 cups of water, honey, and lemon juice in a small pot over medium-high heat.

Bring the apricot filling mixture to a boil and then allow to simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring consistently until apricots are soft.The goal is to get the apricots to soften so that they can easily be blended using a food processor.

Once the apricots have softened you can place the mixture in a food processor and pulse until a thick apricot jam/paste forms. Pour the filling into a jar and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Roll Out The Dough

On a clean surface place some gluten free flour (to keep the dough from sticking) and then place the dough in the center. Knead the dough with your hands a few times to make it a little more malleable, and easier to work with.

Begin to roll out the dough using a rolling pin until it is about a 1/4 inch thick.

Next, cut out the dough into 2 inch squares using a cookie cutter or simply a knife and ruler. Repeat this process until all of your dough has been used.

Assemble Your Polish Kolaczki Cookies

Once all your squares have been cut, begin to place them on a cookie sheet and drop 1 teaspoon of filling into the center of each square. Fold the opposite corners of each square to meet one another and envelope the filling. Pinch the fold slightly to secure each cookies.

Bake The Cookies

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Once preheated, place the cookies in the oven for 12-14 minutes, or until the pastry begins to turn a slight golden brown color.

Once the cookies have baked they will still seem a little soft, this is okay, the pastry will harden up as it cools. Allow the cookies to fully cool before you sprinkle them with powdered sugar and serve.

Notes:

If you do decide to use a jam for the cookie filling, make sure you put just a small teaspoon in the center of the cookies as the jam will get much thinner and spread as the cookies are baking. I found when I used the apricot filling though that they didn’t run nearly as much as the jam did.

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