Continuing with my Eastern European obsession, I’ve ventured into desserts! I call these the pop tarts of the Czech Republic. Throughout my recent travels, I invariably woke up way too early (#jetlagdeath) every day and sought a local cafe at which I could attempt to fuel my brain for the day’s business meetings. Each day I tried to munch on some kind of breakfasty something, and sip it down with espresso. One morning, having arrived late the night before in Olomouc, a small city in eastern Czech Republic, I stumbled into a cafe that was by some miracle open at 7am, and found to my delight a massive array of cookies and pastries, freshly baked and ready to be served alongside any kind of hot beverage you could think of. Naturally I ordered the most foreign-looking pastry I could find, kolache in this case, and a double espresso, which is frustratingly the largest amount of espresso one is able to coherently order at any cafe in Europe. I was pleasantly surprised at being able to recreate the exact same pastry 2 months later in my own home, and with such ease!
They have a super rich yet fluffy dough, and filled with any kind of jam you can think of, though traditionally apricot or berry blends are used. Their bottoms are nicely crisped, adding to the buttery overtones. One might think that the cookies would be sweet enough from the jam fillings, but powdered sugar really elevates the sweetness into a more complex flavor profile.
I made two versions: apricot and raspberry jams. The recipe below is reflective of the apricot jam recipe, which turned out perfect. The raspberry jam needed to be cooked at a lower temperature for longer to prevent the jam melting into a liquid mess and bubbling over the sides of the cookie; that being said, this did happen to my raspberry jam attempts, but they still tasted great.
Butter Count: 8 Tbsp
INGREDIENTS:
6 Tbsp cream cheese, softened
4 Tbsp butter, softened
1 1/4 cups flour
Variable amounts of apricot or raspberry jam
Powdered sugar for dusting
INSTRUCTIONS:
In an electric stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream together the cream cheese and butter, until smooth and fluffy.
Add 1/3 of the flour at a time, mixing thoroughly before continuing with the next 1/3. Roll the mixture into a ball and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Cut the dough into quarters. For each quarter, roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface, about 1/4-inch thick. Cut the dough into ~2-inch squares. Dispose of the trimmings because the flour added to the rolling surface will encourage a lamination-type effect, which you don’t want.
Add about 1 tsp of jam to the middle of each square. Fold opposite corners and press them together with your fingers. Leave two opposite corners free.
Place the cookies on the lined baking sheet and bake about 17 minutes, until the edges are only slightly golden. You do not want all of the dough to be golden - They should still be, for the most part, white. When the desired edge coloration is achieved, remove them from the oven and leave them on the baking sheet to cool.
Dust with powdered sugar and serve.