My Mom's Kolache Recipe.

I know, I know . . . how many friggin' posts can I write in one weekend?

Well, it's wet and rainy outside and I had planned to go support my fellow academy members at the New York Submission Shootout, but things just ran away from me today.

I'm working on dropping a weight class. So I'm doing two-a-days of workouts and eating next to nothing so I can fight a weight class down in the tournament I plan to attend Nov. 7th.

That probably explains why I'm extra grouchy right now and can't seem to get anything done other than blog. Plus I'm home alone, all my friends are busy, I don't have cable or get any reception on the TV and I've been up since 5AM. (Over training will do that.)

I also just got a wall post on facebook from someone who used my chili recipe and loved it. That made me happy and it made me want to give back to the Universe by sharing my mom's kolache recipe.

Now, this recipe is very important to me. As some of you may know we had to put my mom in a home due to some severe medical issues. She suffers from Posterior Cortical Atrophy. It's a pretty rotten and very severe form of dementia in the Alzheimer's family.

The story of the recipe thickens because unbeknownst to me, an ex of mine had the original, in my mom's handwriting and through the grape vine of the Universe she heard about mom and sent it to my sister, Susan in Cedar Rapids, IA.

That was really, very cool of her: thank you Brandy.

After getting the thank you for the chili recipe I decided I should share with the non Czech/Bohemian world the magic of the kolache.

I grew up with kolaches being made during Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. They were a staple pastry growing up. The picture doesn't really do them justice. When Mandy and I were recently back in Iowa my sister and I took Mandy to Czech Village and inducted her into the cult of the kolache.

Here's a brief history of the kolache from Wikipedia . . .

Kolache (also spelled kolace, kolach, or kolacky, from the Czech and Slovak plural koláče) is a type of pastry consisting of fillings ranging from fruits (including poppy seed, raspberry, and apricot) to cheeses inside a bread roll. Originally only a sweet dessert from Central Europe, they have become popular in parts of the United States. Several cities, including Prague, Oklahoma, Caldwell, Texas, and East Bernard, Texas hold annual Kolache Festival celebrations, while Montgomery, Minnesota, is the "Kolacky capital of the world"[1]Days. Verdigre, Nebraska, stakes the same claim, with a similarly-named festival.^[1] Prague, Nebraska, is commonly known as the home of the world's largest kolache. Fayetteville, TX, claims the title of "Kolache capital of Texas." Crosby, TX, also has a yearly Czech festival. St. Ludmila's Catholic Church in Cedar Rapids, IA, hosts it annual Kolache Festival the first full weekend in June every year and makes over 600 dozen kolaches to sell at its annual event. and holds an annual festival.

A related dish is a klobasnek, which often uses similar bread but is filled with a piece of sausage. These are sometimes mistakenly referred to as kolaches. They may also contain ham and cheese, sausage, jalapeño slices, and more resemble a "pig in a blanket" than the original pastry. There is also a sweet and flaky filled pastry with Polish origins called the Kalach.


This also clears up the debate I have with folks of Polish decent who try to claim they have kolache as well.

I also didn't realize how crazy Texans are about the kolache. They are crazy over this pastry and nearly every website I found relating to kolaches was out of Texas. Go figure.

So, in conclusion, here's my mom's Kolache recipe.

Connie Broulik's Recipe for Kolaches
2 pkgs dry yeast
1 TBS sugar
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup shortening
1 tsp salt
1 egg
7-8 cups flour
Various jars of fruit/preserves (apricot, prune, cherry, raspberry)
1 egg white
4 Tbs butter

Dissolve 2 pkgs dry yeast and 1 TBS sugar with 1/2 cup luke warm water. Mix, then set aside.

In a large bowl, put 3/4 cup sugar, 3/4 cup shortening and 1 TSP salt. Pour 1 CUP BOILING WATER over this mixture and stir until shortening is dissovled. When shortening is dissolved, add 1 cup cold water and 1 egg (whipped). Add yeast mixture.

Stir in 7-8 cups flour, one cup at a time, until smooth but not too stiff. Leave dough sticky. Let dough rise. Shape into balls and let the balls rise. Make indents into balls after they have risen and fill indents with spoonful of preserves/fruit. Baste lightly with butter. Baste VERY LIGHTLY with egg whites.

Bake 425 to 450 for 6-10 minutes.

Makes at least 4 dozen kolaches.

There you have it. My mom's recipe. I haven't made them since Brandy (the ex who was so awesome to return the recipe) and I lived together in Iowa 8-9 years ago. (Wow, it's been that long since I lived there!??!?) I think I'm going to take another stab at them this coming holiday season. Maybe they can be Mandy's and my contribution to Christmas this year.

Oh and if you haven't tried my Soba noodle, fennel, walnut and pea recipe yet do it! It rocks!!!!

Until Next Time True Beleivers . . .