Every Texas kid has fond memories of that classic treat: kolaches. When I informally polled many of my former neighbors and fellow Tex-pats (people who moved out of Texas) they all agreed that kolaches reign supreme as a Texas treat. As someone who lived in the very northern part of Texas, I mostly associate them with road trips to visit my family in south and central Texas. Love for a gas station kolache unites all Texans equally. The most Texas version of kolaches to me has apricot filling, but they’re delicious with all kinds of fruits, sweetened cream cheese, or poppyseed filling.

Why Are Kolaches so Popular in Texas?

Many states have local educational requirement, but Texas takes its history seriously. One thing kids in Texas learn about from a young age? The proliferation of German immigrants who moved to Texas in the mid-1800s. After Texas won its independence from Mexico in 1836, they needed to boost their population due to all the Mexicans who withdrew. The Texas government began advertising their abundance of land to central Europeans, in particular Germans. This resulted in a large influx of Germans in central and south Texas, in particular. The fingerprints of German culture are all over Texas, from the twin cities of New Braunfels and Fredericksburg, to Shiner Bock (a German-style beer made in Texas), to the popularity of kolaches.

How Do You Pronounce “Kolache”?

In the traditional German pronunciation, the “ch” makes a guttural sound that begins in the back of your throat, and the word ends in a schwa, or unstressed “uh.” Therefore, the correct pronunciation is “koh-LACH-uh.” However, much like the many Spanish and Indigenous words that have evolved beyond recognition, most Texans pronounce the name of this treat, “koh-LAH-chee.”

Tips for Making Kolaches

I won’t lie to you – faint-hearted bakers need not apply. As intimidated as I was to make bread (turns out, it’s pretty easy), kolaches were much harder. Sticky, gloopy, and puffy, I definitely over-proved the dough on my first attempts. Even so, the result was so delicious, I didn’t care! But, I do wish I’d known a few things before I started.

Stiiiiiicky Dough

Kolache dough had such an unexpectedly gloopy, sticky texture the first time I made it! While handling improved with future tries (I kneaded it a bit more and proved a bit less), it still needed quite a bit of wrangling. When the recipe says flour your surface and rolling pin generously, it means generously.

Leave Yourself Time

Making Kolaches requires lots of time. The initial prep doesn’t take up too much time, but the dough must prove 4 separate times. Additionally, rolling out the dough takes a bit of elbow grease. These aren’t so much a “whip it up before company comes over” treat so much as a “spend Saturday making a big batch to share” treat. Despite this, I recommend making this recipe with kids! They’ll especially love punching into the top of the kolaches to add filling.

A Note on Fillings

I chose apricots for this recipe because of my dad. A Texas native, my dad’s jam proclivities have always centered around apricots. Not to mention, I have many fond memories of picking up fresh stone fruit (apricots, plums, nectarines, and peaches) from roadside stands in the hot Texas summers. You can easily substitute any of those in this recipe. If you use peaches, though, I’d peel them first.

In addition to stone fruit, berries make an incredible filling. Some recipes strain out the seeds, but personally, I love the rustic look (and added nutritional value) of the seeds. Cream cheese is another popular sweet filling option. While personally I like cream cheese with more tart flavors (like raspberry and lemon), you can layer cream cheese filling under any topping of your choice.

But Wait, What About Sausage?

At your average central Texas mini-mart, you’ll see both sweet and savory kolaches together. Thanks to the low sugar in the dough, it combines well with all kinds of flavors. The most popular savory kolache flavors include cheese and sausage. Sausage kolaches have eclipsed fruit kolaches in popularity in the midwest (possibly due to the heavier Czech vs. German influence). However, in Texas, when you say, “kolache,” most people would picture the fruit variety first.

How to Make Kolaches with Apricot Filling

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Kolaches with Apricot Filling

Enjoy this classic Texas treat with a classic stone fruit flavor – tart, fresh apricots. Use any additional filling as you might use apricot jam.

Prep Time35 minutes mins

Cook Time25 minutes mins

Proofing Time2 hours hrs 50 minutes mins

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: American, German

Keyword: kolaches

Servings: 24

Calories: 271kcal

Author: Blair Carpenter

Equipment

• rubber spatula
• Measuring cup with spout
• Measuring cups & spoons
• Assorted mixing bowls
• Electric stand mixer
• Whisk attachment
• Dough hook
• Sifter
• Pastry brush
• Rolling Pin
• Rolling mat (optional)
• Biscuit cutter/2-inch round cookie cutter
• spatula
• baking sheet
• Parchment paper or silicone baking mats
• Paring Knife
• Cutting board
• Food processor

Ingredients

For the Kolache Dough

• 1/2 oz active dry yeast 2 packets or 1 1/2 Tbs
• 1/2 cup warm about 110F water
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup vegetable shortening
• 1 1/2 cups lukewarm whole milk about 100F
• 6 cups all-purpose flour plus more for work surface
• 3/4 cup 6 oz evaporated milk
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1 tbsp kosher salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 egg yolk
• 5 tbsp unsalted butter melted

For the Apricot Filling

• 1.5 lb fresh apricots
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp melted unsalted butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Instructions

For the Kolache Dough

• “Bloom” the yeast by sprinkling it over the lukewarm water. Let bloom for 5 minutes. You can do the next few steps while you let it bloom.
• Place the butter and shortening together in a medium to large microwavable mixing bowl and heat until melted.
• Whisk in the warm milk, then whisk in the water and yeast.
• Transfer the butter mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer.
• Sift in half (3 cups) of the flour. Attach the whisk attachment to your stand mixer and stir the flour until combined.
• Add the evaporated milk, sugar, salt, eggs, and egg yolk. Whisk on medium until smooth.
• Scrape down the sides of the bowl, the replace the whisk attachment with the dough hook.
• Turn the mixer on medium and gradually add the remaining 3 cups of flour. Beat until smooth (2-3 minutes).
• Let the dough sit for 5 minutes, then turn the mixer to medium high and beat again until the dough is nice and elastic (about 10-12 minutes).
• While the dough is kneading, melt the remaining 5 Tbs of butter in a small bowl.
• Remove the bowl from the stand mixer. Brush the top of the dough with melted butter (you will return to the melted butter several times). Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow to rise at room temperature for an hour (until the dough has doubled in size).
• Punch the dough down, then allow to rise again until doubled (it only takes about half an hour the second time around).
• Prepare your baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
• Generously flour a clean, flat surface or baking mat, as well as your rolling pin. Keep extra flour on hand.
• Dump the proved dough only the floured surface. Roll out into a large rectangle about an inch thick.
• Using your biscuit cutter or cookie cutter, cut out circles of dough and transfer them to your prepared baking sheets. Tip: If they become slightly misshapen on transfer, use your biscuit cutter to gently move them back in place.Tip: Cut your dough circles close together in order to re-roll dough out as little as possible.Tip: Place your kolaches about 1/2 inch apart on the baking sheet. They will spread into each other on baking; that’s fine.
• Re-roll dough as needed until most of the dough is used up.
• Brush melted butter over the top of each circle. Set aside and let prove for 20 minutes.
• While the dough is proving the third time, prepare your filling.

For the Apricot Filling

• Wash the apricots and remove their stickers (if they have them). Cut them in half and remove the pits.
• Add apricots and all other ingredients to a food processor. Process for about 30 seconds

Assembling & Baking Kolaches with Apricot Filling

• Once the dough circles have finished proving, use the knuckles of your first two fingers to punch down the center of each circle.
• With a spoon, add a heaping tablespoon of filling to the center of each circle.
• Let the dough rise another 20-30 minutes.
• At the 15-20 minute mark, position one oven rack in the upper third, and one in the lower third. Preheat your oven to 350F.
• Bake kolaches until golden brown (about 20-25 minutes).
• Brush the warm kolaches with the remaining melted butter. Transfer to wire racks and cool about 30 minutes.

Nutrition

Calories: 271kcal

Did you make this recipe for kolaches with apricot filling? What did you think? Let me know in the comments!