Kolacky cookies are delicate pillows of pastry made with cream cheese, filled with fruit, and sprinkled with powdered sugar.
These kolacky cookies can easily be filled with blueberry, cherry, raspberry, apricot, peach, date, or strawberry filling.
I’ve noticed there are variations for the name of these cookies. I know them as Kolasky’s from my grandmother, but I’ve also seen it spelled Kolacky, Kolaczki, Kolace, Kolache, Kolachki, and the list goes on. The most popular name seems to be Kolacky.
From what I have gathered, the origin for the yeast version of this cookie is Czech and the cream cheese version is Polish. They’re also known as cream cheese cookies or apricot cookies because they’re both some of the main ingredients to these cookies.
I personally find it to be one of the best-canned apricot recipes (my personal favorite.) It’s also one of the few eggless cookie recipes I know of and is more like a pastry.
What do I need to make Kolacky apricot & raspberry cookies?
These are some of the main things you’ll need. A rolling pin to roll out your cookie dough, a single or two-wheeled fluted pastry cutter, and pastry filling.
The Solo brand makes a variety of fruit fillings and I prefer using theirs because they’re a lot less chunky than other brands, which is perfect for these cookies.
Ingredients for Kolacky Cookies
- Cream Cheese
- Butter
- All-Purpose Flour
- Pure Vanilla Extract
- And optionally, you can sprinkle the cookies with powdered sugar after you bake them.
Kolacky Cookie Fillings
There are so many possibilities! You can easily make them apricot-filled cookies or go with raspberry, blueberry, cherry, strawberry, peach, almond, date, or whatever you desire.
The only caveat would be to make sure there are no chunks and that it is a jelly consistency. A food processor is perfect for blending pieces if there are any in your filling.
I have personally had to do this in the past when I could not find any at the store and it works flawlessly. The reason for not wanting pieces of fruit is that this cookie is small and delicate. It’s easy to overfill and if you do, the cookie opens up as it bakes instead of remaining closed. You also risk your filling oozing out onto the pan – don’t want that!
How to Make Kolacky Apricot & Raspberry Cookies
Make the Dough
- Mix together cold butter, cream cheese, and vanilla in a stand mixer. Slowly add in flour until well blended. Allow dough to chill for 1 hour. The butter and cream cheese needs to remain cold.
- Allow the dough to chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Instead of laying plastic wrap around the top of the bowl, I like to press it up against my dough to prevent drying it out too much while it chills.
How to Roll Kolacky Cookies
- After it is done chilling begin rolling out the dough on a lightly floured surface until it is ⅛″ thick. If your kitchen is warm, place unused dough back in the refrigerator in between each time you roll out the dough.
- I also flour my rolling pin and my pastry cutter to prevent them from sticking to the dough.
- Begin cutting equal squares with a pastry cutter.
Filling the Pastry
- If the fruit filling has chunks of fruit blend it in a food processor until smooth.
- Add a small amount of filling to the center of each square. Carefully take 2 opposite corners of the square and bring them to the center to close the cookie, overlapping the 2 corners. To keep the cookies closed I like to put a little bit of filling in between the overlapping corners of cookie dough to make them stick together.
Tip: Sometimes it’s easier to pick the squares up and fill it in your hand, and then close them. For the purpose of the photo, I did it while it was still flat.
Baking
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line cookie sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease.
- Place on cookie sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes. Check cookies halfway through baking time to ensure cookies remain closed. If any have opened, lightly press corners back into center of cookies.
- Allow to cool on cooling racks. Sprinkle with powdered sugar after they have cooled.
Do Kolacky cookies need to be refrigerated?
They do not have to be refrigerated. They can be safely kept in an airtight container for 4-6 days.
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Enjoy!
Kolacky Cookies
Ingredients
- 8 oz Cream Cheese
- 1 cup Cold Butter
- 2 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
- 12 oz Can of Fruit Pie Filling –, Apricot, Raspberry, Cherry, etc./If it is chunky blend smooth in a food processor.
- Confectioners’ Sugar, for topping
Instructions
- Mix together cold butter, cream cheese, and vanilla in a stand mixer. Slowly add in flour until well blended. Allow dough to chill for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line cookie sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease.
- Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface until it is ⅛" thick. Begin cutting squares with a pastry cutter.
- Add a small amount of filling to the center of each square. Carefully take 2 opposite corners of the square and bring them to the center to close the cookie, overlapping the 2 corners. To keep the cookies closed I like to put a little bit of filling in between the overlapping corners of cookie dough to make them stick together.
Note: If fruit filling has chunks of fruit blend it in a food processor until smooth. - Place on cookie sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes. Check cookies halfway through baking time to ensure cookies remain closed. If any have opened, lightly press corners back into center of cookies.
- Allow to cool on cooling racks. Sprinkle with powdered sugar after they have cooled.
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Hi… Thank you for this wonderful recipe that I will be trying. I just have a question four you. I have another recipe for the same kind of cookie, but that recipe requires granulated sugar, pure vanilla extract, and baking powder. Have you ever made them with these ingredients and if so how was the texture/taste?
Hi Francine,
I have not made this recipe with granulated sugar and baking powder, but it sounds very similar to what goes into a sugar cookie as well. I’d be curious to see how that turns out. Does it also call for the cream cheese?
-Tiffany