Easy Kolaches Recipe

Raspberry, blueberry, and cream cheese kolaches on a plate.

This Czech pastry is made easy with Rhodes rolls and simple cream cheese and fruit fillings.

Author Amber Brady

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 20

Rise Time 4

Total Time 4 50

Yields pastries

Ingredients

16 frozen Rhodes Texas Rolls

Cream Cheese Filling:

8 ounces (226 g) block-style cream cheese, room temperature
½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg, whisked & divided

Blueberry Filling:

1 cup (190 g) blueberries, fresh or frozen
½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp lemon juice

Raspberry Filling:

1 cup (130 g) raspberries, fresh or frozen
½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp lemon juice

Instructions

THAW ROLLS: Place the Texas rolls onto parchment or silicone lined baking sheets about 4 inches apart (8 per half sheet tray). Cover the rolls with greased plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until double in size; about 4-5 hours. (Or for 8 hours overnight in the fridge and then 1-2 hours at room temperature.)
CREAM CHEESE FILLING: Beat the cream cheese and granulated sugar in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer. Add the vanilla and 1/2 of a whisked egg. (Save the remaining whisked egg for egg wash.) Beat until smooth, scraping the bowl as needed.
FRUIT FILLINGS: [Make flavors separately.] Stir together the fresh or frozen fruit, sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. EITHER Microwave in a large safe bowl for 5 minutes, or until thick, stirring halfway through. OR Cook in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture boils and thickens, about 6-7 minutes. Set aside. The fruit mixture will continue to thicken as it cools. NOTE: The thicker the filling, the less it spills over the kolaches during baking. If the Texas rolls are not quite ready to fill, place the egg wash and all fruit and cream cheese fillings in the refrigerator until ready to assemble the kolaches.
Once the rolls have thawed and risen, preheat the oven to 375℉. Use a measuring cup to press down the center of each roll, creating a well for the fillings. Some air bubbles may pop, that's ok. NOTE: I used a 1/3 measuring cup, but you could probably use a 1/2 cup to make room for more filling.
Brush the edges of each kolache with the egg wash (the remaining whisked egg). Then fill the center of each well with 2 heaping Tablespoons of fillings. (I was able to fit two #50 scoops into each well.)
Bake the sweet kolaches at 375℉ for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool on the pan for 15 minutes and enjoy warm.

Notes

STORAGE: Store leftover kolaches in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Bring kolaches to room temperature or nuke leftovers in the microwave for 10 seconds to soften the bread before consuming.
CREAM CHEESE FILLING: If you don’t want to use an egg in the cream cheese filling, you can alternately mix in 3-4 teaspoons of milk.
FRUIT FILLINGS: Use any fresh or frozen berry. Alternately use pre-made pie filing, jam, or thick fruit curd.
YIELD: I was able to make 6 blueberry cream cheese, 6 raspberry cream cheese, and 4 plain cream cheese kolaches. This used almost all of my fillings. I probably wouldn’t have had any leftover if I used the 1/2 cup to make slightly wider wells for the fillings.

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