Cherry Cinnamon Kolaches Recipe

To many people, these cherry cinnamon kolaches are the perfect pastries — little flavorful pillows filled with spicy cinnamon cream cheese and sweet cherries. The rich dough contains eggs and milk and the tart cherries provide a nice contrasting burst of flavor. Recipe developer Leah Maroney likes to serve them hot out of the oven with a cup of coffee. "Let them cool a little before serving, those cherries will be hot! But nothing beats a freshly baked pastry with coffee or tea," says Maroney.

The filling, though simple, is chock full of flavor, and combines cream cheese and cinnamon with a little sugar for just the right amount of sweetness.

Kolaches are of Czech and Central European origin. They're traditionally made from an enriched yeast dough and are filled with jam or poppy seeds, though you can find many variations on the formula. Czech settlers who journeyed to Texas in the mid-1800s brought this pastry with them and they remain popular in areas of Texas to this day. The Texan kolache is often sausage-filled and is a different shape than the traditional fruit pastry. Any way you stuff this pastry, it's sure to be delicious. 

Cherry cinnamon kolaches start with a rich yeasted dough. Whole milk is heated (in the microwave or on the stovetop) and mixed with butter, oil, and sugar. The milk must be heated first so the yeast can develop properly. Once it's cooled to lukewarm, yeast is added. Then the eggs, flour, vanilla, and cinnamon are incorporated into the milk mixture and kneaded to form an elastic dough. The dough is left to rise while the cinnamon, sugar, and cream cheese are mixed together for the filling. The dough is formed into balls and left to rise again. Then the dough balls are flattened and the centers are filled with the cream cheese filling and then a dab of cherry pie filling. They're brushed with egg wash and then baked to perfection. Sprinkle with a little powdered sugar if you like and serve with your favorite cup of coffee. 

Heat 2 cups milk in the microwave or on the stovetop until it reaches 100 F. Add ½ cup sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, vegetable oil, and ½ cup butter.

Cool to lukewarm and add the yeast, vanilla extract, and 2 teaspoons cinnamon. Stir gently.

Alternating between them, mix in half the flour, then two of the eggs and then the remaining flour to the wet mixture. Mix thoroughly, pull into a ball and lightly knead.

Continue kneading the dough until a smooth ball forms, about 5 minutes.

Cover and let rise for 1 hour.

Mix together the softened cream cheese, 2 tablespoons milk, 2 tablespoons sugar, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon to form a thick cream.

Whisk together the remaining egg and a teaspoon of water to form an egg wash.

Divide the dough into 12 balls. Cover and let rise 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 425 F.

Flatten each ball.

Use your finger to make a dent in the center of each ball for the filling.

Add about 1 tablespoon of cream cheese filling to each roll.

Top each roll with 3-4 cherries from the cherry pie filling.

Brush each roll with the egg wash.

Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Allow to cool slightly and serve with a sprinkle of powdered sugar if desired.

You can make the dough up to 2 days in advance and store it in the refrigerator. Just make sure you put it in a large enough bowl or plastic bag to contain it as it will continue to expand. When you're ready to make the kolaches, bring the dough to room temperature before forming the balls and adding the filling. The dough will be easier to work with when it's not cold. The filling can be made ahead and kept in an airtight container in the fridge as well.

You can also bake the kolaches, allow them to cool, and then store them in an airtight container on the counter for 3 days or in the refrigerator for 5 days. They can also be frozen for up to 6 months. If you freeze them on a baking tray first and then add them to a plastic storage bag the rolls won't stick together when they're frozen. To reheat, add them to a preheated 325 F oven for 5-10 minutes or until defrosted. They can also be defrosted at room temperature or for 30 seconds to 1 minute in the microwave. 

The beauty of this recipe is that it's so easy to customize. You have lots of different options for both serving and filling the kolaches. If you place all of the dough balls in a pie pan and then press and fill them, you'll have a beautiful presentation for brunch. You can omit the cream cheese altogether and you can fill the pastries with an assortment of fruit preserves or jams rather than the cherry pie filling. Apricot jam, peach jam, or raspberry preserves are all great options. Try topping the rolls with some homemade streusel or even granola before baking (after the egg wash) for even more flavor and a touch of crunch. 

If you want to make a savory Texan version of the pastry, you can also fill the dough with sausages. Roll the balls of dough flat and then wrap them around sausage links, let them rise, and then bake, for a very special version of pigs in a blanket. Whatever filling you decide to add, be sure you brush the pastry with the egg wash so it has that nice shine.