Best Cookies Evah. Seriously.

– Posted in: Bright Side of Life, Food, Holidays, Things To Do with Kids, Worst Mom Recipes

So I realize I’m a little late to the party on this (big surprise), but I’m feeling compelled to share something with you guys. I hold in my hands the recipe for the world’s best cookies.

Seriously. Not joking.

Those who know me are well aware that I can’t cook. I regularly burn soup when I heat it up. But I can actually bake. One reason for that is probably these cookies — kolackys.

I can’t remember a Christmas without kolackys. They technically should’ve come from my Czech grandfather because they’re a Czech cookie, but my German/Polish grandmother used to make them (because my family is insane). They’re a lot less donut-like than the traditional Czech ones I’ve seen, so where the heck she got the recipe, I have no idea.

Anyway, these cookies are pure evil. You eat one and think, “Oh yeah, that was okay. Whatever.” But then suddenly, you realize you need another one. Because they’re not too sweet and not too rich and just the right size. And did I mention they’re really easy to make? Stop talking crazy…

Dough 

  • 1 pound softened butter
  • 8 ounces softened cream cheese
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 2 Tbs sugar

Cream all of that stuff. Then add:

  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 4 cups flour

Take it out of the bowl and form it into a ball. I like to wrap it in wax paper and stick it in the refrigerator. You don’t have to if you need to make cookies ASAP, but it kind of helps firm up the dough.

Pull off handfuls of dough and roll them out. This takes some experimenting, just like any dough. You’ll need to add extra flour to keep it from sticking to everything — sprinkle flour on your rolling surface, cover your rolling pin, and keep sprinkling it over the dough if it continues to stick as you roll it out. You want it to feel a little like Play Dough.

Roll it pretty thinly, but not see-though thin. Thinner than pie crust.

Rolling out kolacky dough

Cut out circles using a shot glass (I know all of you people have shot glasses). Put on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Kolackys cut out

Filling

Lots of options here. We’ve traditionally used apricot, almond, poppyseed, and cream cheese fillings. But personally, I’m mainly a fan of the cream cheese. For the other types, just get the canned cake and pastry filling. Any flavor will work.

To make the cream cheese filling, first blend…

  • 8 ounces softened cream cheese
  • 1 Tbs softened butter

Then add…

  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1/2 tsp lemon peel
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla

Put a little dollop of the filling on each cookie. You can use a spoon, or if you’re super anal and making a ton of them, you can always put it into a pastry bag and pipe it on.

dollops of cream cheese filling on kolackys

Bake them at 375˚. This is where it gets dicey. Depending on your oven, I’ve seen these things cook in 6 minutes or 15 minutes. So watch them carefully. If they start getting brown, they’re overdone.

Slightly overdone kolacky

See how this one is SLIGHTLY brown? These are starting down the road to overdone.

What the inside of a kolacky should look like

The inside should look like this. But they don’t always puff up.

Put them on wire racks and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Put wax paper under the racks — it makes cleaning up A LOT easier.

Don’t let the kids eat them all before you get some. Little bastards.

Finished kolackys

You can keep the dough and filling in the fridge for at least a week. I like to keep it in there so I can just whip out a fresh batch. Incidentally, they’re still okay if they sit around for a while.

And if you want to give them away, I like sticking them in the little Chinese take-out boxes and separating the layers with wax paper. But this may be some wierd, sub-conscious way for me to combine all of my ethnic backgrounds into one package.

So there you go. Kolackys. Best cookies in the world. I kid you not — they won’t let you down.

And like I said, I know I’m late. But there’s always New Year’s. And Valentine’s Day. And Groundhog Day…

Happy eating, everyone.

 

8 Comments… add one

Barb Muscutt December 23, 2012, 12:32 pm

OMG!! They sound wonderful. I’m known as the world’s worst cookie baker . . . just ask my son . . . when he had to take cookies to school he would come home and say “Mom, we have to go buy some cookies”. But I’m thinking I’m going to try to make these tomorrow!!

Tammy December 23, 2012, 8:02 pm

Barb, I think you have my number. Just call if you run into any problems!

Andrew December 24, 2012, 4:00 pm

Wow! delicious! My kids is really like the cookies. For me I like cookies they’re not too sweet. I try it to make for coming New year. Thank you for sharing this recipe. You are best.
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Tammy December 28, 2012, 2:57 pm

Thanks Andrew!

Alison December 4, 2013, 4:30 am

Um, hello cookies!!!
I’ve never seen these before, they look amazing.
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Andrea December 11, 2013, 5:31 pm

Yum! These look delish. I want them in my mouth now.
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aruna November 22, 2015, 1:19 pm

Hello! This recipe sounds absolutely yummy. I cannot wait to try them, Could you please tell me how long is the shelf life.

Tammy Soong November 22, 2015, 4:49 pm

Glad you found them! We’ve eaten them after about a week. But they’re better the fresher they are for sure.
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