Kolaczki Cookies are super flaky and buttery and are stuffed with various fruit fillings. These originate from Poland but are popular all over the world, and rightfully so, because they are addictively delicious! The cream cheese-based dough is ultra-tender and flaky, and the jam filling is the perfect bright complement to balance everything out. These are especially popular around Christmas, but they can be enjoyed all year!
Kolaczki Ingredients and Recipe Components
Kolaczki Dough
The dough for these Kolaczki's is very basic and uses minimal ingredients. The key to getting ultra-flaky cookies is an overnight rest in the fridge and working the dough while it's still cold. Chilling the dough allows the butter and cream cheese to set up. When you add cold butter and cream cheese to the oven, little pockets of steam are created, which make those delicious flaky layers that we're after.
I chose to cut the flour with some corn starch as well. This helps lower the protein content of the dough. This helps to make a softer dough by limiting the amount of gluten that is able to form while kneading the dough.
- All-Purpose Flour
- Corn Starch
- Cream Cheese
- Unsalted Butter
- Fine Sea Salt
Kolaczki Filling Ingredients
Most kolaczki recipes call for using canned pie filling for the filling. While this is an option, you can also use any jam, fruit spread, or preserves that you wish. If you do use jam or preserves, you need to be sure that you thicken them accordingly. This recipe uses St. Dalfour brand fruit spreads, with some corn starch as a thickening agent and a touch of fresh lemon juice to add some tartness. If you use fruit spread, jam, or preserves without corn starch, it will be too runny, run out of the cookies, and end up burning on the cookie sheet. Not much fun, if you ask me, so don't skip this very important step.
The addition of the fresh lemon juice really adds a nice acidic kick that helps balance out how rich the dough is as well. You can omit it if you want, but I have found that the more tart the filling is, the more these cookies really pop!
Kolaczki Dough Shaping and Baking
This kolaczki dough is very similar to an all-butter pie dough but uses cream cheese as well. The high fat content of the dough is what makes this so tender and flaky. The high fat content can also make this a fairly wet and sticky dough to work with, especially as it warms up. Here is a quick overview of how to work with this dough:
- Whisk the flour, corn starch, and salt in a large bowl
- Cut in softened cream cheese and unsalted butter with a fork until a shaggy dough forms
- Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and divide into three equal rectangles or squares.
- Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour, up to overnight.
- Once chilled, roll each portion of dough on a heavily floured work surface into an approximate 12 by 9-inch rectangle, and trim the rough edges of the dough.
- Cut into 3 by 3-inch squares (the straighter you cut the dough, the more even your cookies will turn out)
- Place one teaspoon of the prepared filling in the center of each dough square.
- Working one square at a time, lightly wet with your finer tips, two opposing corners of dough and pinching them together tightly. Fold the corner down and over onto itself, and lightly pinch the cookie together. Try not to push directly down on to the center of the cookie too much, or the filling will spill out as it cooks.
- Place the cookies on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, and bake for 15 minutes at 350°F.
- Remove and allow to cool for several minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once completely cooled, dust with powdered sugar.
Combine the kolaczki dough ingredients until you have a relatively smooth dough. -
Divide the dough into three equal pieces, cover, and refrigerate for at least one hour, up too overnight (recommended). -
Roll the dough until it's about ⅛th of an inch thick. Typically, roll it into a 9 by 12-inch rectangle. 
Divide the dough into 3-inch squares. -
Place one teaspoon of your prepared jam in the center of each dough square. Use your fingertips to wet two opposing corners of each square. -
Firmly pinch the two corners together. -
Gently press the folded corner down onto the edge of the kolaczki to prevent the folded corner from lifting while baking. -
Place your prepared kolaczki on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
Serving Suggestions
These are perfect to serve for any Christmas or holiday gathering, or make any occasion "special enough" by making these Kolaczkis!
In the mood for something else? Go check out my other dessert recipes here!
Did you make this recipe for Kolaczki Cookies?
Let me know in the comments below how yours turned out, and don't forget to leave a rating!
Recipe
Kolaczki Cookies
Equipment
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Rolling Pin
- Parchment Paper
- Baking Sheet(s)
- Wire Cooling Racks
Ingredients
Kolaczki Dough
- 1 8 oz. Package Cream Cheese, Softened
- 1 Cup Unsalted Butter Softened - 2 Sticks
- 2 ¾ Cups All Purpose Flour
- ¼ Cup Corn Starch
- ¾ Teaspoons Fine Sea Salt Reduce to ¼ teaspoon if using salted butter
Kolaczki Filling
- 1 Cup Jam, Preserves, or Fruit Spread of your Choosing Divided evenly between the flavors of your choice. I prefer St. Dalfour brand fruit spreads.
- 2 Teaspoons Corn Starch Divided evenly between the flavors of your choice
- 1 Teaspoon Fresh Lemon Juice Divided evenly between the flavors of your choice
- ½ Teaspoon Kosher Salt Divided evenly between the flavors of your choice
Instructions
Kolaczki Dough
- Combine flour, corn starch, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
- Cut in the cream cheese and unsalted butter with a fork until completely combined and a smooth dough forms.
- Cut the dough into 3 equal pieces, and form in 3 by 6-inch rectangles and wrap in plastic wrap.
- Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, up to overnight.
Kolaczki Filling(s)
- While the dough is resting, combine even amounts of each flavor of fruit spread or jam, corn starch, lemon juice (if using), and kosher salt in individual bowls and mix until combined. I typically use four flavors of St. Dalfor brand fruit spread, and divide the jam ingredients into four equal parts.
- Reserve until ready to shape the cookies. All of the flavors of filling can be made a head of time. Cover and refrigerate until needed.
Shaping and Baking
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Heavily flour a work surface. Remove one of the dough rectangles from the fridge, and roll into a 12 by 9-inch rectangle until it's about ⅛-inch thick. Trim the edges of the dough with a sharp knife or a bench scraper to keep the dough square as needed.
- Cut the dough into 3"x3" squares. Using a tape measure or ruler will help to keep your cookies even.
- Place 1 teaspoon of the prepared filling(s) of your choice in the middle of each dough square.
- Working one square at a time, pick up a square and lightly wet two opposing corners and pinch their faces together tightly. Fold the point down over the cookie and lightly press into the dough to ensure the cookie doesn't come apart while baking. Transfer to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough squares.
- Bake for 15 to 17 minutes until lightly golden brown, and the filling has lightly melted.
- Remove and allow to cool approximately 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Repeat the rolling and shaping process with the other batches of dough wile the first batch bakes.
- Once the cookies are completely cool, dust them with powdered sugar. (The sugar will melt if you add it to hot or warm cookies.)
Michelle Goode says
We had these at Christmas and they were a hit! So yummy and not too sweet that they felt heavy. Wonderful treats! Can't wait to have them again!
Jane says
I have a recipe from an elderly Polish lady with "a good handful of X" and a "sprinkle of this" type of measurements. The recipe includes sour cream instead of cream cheese and one package of yeast
She allowed the dough to rise, then refrigerated over night, and then rolled out to about 1/8 inch. Filling was a dollop of meringue and teaspoon of jam. The rest of the instructions were like yours, and they were cut and folded like yours. They were flaky out-of-this-world delicious.
I cannot find this recipe anywhere, and wonder if she was just innovating, or if there is such a recipe. She called them kolaczkis and referred to them as cookies. What do you think?
Spencer Klickman says
Hi Jane! While doing researching and developing this recipe, I found that there are typically two schools of though when it comes to kolaczkis here in the States: smaller "cookie" style (like the ones in my recipe); and larger more "pastry" style ones (like the ones featured in this recipe: https://www.homesicktexan.com/sweet-escape-kolaches/, or this recipe - https://feelingfoodish.com/kolache/). The recipe you have sounds a bit like an amalgamation of both styles, which is very interesting (and sounds delicious to boot)!
I believe the smaller, "cookie-style" are more popular in the Midwest, and the larger, yeasted ones are more popular in and around Texas. I chose to write about the style of kolaczkis that I loved so much growing up in the Chicago suburbs! I really wouldn't be surprised if the recipe you have is a more traditional recipe as well, given the use of sour cream vs. cream cheese, and that it has elements of both "American-ized" styles, etc. I wonder if both styles didn't branch off one starting point like what you have? Thanks for the interesting tidbit!
Lorie Klickman says
These are delicious and bring back lots of sweet memories of growing up.
Spencer Klickman says
Thanks! It's one of the reasons I wanted to share this recipe!