Strawberry Cream Cheese Kolaches

Kolaches are kind of a crisis food. I don't know why, exactly, I have this notion in my head, but it's there, so let's run with it. Obviously, kolaches are deeply associated with West, Texas for Texans of all walks of life. Our own Czech Stop is located in the town that recently experienced a horrendous disaster during the worst week of all time. So maybe we're all feeling a little extra kolache-inclined as of late. I've been dreaming about kolaches.

Maybe I should note that I've been going through some things. Not remotely of the magnitude of what happened in West or Boston--I certainly don't mean to compare the situations. But, boy, did last week suckity suck suck on a completely personal note.

So, in my most adult manner, I made some frigging kolaches. We all have different coping mechanisms, mine just happens to involve butter... and crazy, over-filled Czech danishes.
Maybe it harkens back to my notion of kolaches as the food of a crisis, but there is something so ridiculously pleasurable about kneading this sweet dough. Really. It takes forever, but it's so rewarding, so methodical, it's like a bit of culinary therapy in itself.

Additionally, there's something to be said for the ability to provide during a time of stress--I may have been at my wit's end when I made this kolaches last week, but then I shared them, with my family and neighbors. It felt like such a relief to be able to provide something for the people that I love. Maybe that's just my crazy care-giver nature. Well, as long as my crazy nature involves treats, I don't think anyone is complaining.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Kolaches 

from The Homesick Texan
makes 18 gigantic kolaches/more smaller

Kolache Dough 
Ingredients
   1 package of active dry yeast
   1 cup of warm milk
   1/4 cup sugar
   3 cups of all-purpose flour
   2 eggs
   3/4 cup of melted butter
   1 teaspoon of salt

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine yeast, warm milk, sugar and one cup of flour. Cover and let it rise until doubled in size.
2. Beat together eggs, 1/2 cup of melted butter (reserve 1/4 cup for brushing on the pastry) and salt.
3. Add egg mixture to yeast mixture and blend.
4. Stir in about two more cups of flour, 1/2 cup at a time. The dough should be soft and moist.
5. Knead dough for about 10 minutes on floured surface. Don't worry, it’s a joy to knead as the dough is smooth and highly malleable.
6. Put dough in a greased bowl and let rise covered until doubled in size—about an hour.
7. After dough has risen, punch it down and pull off egg-sized pieces. In your hands, roll pieces into balls and then flatten to about three inches in diameter. Brush with melted butter.
8. Place flattened pieces on a greased cookie sheet, cover and let rise again for another half-hour.
9. After second rising, with your finger gently make an indention in the center of the dough (be careful not to flatten it too much) and fill with one tablespoon of strawberry filling, one teaspoon of cream cheese filling, and sprinkle with posypka.
10. Bake in oven at 375 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes. Brush with melted butter when you take them out of the oven and serve warm.

Strawberry Filling

Ingredients 

   8 ounces fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced

   3/4 cup granulated sugar

   1 tablespoon lemon juice

   1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. To make the strawberry filling, place the sliced strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice in a pot and allow them to sit with the burner off for 30 minutes or until the strawberries begin to release some of their juices. 
2. After they've released some juices, turn the heat to medium high and while occasionally stirring, cook the strawberries until thick and jammy, about 10-12 minutes. 
3. Turn off the heat, stir in the cinnamon, and mash the berries with the back of your spoon or a masher. Allow to cool and then refrigerate until needed. (Make ahead of time, and allow to cool) 

Cream Cheese Filling 

Ingredients 

   8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

   1/4 cup granulated sugar

   3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

   1 egg yolk

   1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

   1 teaspoon lemon zest

Directions

1. To make the cream cheese filling, beat the cream cheese and sugar together until fluffy. Stir in the flour, egg yolk, vanilla, and lemon zest until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use. 

Posypka

Ingredients

   1/2 cup all-purpose flour

   1/2 cup sugar

   1 tablespoon butter

   1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients until crumbly.