Cherry kolaches

I AM of Czechoslovakian descent, and baking kolaches is my specialty. These sweet yeast buns with fruit or poppy seed filling are a true Czech tradition. They are also popular in other Slavic nations, which sometimes use the spellings kolacky or kolachke. From a young age, I’ve enjoyed baking. But it wasn’t until we retired from farming and moved to town that I started making large quantities of kolaches. The Cherry Kolaches recipe I’m sharing reflects my filling preference. But I also make…

Imagine a sweet cherry pie filling on top of a cheesecake, but instead of a graham crust it's baked inside of a puffy cushion of supple yeast dough. That is a black cherry cheesecake kolache!

Nothing conjures memories of special times with family more than when I'm making a batch of Grandma's Homemade Kolaches. They take a little TLC, but they are so worth it. Make sure to let the dough double in size, once in a lightly oiled bowl, and then again once the pastries have been formed. Pastry perfection.

"This kolache recipe was given to me by my mother-in-law, who received it from her mother! It was a standard treat in their family, made nearly every week. Now I make these kolaches for my own family for special occasions." —Maxine Hron, Quincy, Illinois

These Cherry Kolacky Cookies are a Christmas staple in our household

Andrea Slonecker demonstrates how to make kolaches with a cream cheese filling and various jams.

These flaky Cherry Cream Cheese Pinwheel Cookies are a twist on the traditional Hungarian Kolaches Christmas Cookie recipe.

Hubby and I were craving something sweet the other morning and I threw together these fast and easy cherry cream cheese danishettes. Since I was just kind of winging it, I don't have any exact measurements, but its mostly to taste anyway. Makes 9, but we already ate 3 before I took the pictures. :-) Ingredients: Ready made Puff Pastry (1 sheet) Cherry pie filling (or fruit of choice) Cream cheese mixture: Half block of cream cheese (4oz) 1 Tbs sugar vanilla extract (few drops) lemon juice…

Homemade kolache recipe with blueberry or sweetened cheese. These are the perfect weekend treat, especially fresh from the oven!

The gifts are wrapped, the house is decorated, and the baking is done. This year I thought I’d take a break from making Kolaches for Christmas Day until I mentioned this to my family. WH…