APRICOT KOLACHES – A TRADITIONAL HUNGARIAN CHRISTMAS COOKIE #christams

I had remaining (healthier) plans for today's post but these younger, two-bite Hungarian Xmas Cookies (Kiffles / Kolaches) are vindicatory too favourable not to get straightaway! So saving, in fact, there were barely enough liberal to shoot this farewell! [Oops]

Unfermented, tender and addicting, these Pink Kolaches are stunning! The peach filling is just the opportune total of phonetician to set off the tender, smarmy dough.

In an crime to get these emotional kolaches as cease to my Husband's Ugric Grandmother's as affirmable, I would gain a clutch and then meet him into the kitchen for an examination and a appreciation essay. The foremost flock needed to be thinner and he remembered that hers had a granulated dulcorate finishing.

Oh, the component of the granulated dulcorate decorativeness elevated these little kolaches far above the intermission! Based on my extensive Net explore, rolling the dough out in sweeten is not conventional. In fact, I couldn't feel it anywhere! Grannie Szabo put her own twist on these traditional Christmastide cookies and it was magical!

The edulcorate caramelized on the soil and the resulting smack combination is something I've never toughened. It is no mull that my Mate remembers these kolaches from so agelong ago. They are really something specific.

Ingredients

For the Pastry:

• 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 8 oz cream cheese
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• ½ cup granulated sugar for rolling

For the Apricot Filling:

• 1 lb dried apricots
• 1 cup sugar

Instructions

1. To make the Apricot Filling:
2. Place dried apricots in a small saucepan and pour in just enough water to cover the apricots. Boil until the apricots are soft. Do not let all the water evaporate. Add a little bit more to keep the filling from burning if necessary.
3. Add the sugar and continue to cook until thick.
4. Either puree in a food processor or with an immersion blender in a bowl. If the filling is too runny, return it to the sauce pot to continue to cook.
5. Note: You can make the filling ahead of time and freeze it until you are ready to use it. Just thaw at room temperature when you are ready to use.
6. For the Pastry Dough:
7. Sift flour and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside.
8. Beat the cream cheese and butter together with a stand mixer or a hand mixer until completely incorporated and creamy (3-5 minutes).
9. Reduce the speed of the mixer and slowly add in the flour. I used 5 additions and completely mixed in the flour each time. The dough will be soft but not sticky.
10. Divide the dough into 4 equal parts and flatten each to ¾” thick. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until hard, at least 2 hours.
11. Assembling the Kolaches:
12. Pre-heat the oven to 375°. Move the oven rack one setting higher than the center.
13. Take one of the disks of dough from the refrigerator and lightly flour both sides. Spread granulated sugar on your pastry board or work surface. Place the dough on top and roll out pastry to 1/16” to 1/8” thick. Most recipes say 1/8” but my Husband remembered them being thinner.
14. With a pastry wheel or sharp knife, trim the dough into a square and then cut the square into 16 smaller squares. My dough never rolled out into a perfect circle so I would just cut as many 1 1/2 “ squares as possible, saving the scraps for later.
15. Place a dollop of filling into the center of each square. I used ½ teaspoon to ¾ teaspoon for each.
16. Gently grab two opposite corners and fold one over the other, gently pressing down to try and seal them together. Gently move it to a parchment covered baking sheet. Repeat with all remaining squares, placing the kolaches no closer than 1” apart.
17. Sprinkle the middles of the kolaches with just a touch of granulated sugar.
18. Bake 12-14 minutes or until the bottom edges are a golden and you can smell them. Let cool slightly on the pan on a wire rack and then move them gently to a wire rack to cool completely.
19. Repeat with all remaining dough. Refrigerate and re-roll your scraps. Amazing.
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