These Kolaczki are easy-to-make Polish fruit-filled cookies that are the perfect sweet treat for holidays or any day! It takes just 5 ingredients to make these incredibly delicious cookies, so they’re guaranteed to become a part of your cookie rotation! They make a stunning addition to your Christmas cookie gift baskets too!
Polish Kolaczki Cookie Recipes
Kolaczki are an amazing fruit-filled cookie that’s traditional in Poland and the Czech Republic, though they’re most associated with being a Polish recipe. They’re also popular in Russia, Austria, Denmark, and the rest of central and eastern Europe – especially during the holidays!
These buttery cookies are one of my favorites to make because they’re so simple! You make the easy, 3-ingredient dough, then fill it with your favorite fruit pastry or pie filling. Bake, sprinkle with powdered sugar – and you’re done! How easy is that?
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If baking gets you in the Christmas spirit, check out my holiday baking recipes! There are cookies, my fantastic Christmas cake, fruitcake and more cake ideas, pies, fudge, candy, and so much more to try!
❤️ Why I Love This Recipe
It’s Simple! My Kolaczki recipe uses just 5 ingredients, so you can bake these sweet little cookies in no time!
It’s Flavorful! A delicious dough and sweet fruit filling combine to make a cookie that’s incredibly addictive! You can use your favorite store-bought pastry/pie filling or make your own!
It’s a Family Favorite! These buttery and jammy little bites are definitely going to become your family’s new favorite. Make them for the holidays, birthdays, or any time you or your loved ones are craving something sweet.
🥘 Kolaczki Ingredients
My simple and delicious Kolaczki recipe has just 5 ingredients! It calls for fruit pastry or pie filling – buy your favorite store-bought or make your own!
- Cream Cheese – 8 ounces of cream cheese. You want to make sure this is softened by leaving it out for 30 mins to 1 hour before using. Cream cheese makes the pastry base of the cookie super tender and rich.
- Butter – 1½ cups of butter. You also want to make sure the butter is softened, which you can easily do by leaving it out of the fridge for a few hours or overnight before using. Use your favorite butter brand, but I recommend using European butter for the best flavor.
- All-purpose Flour – You can use your favorite brand of all-purpose flour!
- Pie or Pastry filling – 16 ounces of pie or pastry filling. You want to use 2 different flavors and at least 8 ounces of each.
- Water – A little bit of water helps to seal the overlapped dough before baking. You can also use egg white if you prefer.
- Confectioner’s Sugar – ½ cup of confectioners' sugar. Dusting the finished, cooled cookies with powdered sugar helps give them that beautiful bakery look. Confectioner’s sugar will also be used with a little granulated sugar to help roll out the dough.
*Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!*
🔪 How To Make Kolaczki
My scrumptious Kolaczki takes almost no time to prepare! Make sure the butter and cream cheese are softened to help make this recipe as easy as possible.
Perfect for a crowd, this recipe will make about 60 cookies!
Prepare The Dough
- Mix butter and cream cheese. In a large mixing bowl, combine 8 ounces of softened cream cheese and 1½ cups of softened butter (3 sticks). Beat until thoroughly combined and light and fluffy.
- Finish the dough. Add 3 cups of all-purpose flour into the creamed butter mixture 1 cup at a time, until it is fully incorporated into the dough. Wrap the dough in plastic cling film and flatten it slightly into a disc so that it chills quickly. Chill for an hour before rolling out.
Prep and Bake
- Prep. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Then, line your baking trays with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat, if you have it.
- Roll out the dough. Dust your work surface with an equal combination of sugar and confectioner’s sugar. Then, roll out the cream cheese dough until it is ¼ inch in thickness. (*I use a quarter portion of dough at a time. Meanwhile, it’s important that the remaining dough is returned to the refrigerator and kept chilled.)
- Fill the dough circles. Cut the dough into 2-inch squares or rounds, then place ½ to 1 teaspoon of your pie or pastry filling into the center-line of each cut square or round of the dough. Overlap the opposite corners or sides and brush the bottom corner with a little water or egg white to seal the dough. Pinch or press the dough together to seal securely.
- Bake the Kolaczki. Place each filled cookie (*try using a spatula to help transfer to the pan) onto your prepared baking sheets and bake them at 350°F (175°C) for 12-15 minutes, or until the bottoms of the cookies are a light golden color.
- Cool. Remove the finished Kolaczki from the oven and allow to them cool, about 5 minutes. Next, transfer the cookies to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. When your cookies are completely cooled, or just before serving, dust them with confectioner’s sugar.
These buttery, jammy Kolaczki cookies are perfect just as they are, but they’re also amazing when served with coffee or hot tea! Enjoy!
💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Recipe Notes
- Unsure what to use for the fruit filling? You can absolutely make your own or try pre-made pastry or pie filling! Try my raspberry, cherry, pineapple, blackberry, or apple pie fillings!
- It isn’t recommended to use jam, as it typically does not use starch as a thickener and can seep into your cookies.
- When cutting out the circles or squares for the Kolaczki, try using a cookie cutter! You can use a sharp paring knife or bench cutter to cut the dough, but a cookie cutter is an easy way to cut those rounds or squares out quickly and evenly!
- The dough for the cookies can easily become sticky and hard to work with, so it’s best to keep it refrigerated.
- You should chill the dough for at least 1 hour before handling it to make rolling and shaping easier! I also recommend only using a quarter portion of the dough at a time and then keep the remaining dough in the refrigerator.
- When filling and folding the dough, try to work quickly so the filling doesn’t soak through or spill out of the cookie.
🥡 Storing
These tasty little cookies are likely to disappear quickly! Any extras will keep best at room temperature in an airtight container, layered with sheets of parchment paper. These Kolaczki keep for 3-5 days before they get soggy.
It's best to hold off on dusting with the confectioners' sugar until ready to serve your cookies.
Freezing Kolaczki
Kolaczki also freeze very well! Make the filling, but unbaked cookies and freeze them on a lined baking tray. When completely frozen, transfer to an airtight container, separating the layers by sheets of parchment.
They’ll keep for 3 months in the freezer. When you’re ready to have delicious cookies, follow the above baking instructions, and enjoy!
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❓ Recipe FAQs
Yes! Kolaczki are popular all over Europe, so there are variations on spelling! You may see kolachky, kolache, kolachy, or kolacky. But they’re all the same delicious dessert!
I love fruit fillings for these little cookies, but more traditional flavors include apricot, prune, almond, and poppy seed! You may be able to find some of these traditional fillings at an eastern European grocery store.
For these Kolaczki, rolling out with powdered sugar adds a little extra sweetness to the dough (note, it doesn’t have sugar!) but it also helps to prevent the dough from sticking without drying it out like flour might!
🎄 More Christmas Cookies
- Christmas Cowboy Cookies - These tasty cookies are jam-packed with a ton of yummy mix-ins!
- Chocolate Peppermint Cookies - A dark chocolate cookie is topped with crushed candy canes and a chocolate drizzle!
- Chocolate Peppermint Blossoms - Top a chocolate cookie base with a peppermint Hershey's kiss for this tasty cookie!
- Polar Bear Paw Print Cookies - Chocolate cookies are topped with frosting, shredded coconut, and M&Ms!
- Italian Ricotta Cookies - These classic Italian Christmas cookies use ricotta to make the cookies extra tender!
- Eggnog Sugar Cookies - Eggnog is featured in the dough of these cookies and then they are topped with nutmeg frosting!
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📖 Recipe Card
Kolaczki
Ingredients
- 8 oz cream cheese (1 brick, softened)
- 1 ½ cups butter (3 sticks, softened)
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 16 oz pie or pastry filling (2 flavors, at least 8 ounces of each flavor)
- water (or egg white - for sealing the overlapped dough)
- ½ cup confectioners' sugar
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl combine the softened cream cheese and butter. Beat until thoroughly combined, light and fluffy.
- Add the flour into the creamed butter mixture 1 cup at a time until your dough is fully mixed. Wrap the dough in cling film and flatten slightly so that it chills quickly. Chill for an hour.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line your baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Dust your working surface with an equal combination of sugar and confectioners' sugar, then roll out the cream cheese dough until it is ¼-inch in thickness. *I use a quarter portion of the dough at a time, meanwhile, it is important that the remaining dough is returned to the refrigerator and kept chilled.
- Cut the dough into 2-inch squares or rounds then place ½ to 1 teaspoon of your pastry filling into the centerline of each cut square or round of the dough.
- Overlap the opposite corners or sides and brush the bottom corner with water or egg white to seal the dough. Pinch or press the dough together to seal securely.
- Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 12-15 minutes, or until the cookie bottoms just begin to show a light golden color. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
- Once your cookies are completely cooled, dust with confectioners' sugar (or just before serving).
Notes
- Unsure what to use for the fruit filling? You can absolutely make your own or try pre-made pastry or pie filling! Try my raspberry, cherry, pineapple, blackberry, or apple pie fillings!
- It isn’t recommended to use jam, as it typically does not use starch as a thickener and can seep into your cookies.
- When cutting out the circles or squares for the Kolaczki, try using a cookie cutter! You can use a sharp paring knife or bench cutter to cut the dough, but a cookie cutter is an easy way to cut those rounds or squares out quickly and evenly!
- The dough for the cookies can easily become sticky and hard to work with, so it’s best to keep it refrigerated.
- You should chill the dough for at least 1 hour before handling it to make rolling and shaping easier! I also recommend only using a quarter portion of the dough at a time and then keep the remaining dough in the refrigerator.
- When filling and folding the dough, try to work quickly so the filling doesn’t soak through or spill out of the cookie.
susan mattero says
Can you freeze the cookies? If yes, how long ?
Angela Latimer says
Yes, you can freeze the dough for up to 3 months (tightly wrapped with air pushed out). Or freeze baked cookies (without the powdered sugar) for up to 2 months. Thaw on the counter for about 2 hours before serving, and sprinkle with the powdered sugar once thawed.
DoxWife says
My grandmother, a little bitty hot tempered Polish woman, made a version of these for most of my life. She made fillings: prune, pineapple (most of the family’s favorite), peach, apricot, apple, ground nuts (usually walnut or pecan) mixed with cinnamon and brown sugar, etc. Her recipe, which I, thankfully, wrote down about 10 years ago, uses a yeast dough that is a little sweet. She will be 93 this fall, and her mind and memory have abandoned her for the most part. She remembers me based on food…so I speak to her in her language. I cook meals, bake treats, and fill her freezer with the foods she loves. I’m working tonight on making this recipe specifically for her, as she hasn’t had these in at least a decade. When they’re done, I’ll drive the 2 hours each way to bring them (and the homemade pork carnitas I’m making) to her in the hopes that it will bring a smile to her beautiful face. Thanks for posting the recipe…
Carol Quinlan says
Had a problem with this recipe. They came undone! I used egg white for the corners and they opened up. Do you know how this happens?
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
It's hard to get a good amount of pressure for sealing them, but if you see them popping open in the oven simply press them back into place. I may have one or two that does this, and I just close them again (either while baking or just out of the oven). Thanks for asking!
Kabeer Munjal says
The bottom is golden, but the center feels very soft. How to know the cookies are entirely baked and safe to consume
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
These are super tender cookies when baked. Trust your baking time once the edges look slightly golden and then leave the cookies on your baking sheet for that 5 minutes or more after removing them from the oven. They will continue to bake during this time. Enjoy!
Ginny says
I have made similar cookies like this but I cannot keep the jelly from spilling out or the dough from coming apart once I pinch the two ends to close. What am I doing wrong? tky
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Hi Ginny, sorry you haven't had much luck with keeping these tasty cookies closed. Have you tried using water or an egg wash to seal the ends together? Once you get the ends to stay in place, everything else should work fine too. 🙂
Audrey says
Very easy to work the dough with confectionery sugar. We made 8 dozen from the recipe. Hope they last till Christmas.
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
You're awesome! Hope they last until Christmas for you, they wouldn't last long here! Happy holidays!!
Lisa Early says
Why is my dough sticky? Help
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
The can be a little sticky, that's OK. Use your confectioners' sugar generously while rolling out the dough.