In my research into Ukrainian food, I am finding one very consistent thing: the items and the flavor profiles of many central European foods, as well as Germany and Russia, are pretty similar. There are nuances of course — the further south (i.e. Hungary), the spicier the food, and there are some hyper-regional nuances (i.e. a Lviv-style cheesecake is from Lviv), but in general, there is a whole lot of overlap in Ukrainian, Polish, Slovak, Romanian, Hungarian, Russian and German food. Case in point: this style of cookie is found in Poland, Chechia, Slovakia, Ukraine and Russia. I chose fruit, but you can also use almond paste or even a sweet cream cheese filling. These are apricot and tart cherry. Yummy.
Ingredients
200 grams unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
150 grams cream cheese, softened to room temperature*
125 grams vanilla yogurt*
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon table salt
600 grams all purpose flour
1 egg white
1/2 cup jam — I used 1/4 cup of apricot and 1/4 cup tart cherry
confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
Directions
In the work bowl of your stand mixer, cream together butter, cream cheese, yogurt, sugar and salt. Add in the flour, almond meal and baking powder and mix until you have a very cohesive dough. It should be relatively elastic. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for a minimum of 1 hour or overnight.
Heat oven to 375F and line baking sheets with silpat or parchment paper.
Roll dough out 1/8-inch thick and cut into 2 1/2-inch squares. I have a 2 ½-inch cookie cutter, but you can also use a knife or a pizza cutter. and place about 1/2 teaspoon jam or preserves in the center. Overlap opposite corners and pinch together. Place on prepared cookie sheets.
Bake 14-16 minutes or until golden brown at the edges. Cool on wire rack. Sprinkle kolacky lightly with confectioner’s sugar.
* If you happen to have quark, you can also make this recipe combining the volume of the cream cheese and yogurt (so 275 grams) and use quart instead. Also add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
