2015 National Festival of Breads

Special Award: Best Recipe Using C&H® or Domino® Sugar
Sponsored by C&H®/Domino® Sugar
Mary Shivers, Ada, Oklahoma

“Kolaches (koh-LAH-chees) are fabulous served with steaming mugs of coffee. I like my dough recipe because the sour cream makes the kolaches tender. The orange zest glaze complements the sweet cream cheese filling.”

Yield: 24 kolaches.

Ingredients

Dough

½ cup (4 ounces) warm water (110°-115°F)
1 (¼ ounce) package RED STAR® Active Dry Yeast
1 teaspoon C&H® or Domino® Pure Cane Granulated Sugar
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream, room temperature
½ cup (1 stick, 4 ounces) unsalted butter, melted
½ cup (3 ½ ounces) C&H® or Domino® Pure Cane Granulated Sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest
4 cups (17 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour, divided, plus ¾ cup (3 1/8 ounces) more for kneading and rolling
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) unsalted butter, melted

Filling

1 ½ packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
¾ cup (5 ¼ ounces) C&H® or Domino® Pure Cane Granulated Sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Glaze

2 cups (8 ounces) C&H® or Domino® Pure Cane Powdered Sugar
1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 to 3 tablespoons (1 to 1 ½ ounces) water

Directions

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle, combine water, yeast, and 1 teaspoon sugar. Wait 5 to 10 minutes for mixture to foam (proof).
2. Beat in sour cream, butter, sugar, salt, eggs, orange zest, and 1 cup flour. Exchange paddle for dough hook, and gradually add remaining 3 cups flour. Knead on medium speed 10 to 12 minutes, or until dough is smooth and elastic.
3. Transfer dough to a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled, about 1 ½ hours.
4. Line two 14” x 20” baking sheets with parchment. Deflate the dough, and transfer it to a lightly floured work surface. Divide dough into 24 equal pieces and shape into smooth balls. Place 2” apart on baking sheets. Brush with melted butter. Cover; let rise until nearly doubled, about 45 minutes. Toward the end of the rise, preheat oven to 375°F.
5. While dough is rising, beat together filling ingredients. Use fingers to make a deep indentation in each ball, about 2” in diameter. Spoon in 1 heaping tablespoon filling. Let rise 15 minutes.
6. Bake 20 to 23 minutes or until lightly golden, rotating baking sheets after 15 minutes. Remove from oven, and after 10 minutes transfer to racks to cool.
7. Whisk together glaze ingredients until smooth, and drizzle over cooled kolaches.

Test Kitchen Note: For food safety reasons, store in refrigerator or freeze for later use.

Nutrition Information Per Serving (1 kolache, 84g): 280 calories, 12g fat, 1g fiber, 7g saturated fat, 0g trans fat, 40g carbohydrates, 50mg cholesterol, 85mg sodium, 4g protein, 0mg vitamin C, 1mg iron, 31mg calcium.