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Apricot Kolacky Cookies (kiffles) have flakey cream cheese pastry dough wrapped around an easy apricot filling made from dried apricots! These two-bite cookies are buttery, crisp and addicting.
I first posted this kolacky recipe in 2013. I made and remade them until they were perfect! In this post you will find all my tips from back then and new ones I’ve learned as a professional pastry chef.
The cream cheese dough is tender, flakey and just a little bit tangy. There isn’t any sugar in the dough, so rolling it out in sugar adds a bit of sweetness and caramelizes in the oven for extra flavor! It is a technique that I also use in these nut roll cookies!
Table of Contents
Why you will love these apricot kiffles
- They have an easy crust with cream cheese that can be made in one bowl with a hand mixer. There is no additional moisture, which makes a very rich, tender pastry.
- The homemade apricot filling recipe is made from dried apricots and can be stored in the freezer for future cookie baking! I store mine in plastic piping bags.
- The dough is rolled out in granulated sugar, which creates a caramelized crust on the bottom and a crunchy, sweet coating on top. There is no sugar in the dough, so this is a welcome addition!
What are kolacky?
Kolacky are an Hungarian Christmas cookie. They are typically made with a cream cheese or yeasted pastry dough rolled thin, filled and folded. The most popular fillings are jam, nut filling or poppyseed filling.
Ingredients
- All-purpose flour: All-purpose flour has just the right amount of gluten to make a flakey, tender apricot kolaches.
- Kosher Salt: Kosher salt is lass salty than table salt and a teaspoon weighs less than other finer ground varieties. . It heightens the flavor here and will keep your pastries for tasting dull or flat.
- Cream Cheese: I use original Philadelphia Cream Cheese for all my baked goods. Working the cream cheese into the dough adds fat and a little bit of tang. I’m no stranger to cookies with cream cheese, and I can tell you that cream cheese does not behave the same as butter when baked and will create a soft, tender cookie.
- Butter: I use unsalted butter for baking, because you want to control the amount of salt you are adding. Every brand is different and it makes adjusting the recipe a challenge.
- Granulated Sugar: Rolling out the dough in granulated sugar will add a bit of sweetness and crunch but it will also caramelize on the baking sheet for added complexity of flavor.
- Dried Apricots: I use sulphered dried apricots because they have that beautiful color. Un-sulphered will be dark brown. I use Turkish Apricots because they are plump, sweet and generally have more retained moisture than other varieties.
- Granulated Sugar: Granulated sugar sweetens and thickens the filling. You could reduce it by half and still have success with these cookies. The sweet filling balances the savory pastry for the perfect bite.
Step by step Instructions
The below instructions will give you all the tips you need to make perfect apricot kolacky cookies from the very first time! Additional instructions and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.
Make the apricot filling:
Step 1: 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.
Step 2: Add the sugar and continue to cook until thick.
Make sure your filling is thick. Thin jams or fillings will run out of the cookie and burn on the baking sheet.
Step 3: 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.
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.
Make the dough:
Step 4: In a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the cream cheese and butter until completely incorporated and creamy (approximately 3-5 minutes).
Step 5: Reduce the mixer to low and add the salt along with small additions of flour. Adding too much at one time will overwhelm the dough and take too long to mix it. This will create gluten and tough, shrinking cookies! The dough will be soft but not sticky.
Step 6: 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.
The dough gets all its moisture from the cream cheese and butter, but you can still overwork it. Divide the dough with a knife or bench scraper rather than tearing it, and press it flat gently. Allow the dough to rest in the refrigerator before rolling or pressing too thin.
Assemble the cookies:
Step 7: Pre-heat the oven to 375°. Move the oven rack one setting higher than the center. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Step 8: 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” thick or as thin as possible. The thinner the better. If you roll them too thick, the bottom will burn before the inside has a chance to fully cook and puff up.
Step 9: 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 a possible, saving the scraps for later.
Step 10: Place a dollop of filling in the center of each square. I used ½ teaspoon. Gently grab two opposite corners and fold one over the other, gently pressing down to try and seal them together. Move it to a parchment covered baking sheet, placing the Rolls no closer than 1” apart. You can offset them in a diagonal pattern to get more on a tray. Repeat with all remaining squares.
You can use a little bit of beaten egg or water to seal the corners together. This can help keep them from popping open in the oven.
Step 11: Sprinkle the middles of the rolls with just a touch of granulated sugar. Bake 12-14 minutes or until the bottom edges are a golden and you can smell them. They should puff up slightly in the middle. With experience you can see when the dough is cooked. Let cool slightly on the pan before moving them gently to a wire rack to cool completely.
Chef Lindsey’s Recipe Tip
Don’t chill the assembled cookies prior to baking them. This re-solidifies the butter in the dough and will cause them to puff too much. The extra puff will open the cookies!
The traditional Hungarian apricot filling is from the Paprikas Weiss Traditional Hungarian Cookbook and the cream cheese crust recipe is from June Meyer’s Authentic Hungarian Heirloom Recipes Cookbook with my technique tips.
Substitutions
- Cream Cheese: The cream cheese is the only moisture in this dough, so if you omit it or reduce it, add water to make a cohesive dough. This will change the consistency and texture of the final cookie. Reduced fat cream cheese can be used but not whipped. Be aware that these changes will affect the final results.
- Dried Fruit: You could certainly use a different dried fruit for the filling. You might need to adjust the amount of sugar or water you add in order to get the necessary consistency.
Variations
- Pastry Cutter: Use a fluted or a straight edged cutter for a different look. A fluted cutter makes a ruffled edge that is very festive without any additional work!
- Change the Size: You could make these apricot kiffles larger without much adjustment beyond the bake time. I would not suggest making them smaller, because the smaller the kolaches, the more likely to pop open.
- Change the filling: Apricot, cherry and poppyseed are three of the most popular traditional fillings. You could also make the walnut filling recipe from my Hungarian walnut rolls as well!
How to store kolacky?
Store baked, cooled cookies at room temperature layered between sheets of wax paper and then wrapped loosely in foil. I found that this will keep them as crisp as possible. You can also freeze them for up to three months.
The raw assembled cookies can also be frozen and then brought to room temperature prior to baking. I suggest freezing in a single layer then placing in a ziptop bag.
Freeze the dough packets and filling separately for later assembly.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Kolacky pop open in the oven when they have too much filling, the dough was chilled before baking, or they are not properly sealed. A firm press to seal should do the trick but others swear by a little bit of water or egg wash. This dough is flakey and if chilled, it will puff excessively like puff pastry in the oven. Sometimes this is desirable, but here we want those cookies to stay shut!
Apricot Kiffles and Apricot Kolaches are a cookie by many names. Multiple Eastern European cultures lay claim to these cookies and they each call them something different. In the Czech Republic and Slovakia kolaches are a type of sweet bread some of which are yeasted. Hungarian kolaches or kolachy are cookies made with a sweet pastry dough and a variety of fillings. In other parts of Eastern Europe and some parts of Hungry call these same cookies apricot kiffles. By any name they are delightful!
Yes! You can freeze fully baked apricot kolaches for up to three months. I layer mine between parchment paper or waxed paper inside a ziptop bag.
This dough is flakey and if chilled, it will puff excessively like puff pastry in the oven. Sometimes this is desirable, but here we want those cookies to stay shut! You do, however, want to chill the dough prior to rolling. This will allow the gluten to relax. It will keep the cookies from shrinking.
If you tried this recipe and loved it please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the comments below. I love hearing from you; your comments make my day!
Apricot Kolacky Cookie (Kiffles)
Ingredients
For the Pastry:
- 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- ½ cup granulated sugar for rolling
For the Apricot Filling:
- 1 lb dried apricots sulfured for color
- 1 cup granulated sugar
Instructions
To make the Apricot Filling:
- 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.
- Add the sugar and continue to cook until thick.
- 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.
- 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.
For the Pastry Dough:
- Whisk flour and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside.
- Beat the cream cheese and butter together with a stand mixer or a hand mixer until completely incorporated and creamy (3-5 minutes).
- 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.
- 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.
Assembling the Kolaches:
- Pre-heat the oven to 375F. Move the oven rack one setting higher than the center.
- 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.
- 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 a possible, saving the scraps for later.
- Place a dollop of filling into the center of each square. I used ½ teaspoon to ¾ teaspoon for each.
- 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.
- Sprinkle the middles of the kolaches with just a touch of granulated sugar.
- Placing the kolaches no closer than 1” apart.
- 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.
- Repeat with all remaining dough. Refrigerate and re-roll your scraps. Amazing.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Apricot Kolaches – An Hungarian Christmas Cookie is great! To be honest, I’m not good at cooking but I like them, they give me joy and excitement every time I finish the dishes, which is a great thing. With your recipe, I just need to follow the instructions and the rest is simple, Thanks for sharing.
Hi, I have my grandma’s recipe, she was Slovak and a well known baker.
We called these cookies Kolaches and always rolled the dough in granulated sugar only. Apricot were always made along with cherry and walnut.
We used an egg white wash to seal those corners together.
The secret is that you must only use a dab of filling in the middle, this prevents the oozing.
Have your dough chilled well and keep the cookies chilled before baking for a flaky cookie.
The cookies burn easily from rolling out in the sugar, so take them out of the oven when they are just done before browning at all.
I’m in western PA, these are a huge Christmas traditional cookie here. One of my Dads favorites from his mom.
My mom would hate making these as they always opened up on her.
It’s a process but well worth the effort.
I hope this helps and thank you for sharing!
OLÁ, MORO NO BRASIL AQUI FAZEMOS ESSE COOKIE , É BEM PARECIDO MAS NO MEIO COLOCAMOS GOIABADA.E PARA NÃO SAIR RECHEIO BELISCAMOS AS PONTAS.
ADOREI A RECEITA IREI TESTAR, ABRAÇOS.
My Grandma Szabo made dreamy kolaches, but nobody got the same recipe! I know it included yeast and sour cream. I like this one because it saves so much time! Thank you! And we also rolled them in confectioners sugar.
Thanks for sharing the recipe! If you would, please correct the typo. It should be “A Hungarian” not “An Hungarian.” Thanks.
I have used this recipe 2 years in a row now. They taste very good, but I keep having the same problem; how do you keep the cookies closed and the apricot to stay in the pastry? Mine always open during baking and the filling spills out
That is a constant struggle! I made them again this year and I had the same struggle. I was trying to make tiny ones with store bought jam. This is what I learned: You have to make them big enough, don’t overfill them, the consistency of the jam matters (too thin and it runs out) – I think the rehydrated dry apricots in the recipe make a difference, don’t chill the dough before baking them because then they puff too much, and really press them closed. I tried egg wash and I thought it made it worse. Some will always pop open and they taste just as good 😉
I just did the ancestry DNA test, and while we knew my great grandmother was Hungarian, we didn’t realize her husband was too! We thought he was German! So, I’m presenting all of this to my family on Christmas with these cookies in tow. My great grandmother used to make these cookies, so I’m hoping everyone will be touched. I’m using fresh apricots, so I’m also hoping they turn out ok!
Oh that is wonderful Kelly! I hope they enjoyed them! Fresh apricots is an interesting idea! Happy New Year!
They were just fantastic! I’d say you don’t need much if any water, and maybe a little less sugar, but really they were outstanding. I had not one single cookie left and everyone RAVED over them!
That’s great Kelly!!!
The Solo brand is decent in a pinch for some fillings. I still can find a store in my general vicinity that carries better Apricot and Raspberry fillings that are specialky made. They’ve been selling a thicker fruitier type, which is great for this type as well as the Rolls. Some other supermarkets had carried the better kind (not all in the same chain), but that didn’t last but a few years or so and generally only seasonally. I think it was last year or the year before, I went to my usual supplier only to find an empty shelf for the Apricot and a sign saying “Sorry, we lost our supplier for Apricot filling. We’re looking for another supplier and hope to have it back on the shelf soon”. Weeks later they got a supply in, but it was that “Gel-like filling” that most of the other local stores carry. And frankly it just doesn’t cut it, runs in some instances, and just doesn’t have anywhere near enough fruit ground up in it with far too much of that gel filler. I frantically went around probably a couple dozen stores or more in my travels of Southeastern and South Central PA trying to find “the good stuff” (lol), but to no avail. Quite a while later my usual spot started carrying it again. Now I probably keep at least a tub or two of the Apricot “Butter” (as it’s labeled) in the fridge as an emergency supply. It keeps quite nicely for a long time in the fridge. I just wish I could find a simple easy way to make it like that myself.