These cherry and cream cheese kolaches are made with a soft and buttery dough, topped with cream cheese filling and a homemade cherry pie filling. These are perfect for summer!
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🍒A Great use of Summer Cherries
Kolaches are similar to a danish, but are made from a yeasted dough instead. As with danishes, you can top kolaches with pretty much whatever you want - fruit, nuts (see here), or seeds. For this recipe, I decided to make a cherry and cream cheese frosting!
These cherry and cream cheese kolaches are perfect to make when cherries are in season (you can use frozen cherries if making these out of season). The cherry pie filling is fast to make, and you can even make it a day ahead.
The cherry pie filling tops a tangy cream cheese filling, which is the perfect pairing for the sweet pie filling! Before baking, top everything with a crunchy streusel!
🥘Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
- Cherries - frozen cherries can be substituted. Do not thaw them before making the pie filling.
- Lemon - you will need a fresh lemon for this recipe. Both the zest and juice is used.
- Cream cheese - Use the block cream cheese. It's for baking and cooking with.
- Yeast - I used active dry yeast in this recipe. Use whichever type of yeast you are used to using.
- Whole milk - 2% milk can be substituted. I don't recommend using a lighter fat milk than that though.
🔪Instructions
Cherry Pie Filling
Add cherries, sugar, lemon juice, and salt to a medium sized saucepan. Cook over medium heat until cherries have released their juices.
In a small bowl, whisk cornstarch and water together. Add to cherry mixture and stir in. Bring the filling to a boil, and simmer for a few minutes until the filling has thickened. Remove from heat and let it cool while you make the dough. You can also make this a day ahead and store in the refrigerator over night.
Kolache Dough
Add yeast, sugar, and warmed milk to a large bowl. Whisk and allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes until it starts to froth. Add butter, eggs, 2 cups of the flour, and salt. Knead together adding ½ cup flour as needed until the dough comes together and cleans the sides of the bowl (if using a stand mixer).
Place dough into a greased large bowl. Cover and let sit until doubled, about an hour.
Cream Cheese Filling
Add cream cheese, powdered sugar, egg yolk, and lemon zest to a medium sized bowl. Whip together until smooth. Store at room temperature until ready to use.
Streusel
In a medium sized bowl, combine sugar, flour, and salt. Whisk together. Add butter and using a fork or your hands, break up the butter in the dry ingredients until the butter is the size of peas. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Assembly
Roll kolache dough out into a large rectangle, about ½ inch thick. Use a 2½ inch or 3 inch round cookie cutter to cut circles out of the dough. Place dough rounds on to parchment lined baking sheets. Re-roll up any extra dough and cut more circles out, until all the dough is used. Cover dough circles and let sit until poofy, about 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) while dough is resting.
Use a spoon to make slight indents on the top of each dough circle. Place 2 tablespoons cream cheese filling into each indent. Top with a tablespoon of cherry pie filling and then followed by a sprinkling of streusel. Bake for 15-18 mins, or until golden, rotating the trays halfway through the baking time.
✔️Expert Tips
- You can make the cherry filling a day or two ahead.
- You can use frozen cherries instead of fresh. Don't thaw them before using them in this recipe.
- You can make the dough the night before. Let it rise until doubled in size and then store in the refrigerator covered until the next day. Let it come to room temperature before continuing with the recipe.
- Don't skimp on the streusel! It adds the perfect crunch to these sweet pastries.
💭FAQs
Kolaches are sweet pastries from Czech. The pastries are made from a yeasted dough that traditionally holds fruit and jams.
Wrap kolaches individually and freeze for up to 30 days. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Reheat in the microwave.
🔖Related Recipes
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Cherry and Cream Cheese Kolaches
Ingredients
Cherry Filling
- 2 cups fresh cherries pitted and chopped
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon water
Kolache Dough
- 1 teaspoon dry active yeast
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup milk warm
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature, cut into 1" pieces
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk room temperature
- 3-4 cups all purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Cream Cheese Filling
- 4 ounces cream cheese room temparture
- 4 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1 large egg yolk room temperature
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
Streusel Topping
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter cold
Instructions
Cherry Filling
- Add cherries, sugar, lemon juice, and salt to a medium sized saucepan. Cook over medium heat until cherries have released their juices.
- In a small bowl, whisk cornstarch and water together. Add to cherry mixture and stir in. Bring the filling to a boil, and simmer for a few minutes until the filling has thickened.
- Remove from heat and let it cool while you make the dough. You can also make this a day ahead and store in the refrigerator over night.
Kolache Dough
- Add yeast, sugar, and warmed milk to a large bowl. Whisk and allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes until it starts to froth.
- Add butter, eggs, 2 cups of the flour, and salt. Knead together adding ½ cup flour as needed until the dough comes together and cleans the sides of the bowl (if using a stand mixer).
- Place dough into a greased large bowl. Cover and let sit until doubled, about an hour.
Cream Cheese Filling
- Add cream cheese, powdered sugar, egg yolk, and lemon zest to a medium sized bowl. Whip together until smooth. Store at room temperature until ready to use.
Streusel
- In a medium sized bowl, combine sugar, flour, and salt. Whisk together.
- Add butter and using a fork or your hands, break up the butter in the dry ingredients until the butter is the size of peas. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Assembly
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Roll kolache dough out into a large rectangle, about ½ inch thick. Use a 2½ inch or 3 inch round cookie cutter to cut circles out of the dough.
- Place dough rounds on the prepared baking sheets. Re-roll up any extra dough and cut more circles out, until all the dough is used.
- Cover dough circles and let sit until poofy, about 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) while dough is resting.
- Use a spoon to make slight indents on the top of each dough circle.
- Place 2 tablespoons cream cheese filling into each indent. Top with a tablespoon of cherry pie filling and then followed by a sprinkling of streusel.
- Bake for 15-18 mins, or until golden, rotating the trays halfway through the baking time.
- Store leftovers at room temperature for 2 days.
Notes
- You can make the cherry filling a day or two ahead.
- You can use frozen cherries instead of fresh. Don't thaw them before using them in this recipe.
- You can make the dough the night before. Let it rise until doubled in size and then store in the refrigerator covered until the next day. Let it come to room temperature before continuing with the recipe.
- Don't skimp on the streusel! It adds the perfect crunch to these sweet pastries.
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