Easy Kolaczki Recipe (Solo Brand Kolacky Thumbprint Cookies)

Name: Easy Kolaczki Recipe
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 70 min
Ingredients: 1 cup Butter (2 sticks, room temperature); 8 ounces Cream Cheese (room temperature); 1 tbsp. milk; 1 tbsp. granulated sugar; 1 egg yolk; 1 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour; 1/2 tsp. baking powder; 1 12 ounce Can Solo Raspberry Fruit Filling; Powdered Sugar

Published: Nov 2, 2021 · Modified: Sep 18, 2023 by Sarah Baumeister · This post may contain affiliate links · 57 Comments

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

This easy kolaczki recipe has a lightly sweetened cream cheese pastry dough that is flaky and buttery. Each kolacky cookie is topped with jam (raspberry is my favorite but there are lots of flavors like poppy seed, apricot, and cherry), and then sprinkled with a dusting of powdered sugar.

9 kolacky cookies sprinkled with powdered sugar on a white plate

Do you have certain foods that evoke memories in you of the holidays? That is what these kolaczki cookies do for me. My mom often made these kolaczki cookies around Christmas Time, and since I am both Polish and Czech, they made me feel like I was enjoying something from my heritage. We only ever used the Solo Brand Kolacky recipe that can be found on the inside of the paper that wraps the can of solo pie filling.

can of solo raspberry filling with other kolacky ingredients in the background

For more polish recipes, try golabki (stuffed cabbage rolls) and polish cucumber salad. The would be great paired with these cookies for dessert.

For a classic italian cookie, try baci di dama.

recipe inside wrapper of solo pie filling

Different ways to spell Kolaczki, kolache, kolacky, kolachky

There are many ways to spell this variety of cookie (Kolaczki, kolache, kolacky, kolachky), all of which are "correct." The spelling varies on country (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, etc.) and personal preference. The word kolache, comes from the Czech word for "wheel." You may see some kolackys cut in squares and folded over on themselves, but traditional round kolaczki are wheels of tender cream cheese dough with a thumbprint impression that is filled with jam.

For the sake of inclusivity, I have used all of the spellings interchangeably in this recipe post.

Are kolaczki polish cookies?

Kolacky are eastern european and are technically from Czechoslovakia. Kolache are thought to have been brought to the US in the 1870's by Czech immigrants. Both the Czech and the Polish claim Kolazcki pastries as their own, you may have seen kolache called, "polish cream cheese cookies."

Ingredients for an easy kolaczki cookie recipe

ingredients for kolacky cookies on a white table

Butter: Room temperature butter makes for a flaky and perfectly laminated pastry dough.
Cream cheese: Cream cheese is a classic ingredient ingredient in kolaczki. Cream cheese is great for baking, like in these pumpkin cookies with cream cheese frosting.
Milk: All you need is a little bitt to help the ingredients come together. This is a very sticky and sticky dough.
Granulated sugar: The kolacky pastry is just barely sweetened, the majority of the sweet flavor with come from jam or jelly on top.
Egg yolk: Egg yolk adds a bit of color and richness to the dough.
All Purpose Flour: No special flour is needed, classic all purpose flour works great here!
Solo Fruit Filling: There are lots of varieties to choose from, lemon, poppyseed, raspberry, blackberry, cherry. My family's favorite is the Solo Raspberry Fruit Filling.
Powdered sugar: for dusting

Full ingredient list and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.

How to make Kolacky (fruit filled cream cheese dough cookies)

1 block of cream cheese and two sticks of butter in a metal bowl

Step 1. Beat room temperature cream cheese, butter, milk, and granulated sugar at medium speed in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer until thoroughly combined.

cream cheese, milk, butter, and sugar, creamed in the bowl of a stand mixer

Step 2. Beat in egg yolk.

finished cream cheese kolacky dough in a stand mixer bowl with a blue spatula

Step 3. Sift in baking powder and flour and stir with a spatula or with the mixer on low until combined. The dough will be stiff.

kolacky dough on a marble backgrop that has been sprinkled with flour

Step 4. Cover dough with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight.

dough rolled out and a metal cookie cutter making circles on the dough with a small rolling pin in the background

Step 5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to ¼ inch thickness.

Step 6. Using a 2 inch cookie cutter, cut cream cheese dough into circles. Place on a baking sheet, with each cookie 1 inch apart.

thumbprint being pressed into a dough circle

Step 7. Using your thumb, make a gentle thumbprint into each unbaked cookie

dough circles with raspberry filling on top ready to go in the oven

Step 8. Spoon a bit of solo fruit filling on to each round (about 1 tsp.) and place in the oven.

finished cookie before powdered sugar has been added.

Step 9. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until lightly browned.

kolacky cookies heavily sprinkled with powdered sugar

Step 10. Remove from the oven and place cookies on to wire cooling racks to cool completely. Once cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar and enjoy.

Recipe Notes

I HIGHLY recommend refrigerating your kolacky dough for at least 30 minutes, but preferably a couple hours. The Solo kolacky recipe instructions call to refrigerate the kolaczki pastry dough for a few hours to overnight.

This dough is more than half butter and cream cheese in relation to the flour and by refrigerating the dough you make it easier to work with and help the butter and cream cheese stay cold. This also helps the dough be laminated which produces a flaky pastry, like that which can be found in this pecan kringle.

Recipe FAQs

Can you use regular jam?

You can, but my family has only ever used solo. You want a jam that is thick enough that it doesn't run, and all of the solo fruit fillings are perfect for that.

Can you freeze kolaczki cookies?

Kolaczki cookies freeze beautifully! Freeze them in single layers, separated by parchment paper to help the jam from sticking. Kolacky can be frozen in an airtight container for a couple months.

Do you have to refrigerate kolaczki dough?

I HIGHLY recommend refrigerating your kolacky dough for at least 30 minutes, but preferably a couple hours.

How to pronounce kolaczki?

Kolaczki is pronounced Ko-Lah-ch-key.

more cookie recipes

If you tried this Easy Kolaczki Recipe or any other recipe from Season and Thyme, I would appreciate you leaving a star rating and let me know how it goes in the comments below. I love to hear from you.