Author Archives: Nancy

IT’S BEGINNING TO FEEL A LOT LIKE AUTUMN

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It’s finally over!  Summer, that is.  We’ve had glorious autumn weather these past few days — not really cool enough for a jacket, but cool enough to turn off the A/C — and signs of autumn are everywhere.

For me, one of the first signs that fall is on its way (not counting the Halloween stuff that appears at the craft stores in July, and anything related to back-to-school), is the Golden Raintrees bursting into brilliant bloom:

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The blossoms give way to seed pods:

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And soon the trees are covered in papery salmon-covered seed pods:

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Another sure sign that fall is on the way, is the arrival of pumpkins at the grocery store. It seems like each year there are more and more colors and shapes to choose from:

pumpkins

Soon, Halloween decorations creep into the landscape.  I always get a kick out of seeing all the ghosts and graveyards popping up around the neighborhood:

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ghosts

Disco ghosts

My friend Bill and I went to the fall Herb Fair put on by the South Texas Unit of the Herb Society of America this past weekend, where I stocked up on their special herb blends, including Rosemary’s Cookies, Spaghetti Zip, and Royal Salt.  I also bought some interesting-sounding jams, and of course, herbs:

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As the parent of two high-schoolers, Homecoming is another sign that fall is here.  For my daughter’s last high school Homecoming Dance, we hosted a fajita party at our house before the dance, which the kids really enjoyed.  At the last minute, I ordered a tres leches cake from one of my favorite bakeries, Ideal Bakery.

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As the sun-faded sign in the window declares, “te encantara!” which translates to something like “you’ll love it!”

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The bakery is filled with tempting Mexican pastries of all sorts, and it’s always fun to grab a tray and pair of tongs and select a few from the cases.

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 Special for Halloween

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How do they get the sugar coating to do that?

The cake was delicious, and true to its word, everyone loved it.  One caveat — although their baked goods are delicious, spelling is not their forte:

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The couple working at the bakery were so sweet, and made me a cake on very short notice, and when they brought it out and asked if it was OK, I just had to smile and say, “It’s perfect.”  Which it was.

La Ideal Bakery on Urbanspoon

EASY APRICOT CHEESE KOLACHES

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Recently, kolaches have been receiving a lot of attention.  In fact, just last week, the New York Times ran an article entitled “The Kolache:  Czech, Texan, or All-American? (All Three).”  Kolaches are Czech pastries, made with a yeast dough and most often topped with a sweetened cream cheese or fruit filling.  Here in Texas, kolaches are hugely popular.  There’s a strip of highway in south-central Texas known as the Czech Belt, where numerous bakeries and roadside stops sell homemade kolaches, and for many travelers, stopping and buying kolaches is the highlight of any road trip.  Our personal favorite is Weikel’s Bakery (” We Gotcha Kolache”), and I might add that their apple strudel and mega-sized Rice Krispie squares with pecans are pretty awesome, too.  My kids have been eating sausage kolaches from the Kolache Factory, a chain with locations all over Texas, since they first cut teeth.

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 Offerings at the Kolache Factory

If you are like me, and by that I mean being neither Czech nor inclined to wake up early enough to mix up yeast dough in time to serve kolaches hot out of the oven to my impatient family (and they really are best hot out of the oven — the kolaches, that is, not my family), here is an easy way to quickly satisfy any kolache cravings or curiosity.  By using Pillsbury refrigerated thin crust pizza dough, you can save yourself a LOT of time and still serve up delicious, tender, hot kolaches.  I’ve used apricot jam here, but feel free to go wild and use that fig jam with bay leaf that has been sitting in your pantry for years.

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EASY APRICOT CHEESE KOLACHES
Author: 
Recipe type: Breads and Muffins
 
Ingredients
  • 11-ounce can Pillsbury Refrigerated Thin Pizza Crust (do not use other varieties, or your kolaches will be too doughy)
  • 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 4 tablespoons sugar, divided use
  • 3-1/2 tablespoons flour, divided use
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 2 tablespoons butter, divided use
  • ¼ cup Apricot Preserves
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Prepare cheese filling: Place cream cheese, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1-1/2 tablespoons flour, and egg yolk in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy.
  3. Prepare crumb topping: Place 2 tablespoons flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, and 1 tablespoon butter in a mini chopper and process until crumbly.
  4. To assemble kolaches, unroll pizza dough, and cut into 6 equal pieces. Using your hands, shape pieces into rounds. Place 1 round in the center of a 9-inch pie plate, and surround with remaining 5 rounds. Gently press rounds together to cover bottom of pie plate. Melt remaining 1 tablespoon of butter by placing in a small dish and microwaving on high for 20 seconds. Using a pastry brush, brush melted butter over dough. Using the back of a tablespoon, create an indentation in each kolache. Fill with 1 tablespoon cheese filling. Top cheese filling on each kolache with 2 teaspoons apricot jam. Sprinkle crumb topping evenly over kolaches.
  5. Bake until lightly golden and cheese filling is set, approximately 18 minutes. Allow to cool briefly in pan. Use a spatula to remove kolaches and transfer to serving plates.

001The timesaving shortcut — be sure it’s thin crust

(other varieties will not achieve desired results)

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Nestled in baking dish, waiting for filling

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First comes the cheese filling . . . 

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 And then the jewel-like fruit filling

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A sprinkling of streusel (known as “posipka”)

010Hot out of the oven 

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Czech it out!

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Těšit!

(which, according to Google Translate, means “Enjoy” in Czech)