Bow Tie Cookies (Kolaczki)
Bow Tie Cookies! (Kolaczki) Made up of a cream cheese-based dough, these tender bow ties are filled with chocolate hazelnut spread and baked to perfection. A beautiful treat for cookie exchanges and holiday gifting!
Servings: 24 cookies
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 8 ounces butter
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup Nutella or desired filling
- ½ cup roasted hazelnuts chopped
- Powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add sugar and vanilla and mix to incorporate fully.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and salt. Slowly add the flour to the butter mixture until it forms a dough that begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. {*I usually add just 2 cups of flour and then sprinkle in an extra ¼ to ½ cup while the mixer goes until the dough is no longer super sticky.} Try not to over mix.
- Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and, with floured hands, gently knead it together to form a ball -- divide it in half. Place each half on a sheet of plastic wrap. Pat dough into 2 square-ish shapes and wrap well. Refrigerate until the dough is firm, several hours or overnight.**
- When the dough is firm, place one square onto a lightly floured surface and roll out to a rectangle or square, about ¼ inch thick. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut as many 2 inch-wide strips across as you are able to, then repeat vertically to end up with 2x2 inch squares of dough. If you have scraps left over, re-roll the scraps and repeat the process.
- Place the dough squares on a baking pan -- the corners should be facing each other so that you have a tray full of "diamond" shapes. Preheat the oven to 375°F degrees.
- Fill a zip top plastic bag or small piping bag with chocolate hazelnut spread, then snip the tip. Pipe a straight line down the center of each diamond from tip to tip -- I estimate I used about a teaspoon of spread in each cookie. Sprinkle each cookie with chopped hazelnuts, pressing lightly to adhere to the spread.
- Wet your fingertips with a little bit of water and lightly swab one side of the cookie dough to moisten -- this will make it slightly sticky so that it adheres to the other side and stays closed. Carefully fold the outer edges of the diamond in toward the center {like it's hugging itself}, making sure to fold the sticky side over the non-sticky side so that it helps to seal the cookie. Repeat until all cookies are sealed into bow ties.
- Bake for about 12 minutes until they're just slightly golden at the edges. They'll be a little soft when you take them out of the oven, but they'll firm up slightly. Remove from baking pan and place on a cooling rack.
- Once cooled, sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.
Notes
- The yield for this recipe depends on the size you cut your squares. Mine were about 2x2 inch squares and I got about 3 dozen cookies out of one batch.
- This dough is best after a rest and some chilling, but I will admit that I've used it without much of a rest and they turn out just fine. Chilling the dough does make it easier to roll out as it is less sticky.
-
- Fruit Preserves: Traditional kolaczki often feature fruit preserves such as apricot, raspberry, strawberry, or cherry.
-
- Poppy Seed Filling: A classic Eastern European option involves a sweet poppy seed filling called "makova napln", which can be made by simmering poppy seeds with sugar, honey, and sometimes milk or butter.
-
- Nut Fillings: Ground nuts like walnuts, almonds, or pecans mixed with sugar, honey, or spices like cinnamon or vanilla create a rich, nutty filling for kolaczki.
-
- Cream Cheese: A creamy and tangy cream cheese filling, sometimes sweetened with sugar or combined with a hint of vanilla or citrus zest, is a popular choice for these cookies.
-
- Chocolate: Chocolate ganache or melted chocolate is a rich alternative to my hazelnut spread version.
-
- Prune Filling: Prune or prune butter filling, often sweetened and spiced, provides a unique sweet flavor that complements the pastry dough.
-
- Apple Butter: A sweet and spiced apple butter filling makes for a delicious seasonal flavor.
-
- Lemon Curd: Tangy and citrusy lemon curd can be used as a filling, offering a bright and refreshing contrast to the cookie's buttery pastry.
- Gluten-Free: I have not tried making these gluten-free, but using your favorite cup-for-cup gluten-free baking mix should work in this recipe.