Cream cheese kolache are puffy, soft pillows of buttery dough filled with a pool of rich, creamy cheesecake, then topped with sweet crumbles of streusel. If you've ever had one you probably have an addiction. They're easy to make at home with this vintage recipe.
Ingredients
These are SO good - definitely one of my favorite holiday treats!
- Yeast can be active dry yeast or rapid rise - they both work well.
- Ground ginger helps to wake the yeast up and get it going.
- Sugar is necessary for sweetness as well as giving the yeast colonies something to feed on.
- All-purpose flour is fine for this recipe. You don't need bread flour.
- Kosher salt is what I normally use. If you use regular table salt you'll need about ⅓ as much.
- Instant potato flakes help the dough rise high and stay soft.
- Eggs add richness.
- Cream cheese is the most decadent filling - be sure to use regular and not low fat. Low fat or reduced fat will not work.
- Cinnamon adds flavor.
💭 Tips for success
If you've tried my fruit kolaches and my sausage kolaches you know that I found the perfect kolache dough recipe in an old OLD cookbook with handwritten notes.
The trick is to whip the dough at the end of the kneading time for about a minute AND to bake these in a hot oven - around 425F. You'll have the lightest, fluffiest, billowiest, most beautiful homemade kolaches in the universe.
You know... for when you get tired of sweet rolls and waffles!
- Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature unless otherwise directed in the recipe.
- Use an insta-read thermometer to ensure your liquids aren’t too hot or too cold.
- You can let the dough rise overnight in the refrigerator if you want to.
- Using too much flour or overworking the dough will make them tough.
- Homemade kolache are best eaten the same day they are made or frozen.
FAQs
Here are the questions I am most frequently asked about this recipe.
It's a soft, fluffy sweet roll with some sort of filling that can be either sweet or savory. Fruit, cream cheese, sausage...
Kolache originated in Eastern Europe and came to Texas with the Czech immigrants.
Yes, they freeze well baked or unbaked for up to 3 months
Danish are light and flaky. Kolache are more bready... like a cinnamon roll - sort of.
Only as far as it came to Texas with Czech immigrants. Since Texas has a large Czech population kolache is popular as well.
📚 Related recipes
Here are more of my favorite homemade sweet rolls -
- Cinnamon Cream Cheese Crowns are sweet, rich rolls with a creamy cheese filling. They are easy because they rise overnight in the refrigerator.
- Peanut Butter Sweet Rolls (Whirlamajigs) are filled with a layer of peanut butter cookie with a peanut butter glaze on top. A nice change for cinnamon rolls!
- Gingerbread Donuts are spicy sweet and perfect on a crisp, autumn day. Bake or fry.
🥄 Equipment
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I buy a large amount of yeast at a time. A one pound bag is almost the same price as the small jar in the store! Parchment paper keeps the bottoms from burning, keeps the homemade kolache from sticking, and helps give the crust the texture that is a sign of a good cream cheese kolache.
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need. Don't forget that you can click on "add to collection" to save it to your own, private recipe box!
If you love this recipe please give it a 5 star rating. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Recipe
Cream Cheese Kolache
Print Pin Recipe SaveEquipment Needed
Ingredients
Kolache Dough
- 2 ¼ teaspoons yeast, or 1 packet
- Pinch of ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ¼ cup warm milk, 110F
- ½ cup whole milk
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
- 2 ½ cups to 3 ½ all purpose flour, about 3 if using a bread machine
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons instant potato flakes, unflavored
- 1 large egg, room temperature
Cream Cheese Filling
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
Crumb Topping
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons flour
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 ½ tablespoons melted butter
Instructions
Kolache Dough
- Add the yeast, 1 teaspoon sugar, and ginger to the ¼ cup milk and set aside.
- Put the ½ cup milk and butter in a microwave-safe bowl and heat until the butter melts.
- Let cool to 110F.
- It should feel comfortably warm to when you drop a few drops on your wrist.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment combine 2 cups of the flour with the salt, sugar, and potato flakes.
- Add the yeast mixture and the cooled milk mixture and stir until blended.
- Add the egg and blend it in.
- Add another ⅓ cup of flour. The dough will be sticky.
- Switch to the dough hook.
- Add flour a tablespoon or two at a time until the dough doesn’t stick to the sides of the bowl.
- Knead until dough is smooth and elastic. It should be easy to handle at this point.
- Knead on high for about 30 seconds to a minute.
- Remove from the mixer bowl and form into a ball.
- Rub the ball with melted butter then place it in a greased bowl.
- Turn the ball over once.
- Cover the bowl loosely with a clean tea towel.
- Let it rise for 1 hour 15 minutes, or until doubled in bulk.
- Punch down.
- Divide the dough into 12 pieces about the size of an egg.
- Roll into balls and arrange them 2 inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment.
- Brush with butter, cover loosely with tea towels or plastic wrap, and let rise for 1 hour.
- Make indentations in the buns and fill with cheese mixture.
- Sprinkle with crumb mixture.
- Bake at 425F for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Watch carefully.
Cream Cheese Filling
- Beat together cream cheese with sugar until smooth.
- Add the egg yolk and vanilla.
- Beat until completely incorporated.
Crumb Topping
- Combine sugar with flour and cinnamon.
- Stir in the melted butter until the mixture forms crumbs.
Notes
- Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature unless otherwise directed in the recipe.
- Use an insta-read thermometer to ensure your liquids aren’t too hot or too cold.
- You can let the dough rise overnight in the refrigerator if you want to.
- Using too much flour or overworking the dough will make them tough.
- Homemade kolache are best eaten the same day they are made or frozen.
Mary Noel
My grandma made kolaches with fillings of prune, poppyseed, apricot and cheese. During the Great Depression she lived in Nebraska with her family. Her kids (my mom and aunt and uncle) remember being so embarrassed because grandma would send them door to door selling these kolaches. By the time I came along, grandma would only make these for special occasions, and cheese was my favorite too. Grandma was originally from Slovenia. Thank you for this recipe. I do not have a large stand mixer, so is there any way that I could "whip" the dough at the end?
Marye
Just beat it as best you can. 🙂
Shelley Wigham
I made them here in Wyoming for the work crew- they loved them and had never heard of them! Thanks for the recipe- I am a born Texan and I love both the meat and fruit ones (I know, I know the meat ones are Klobasnikys)!
Carolyn
If I wanted to do the apricot cream cheese ones, do I put a dollop of Apricot Preserves on before the oven or after the oven?
Marye
Either way should be fine. I do it before.
Penny
If using a bread machine, do you put everything in the order of your bread machine instructions or so you follow your instructions for when to add ingredients? I’ve made lots of things in the machine but not kolaches.
Marye
Penny - I don't have a bread machine and have honestly never used on so I am unsure how you would do it - other than to follow your manufacturer's instructions.
Melissa
I just used my bread machine to try this recipe. I added everything according to my bread machine recommendations. I needed 3 1/4 cups of flour and the dough turned out perfect!
w l fuller
Thanks they were very good
Marye
Thanks!! Glad you liked them!
Grace
Hi! I’m so excited to give this recipe a try - is there anything I can use instead of instant potato flakes? Or can they be omitted? I just don’t have any on hand 🙁 Thanks so much!
Marye
Grace - they help keep the dough light and fluffy. You can omit them. You may need a bit more flour.
Blanche
Ladies, these are not Czech kolaches. Potato flakes and ginger?
I was born in Czech Republic and lived there until 1968, I know kolaches.
Marye
These are how they are made in Texas. And the ginger doesn't flavor it it just helps the yeast. 🙂
Melanie Meeker
I made this recipe this morning. I'm a Texan and kolaches were part of my childhood - the cream cheese ones were always my favorite. It took my dough a while to rise the first time (about two hours) but the wait was worth it. My family loved them!
Marye
That's great to hear Melanie!
Tara
What a joy to find this recipe today. I was watching the Extra Virgin Americana episode from Austin where they tried food truck kolaches-they looked great.
I started reminiscing about West Tx and the wonderful kolaches available at the bakery off of I35. When my husband and I moved to Mission Tx, this was a must stop both coming and going from seeing family in Dallas. Sometimes we would go across the highway and eat at the cafe at the cattle auction. Beef for breakfast and kolaches for desert! I live in the Appalachians now and Texas cuisine is a thing of the past. No brisket, kolaches or jalapenos on anything! I am going to do my best to recreate this recipe and introduce my wonderful new community to some Texas traditions. I'll let you know how it went. Thanks again for the trip down memory lane?
Marye
Let me know what you think of them!