Apricot Kolaches

The week after the anniversary has its own texture — a loosening, a return of regular time, the particular relief of having moved through the passage and come out the other side. I notice this every year: Monday after the anniversary I wake up and the weight is different. Not absent. Never absent. But carried differently, more distributed, less concentrated in the day.

I have been working on a second edition of the recipe booklet. Not because the first edition needed revision but because I have three new recipes that belong in it — the smothered oxtails that Shanice taught me, her grandmother's tea cakes with her proper measurements and the story of where they come from, and a beignet recipe that I developed after Destiny promised Travis I would. The beignets took seven attempts. They are now right. Slightly crisp outside, pillow inside, powdered sugar that you should apply aggressively and not apologize for. Destiny tested the final version and called me from New Orleans, where she and Travis were for their second anniversary trip, to say it was good. I said, how good. She said, Travis is on his second one. I said, that's a review.

The new edition will have the three additional recipes and a section in the back that Destiny suggested: blank pages, titled "your additions." Because the book is not supposed to end with the forty-one recipes I wrote. It is supposed to continue. You fill in the blank pages with whatever you are adding to the family's table. The history is ongoing. The document should reflect that.

Working on the second edition of the booklet has me thinking about what earns a permanent page — not just what tastes good, but what carries something with it, what has a story attached that would be lost if the recipe was lost. These apricot kolaches are the kind of thing I keep coming back to in that spirit: a soft, yielding pastry with a bright fruit center, the sort of thing that would sit perfectly beside Shanice’s tea cakes on a table and not compete, only complement. When I imagine the blank pages Destiny suggested at the back — the ones for your additions — I imagine someone writing a kolache recipe there someday, passed from wherever it came from into whatever the family becomes next.

Prep Time: 30 min | Cook Time: 18 min | Total Time: 2 hr 15 min (includes rise time) | Servings: 24 kolaches

Ingredients

1 package (2 1/4 tsp) active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (105–110°F)
1 cup whole milk, warmed
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
2 large eggs, room temperature
4 to 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup apricot preserves or apricot jam
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted (for brushing)
Powdered sugar, for dusting (optional)

Instructions

Proof the yeast. Combine warm water and yeast in a small bowl. Let sit 5–7 minutes until foamy. If it does not foam, start over with fresh yeast.
Make the dough. In a large bowl, whisk together warm milk, softened butter, sugar, and salt until butter begins to melt. Add eggs and mix well. Stir in the proofed yeast mixture.
Add the flour. Add flour one cup at a time, mixing until a soft, slightly tacky dough forms. You may not need the full 4 1/2 cups. Knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 6–8 minutes, or until smooth and elastic.
First rise. Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with a clean kitchen towel, and let rise in a warm spot for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
Shape the kolaches. Punch down the dough and turn onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into 24 equal portions. Roll each into a smooth ball and place 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Cover and let rest 20 minutes.
Add the filling. Using your thumb or the back of a spoon, press a deep well into the center of each dough round. Spoon about 1 tsp of apricot preserves into each well, taking care not to overfill.
Second rise. Cover the shaped kolaches loosely and let rise an additional 20 minutes while you preheat the oven to 375°F.
Bake. Bake for 15–18 minutes, until the dough is golden at the edges and set. The centers will look soft but will firm up as they cool.
Finish. Brush warm kolaches with melted butter immediately out of the oven. Dust with powdered sugar if desired. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Nutrition (per serving)

Apricot Kolaches — The Recipe That Belongs in the Back Pages