Kolaches II

One of our Christmas breakfast traditions - we make cherry, apricot and blueberry.

Step: 1

Cream shortening and sugar together. Stir in salt, hot milk, beaten egg yolks, and flavoring. When lukewarm, add yeast to mixture. Let stand 5 minutes. Add flour, beating well. Knead down into bowl. The dough will be slightly sticky. Let rise 1 hour.

Step: 2

Cut off small balls of dough. Roll into rounds in your hands, and place on greased cookie sheets 2 inches apart. Let rise 15 minutes.

Step: 3

Make a depression into the center of each roll. Fill with fruit preserves.

Step: 4

Bake at 450 degrees F (230 degrees C) until brown. Watch carefully. Cool on wire racks.

Per Serving: 153 calories; protein 2.9g; carbohydrates 20.1g; fat 6.7g; cholesterol 24.1mg; sodium 106.7mg.

The quality of the flour can make a real difference to your bread. Different makers do vary. Great taste or Canadian flours, which are naturally higher in gluten, may give you a better rise than standard bread flours – especially if you’re make wholemeal dough , which doesn’t always rise as well as white bread.

To make this in a breadmaker , add all the ingredients to your breadmaker and follow the makers instructions.

A dough’s first rising can be done in the fridge 24 hours . This slows down the time it takes to rise to double its size, giving it a deeper flavour. It’s also a great limit , as you can start it yesterday , then clear it off the next day.