Sunday Kolaches and Horchata

Being a homegrown Texas girl, I love kolaches. Not only can you not find a decent donut place here in Colorado, but kolaches are about unheard of. Now I know that I am going to get flack about this statement. People from here will say, "But what about the Donut Mill, or Krispy Kreme, or Dunkin Donuts... Yes they are all yummy, but there isn't much better than a yeast raised deep fried and glazed donut. Or cinnamon roll, mmmmmm....I want a fried yummy, gooey, cinnamon roll, not baked, not sprouted...but fried, in lard.  But for now.....back to kolaches. 

I still owe Clinton kolaches for taking me hiking in the Grand Canyon and he just came into town last night so I guess I better get busy.   

 I resorted again to my Homesick Texan cook book. Lisa's recipe is about the closest I have found to the sweet, fluffy kolaches back home. Of course with a few changes noted.

From The Homesick Texan Cookbook 

Kolaches (adapted from recipes found in Texas Monthly and the Houston Chronicle)
Ingredients:
1 package of active dry yeast (I use rapid rise)
1 cup of warm milk
1/4 cup sugar
3 cups of all-purpose flour
2 eggs
3/4 cup of melted butter
1 teaspoon of salt

Method:
In a large bowl, combine yeast, warm milk, sugar and one cup of flour. Cover and let it rise until doubled in size.
Beat together eggs, 1/2 cup of melted butter (reserve 1/4 cup for brushing on the pastry) and salt.
Add egg mixture to yeast mixture and blend. (I add about 1 Tblsp of honey at this time)

Stir in about two more cups of flour, 1/2 cup at a time. The dough should be soft and moist.
Knead dough for about 10 minutes on floured surface. Don't worry, it’s a joy to knead as the dough is smooth and highly malleable.
Put dough in a greased bowl and let rise covered until doubled in size—about an hour.
After dough has risen, punch it down and pull off egg-sized pieces. In your hands, roll pieces into balls and then flatten to about three inches in diameter. Brush with melted butter.
Place flattened pieces on a greased cookie sheet, cover and let rise again for another half-hour.
After second rising, with your finger gently make an indention in the center of the dough (be careful not to flatten it too much) and fill with one tablespoon of fruit filling (recipe to follow) and sprinkle with posypka (recipe to follow).
Bake in oven at 375 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes. Brush with melted butter when you take them out of the oven and serve warm.

Kolache filling
Ingredients:
1/2 pound of dried fruit such as apricots or prunes.
Sugar to taste
1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
Lemon zest

I use homemade jelly or jam for this step. Preferably Wina's apricot jam she sends me from Texas...yummy

 About 1 minute after these came out of the oven Clinton called to claim his pay off for the Grand Canyon. He is on the way to get them while they are still warm. Kolaches never last long around here.

 Dear Wina - I am out of Apricot Jam :-(

Method:
Soak the dried fruit in water for a few hours or overnight.
When fruit is re-hydrated, cook on low for 15 minutes, adding sugar to taste (I find the fruit sweet enough so I don’t add sugar, but you may prefer it sweeter), cinnamon and lemon zest. Mash with a potato masher until you have a puree.

Posypka
Ingredients:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon butter
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

Method:
Mix all ingredients until crumbly.

This recipe makes about 18 kolaches, depending on how large you make them. And the variations are endless. For additional flavor you can soak the dried fruit in tea such as Earl Grey or you could sprinkle goat cheese on the apricot kolaches before baking. You can also make sausage and jalapeno kolaches by wrapping the three-inch flattened piece of dough around a two-inch piece of sausage and a couple of pickled jalapeno slices.  
When they come out of the oven I brush them with Cowboy Candy juice as well for the sausage kolaches. 

Horchata

Horchata is something that I found a million posts about that people from Texas and Mexico just love love love this. It is even on the Homesick Texan blog, however I had never had it nor heard of it...until yesterday. And let me tell you I am so addicted. This stuff is OMG good. 

What is Horchata?

 Basically it is a rice milk that is infused with cinnamon, honey/sugar, and vanilla. I added a few coffee beans into mine just because I wanted too.  It sits in the fridge overnight, then it goes straight to the food processor and strained, put it over ice and you have the creamiest, yummiest, Mexican type drink I have ever had in my life! And, it is gluten free, dairy free, and vegan. Bonus!

¾ cup rice (I usually use long grain white or brown basmati)

4 cups hot water

1 or 2 cinnamon sticks

½ cup sugar or mild honey

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups water, milk, or coconut milk (I will add Almond Milk to mine)

Pour the rice in a blender and pulse until it resembles a coarse crumb. Add the 4 cups water and the cinnamon stick(s), and let sit in the refrigerator overnight in half gallon Ball Jar. I added extra of everything to fill the jar. Just because I wanted a full jar.

 Blend the mixture (cinnamon sticks included) for 2-3 minutes until completely pureed. Add the sugar and the vanilla extract, and blend again until completely combined. Check for sweetness.

Strain the mixture with a cheesecloth or fine mesh sieve into a pitcher. Add the two cups water, milk, or coconut - depending on your preference - and stir. Pour in glasses over ice as-is, or add a splash of brandy. Garnish with cinnamon. 

 I will post photos of the finished Horchata tomorrow when it is done.