2 cups butter, softened
1 pint vanilla ice cream, softened
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 cans (12 ounces each) apricot and/or raspberry cake and pastry filling
1 to 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar, optional
1. In the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer, beat butter and ice cream until blended (mixture will appear curdled). Add flour and sugar; mix well. Divide dough into 4 portions; cover and refrigerate until easy to handle, about 2 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll 1 portion of dough into a 12x10–in. rectangle; cut into 2-in. squares. Place a teaspoonful of filling in the center of each square. Overlap 2 opposite corners of dough over filling; pinch tightly to seal. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
3. Bake until bottoms are lightly browned, 11-14 minutes. Cool 1 minute before removing from pans to wire racks. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar if desired.
These sweet pastries have Polish and Czech roots and can also be spelled "kolaches." They are usually filled with poppy seeds, nuts, jam or a mashed fruit mixture. The ice cream is a unique twist on traditional kolachkes, and it's simplest to use a square cookie cutter to cut the dough.
TOTAL TIME: Prep: 1 hour + chilling Bake: 15 min./batch
YIELD: 10 dozen.
Nutrition Facts
1 each: 60 calories, 3g fat (2g saturated fat), 9mg cholesterol, 27mg sodium, 7g carbohydrate (2g sugars, 0 fiber), 1g protein.