Grandma Helen was born in small-town Indiana in 1920, the child of immigrants from Bohemia (part of the modern Czech Republic).  Carol recently found a recipe for kolaches handwritten by Helen on a card.  These are not the kolaches we got used to in Texas, which are yeast buns, traditionally open-faced with a sweet filling, but often these days enclosing a savory filling such as sausage and cheese.  Grandma Helen’s are shortbread cookies topped with an apricot jam.  (Apricots are a popular filling for traditional yeast bun kolaches.)

The original recipe called for oleomargarine, which Carol updated to butter.  The original instructions were minimalist, and are expanded and modernized here.  A full batch will make 48 cookies.  (Carol made a half batch of 24 cookies.) The recipe needs to be started the day before to make the apricot jam.

The next time, Carol might add some spice (maybe cinnamon) to the apricot jam.

For the jam

1 lb. dried apricots

Water to cover

1.5 cups sugar

For the cookie

1 lb. salted butter

2 egg yolks

1 cup sugar

4 cups (17.3 oz.) all-purpose flour

1 tsp. vanilla extract

The day before baking, roughly chop the apricots.  (This will make them easier to mash at the end into a jam.)  Put the apricots in a small saucepan and add barely enough water to cover them, and allow them to soak overnight.  The next day, bring the pot to a boil and reduce to a simmer, and cook the apricots until soft.  Add the sugar, mash the apricots, and continue cooking until the jam will thickly coat a spoon. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter with the sugar.  Add the egg yolks and combine.  Remove the bowl from the mixer, and use your fingers to work in the flour and vanilla.  Do not overmix.  Form the dough into a ball, cover, and allow to rest in the refrigerator for an hour. 

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and line cookie sheets with baking parchment.

Roll out the dough and cut it into 2.5-inch rounds.  Top each round with a tsp. of the apricot jam.  Bake about 15 minutes until the kolache is lightly golden.  Cool on a rack.