Kolaczki: A Polish Chicago Tradition Loved by All

 

Kolaczki (pronounced ko-lach-ki) are a delicious Polish cookie made with dough and filling. If you’re a Chicagoan, chances are you’ve already heard of or even tasted kolaczki. That’s because Chicago has a large Polish population, which accounts for the large number of Polish bakeries, restaurants, grocery stores, and delis across the metropolitan area. Kolaczki can even be found in the bakery section at local mainstream grocery stores like Jewel and Mariano's.

According to the Back Home: Polish Chicago exhibit at the Chicago History Museum, which runs until June 2024, Polish immigration in Chicago happened in three major waves. The first wave started in the 1800s and lasted until the 1910s. This group of Polish immigrants was largely economically motivated, seeing Chicago as a land of opportunity with its stockyards, tanneries, and steel mills. The next wave happened in the late 1940s and 1950s and consisted of Poles displaced by World War II. Eventually, so many Poles settled in the Wicker Park and West Town neighborhoods that the area around Division, Ashland, Damen, and Milwaukee was known as “Polish Broadway” or “Polish Downtown.” A plaza in this area was called the “Polonia Triangle.” The 1970s through the 1990s saw the third wave of Polish immigrants, which consisted mainly of political refugees during the Solidarity period. Today, 20% of Chicagoans are of Polish ancestry, and the Chicago metropolitan area is the largest Polish metropolitan area outside of Poland.

This kolaczki recipe has been used in my family for many years, especially on holidays. It originally appeared on a flyer printed by the corner store we frequented back in West Humbolt Park where we used to live. The original recipe made 100 cookies. My sister Natalie used it to bake about a thousand kolaczki for her wedding reception. A half-recipe appears here. One good thing about kolaczki is that they can be frozen for later use. (That came in handy when Natalie was baking all those cookies for her wedding.) Mine didn't turn out perfectly, but they're still just as tasty. Without further ado, here is the recipe. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do in my family.    

Kolaczki

Makes about 50 cookies

Ingredients:

2 c. flour

1/2 lb. or 2 sticks butter, slightly softened

1 c. vanilla ice cream, softened

1 8-oz. can Solo pastry filling or as many flavors as you want to use (In my family, strawberry and raspberry are the favorites.)

Powdered sugar (optional)

Directions:

Cut butter into flour with a pastry blender until the butter pieces are the size of large crumbs. Add softened ice cream and mix until just blended. Wrap in foil or saran wrap and refrigerate overnight or put in freezer for 1-2 hours. 

Preheat oven to 375 F. Roll out dough on floured board until dough is a little less than 1/8 inch thick, making sure dough is of even thickness. Cut dough into 2-inch squares. Place about ¾ tsp. of filling into the center of each square, then fold the two opposite corners into the center. Press the dough in the middle of the cookie with your finger dipped in water so that the cookie doesn’t open during baking; this is a crucial step. Then place the kolaczki on an ungreased cookie sheet. Use the leftover dough scraps to form a ball, then roll out this dough and repeat the process. Bake kolaczki for approximately 10-11 minutes or until the corners of the cookies just begin to brown. Cool on racks. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving if you wish.

Sources:

  Chicago History Museum, Back Home: Polish Chicago Exhibit. 2023.

Jesse Dukes, “Can Chicago Brag About the Size of Its Polish Population?” Curious City, WBEZ, October 26, 2015.

“The Remains of ‘Polish Broadway,’ Chicago, Illinois, where old school Polish Chicago and young hipster Chicago live side by side,” Atlas Obscura, July 25, 2010.

“Polonia Triangle,” Wikipedia, August 5, 2023.