2 pounds low fat, small curd cottage cheese, wrapped in a cloth and squeezed to remove whey, or baker’s cheese
2 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups raisins
Dough
1 cup vegetable oil or shortening
2 packages active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
2 cups warm milk, divided
7 to 8 cups flour, divided
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs (room temperature)
2 tablespoons salt
Instructions
To this mixture, add 3/4 cup sugar, 3 eggs, salt, 1 cup warm milk and vegetable oil or shortening. Mix well, then gradually add 6-7 cups of flour, until a very soft dough is formed. On a board, knead in flour until dough does not stick to hands. Grease top with vegetable oil and let rise. Punch down and let rise again.
Using a large mixing bowl, dissolve 2 packages of yeast in 1 cup warm water. Add 1 cup warm milk, 2 cups flour, and stir until smooth. Let stand in a warm place until it triples in size.
Cottage Cheese Filling
Note: plum or other thick jams also make good fillings.
Mix cottage cheese or baker’s cheese with egg yolks, sugar, butter and raisins.
Streusel
Mix all ingredients together.
To form kolaches
Let kolaches rise until doubled in bulk. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake for about 20 minutes. Oil the sides of the bun and the topping with salad oil and cool. Store in cool place.
Grease hands. Spoon out about 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup of dough, or divide dough into 30-32 portions. Using your hands, roll each piece of dough into a small ball, then flatten it. Place about 1 tablespoon of filling in the center of the dough; draw the sides of the dough up over the filling, overlapping. Place on greased baking tin and pat flat. Oil top with salad oil. Place about 1 teaspoon of streusel topping on each oiled bun.
