Pudding Mix Kolaches are very soft, fluffy, kolaches made with cook and serve pudding mix. Thanks to Wendy and her family for sharing this heirloom recipe
Pudding Mix Kolaches Recipe Notes
I am posting the recipe as it appears in Wendy's family collection, but I've included my notes since a few things have changed in the past 50 years. One change is that as far as I know, pudding doesn't come in a 4 oz box. To make up for the missing sweetness I used a 3 oz box of pudding and threw in an extra 2 tablespoons of sugar. Another work-around would be to buy a 5 oz box of pudding and weigh out 4 oz. Also, Wendy's family recipe suggests cherry filling. I'm hooked on cream cheese, so I used my usual crumb topping and cheese mixture from the Sour cream kolache recipe. And finally, I used bread flour. Enjoy the recipe!
Recipe
Kalches or Pudding Mix Kolaches
Ingredients
- 1 4- oz package vanilla pudding or 1 3-oz box and 2 tablespoons of sugar
- 1 ½ cups milk
- ½ cup butter I used unsalted
- 2 envelopes yeast
- ½ cup warm water
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp salt
- 5 to 5 ½ cups flour I used bread flour
Instructions
- Make cooked pudding according to package directions using 1 ½ cups milk. Remove from heat. Stir in butter and cool to lukewarm, stirring occasionally.
- Dissolve yeast in warm water and stir into pudding. Beat in eggs and salt. Add enough flour to make moderately soft dough.
- Turn out onto floured surface and knead 5 to 10 minutes, then place in greased bowl, turn once to grease surface. Cover and let rise in warm place until double. Punch down.
- Form dough balls the size of a walnut and arrange on greased cookie sheet 1 ½ inches apart. Punch down center of dough ball and fill hollow with cherry pie filling. Let rise until almost double.
- Bake at 375 for 15 minutes.
Anna says
Greta, I will do some research.
Greta Orth says
Hi. My mother made kolache by rolling the dough out to fit a pie plate. She then had a form of custard that she poured in to an indefinite the dough and cooked it with the dough. When it was done baking she would put different types of fruits on top of it. Any idea where I could get a kolache recipe like this. It was never written down and I didn't ever see her make it from start to finish. I know the filling wasn't a pudding mix or a cream cheese mixture. Thank you. Greta
Anna says
Hi Kathy,
I hope you have fun making these. And yes, I do have a favorite. This one is good, but the one I keep going back to is actually this one. If you can get your hands on some of the "platinum" yeast, I recommend it. https://www.cookiemadness.net/2014/01/soft-and-fluffy-kolaches/
Kathy says
Going to try this one, too! I'm with you -- cream cheese are the best. Thank you for your pursuit of the perfect kolache. With the recipes you've tried, do you have a favorite? Thanks again!
Bobbi Raasch says
So happy to find this recipe - my mother-in-law and I made our "kalche" every year at Christmas and I never had the recipe for vanilla pudding in the dough-my daughter remembers helping grandma with the dough and adding the pudding, but she doesn't have the recipe either....now we have it and we don't have to wonder if its' cook and serve or instant!
Thanks!
Happy Holidays
Darlene says
Perfect. Sounds heavenly!
Anna says
Darlene, mine have a texture somewhere between a yeast raised glazed doughnut and a hamburger bun. They're lighter than your typical cinnamon roll and the dough is sweeter. Does that help?
Darlene says
I've never heard of Kolaches until your recent posts. They all look delicious and I imagine I'd love one with cream cheese filling (unless I could use a combination and top the cream cheese with cherry filling). Would anyone be able to tell me what they are similar to in taste and texture?
Anna says
Hi Carolyn, it's definitely cook and serve. I was associating boxed pudding with instant when I added that note, but the pudding is boxed cook and serve.
Carolyn says
Just wondering - do we use an Instant pudding or a cooked pudding mix - recipe instructions indicate a cooked putting, but your notes indicate instant pudding. Not sure if it matters?