@Diane Lane My Grandma on my Mother's side often made dumplings which she filled with fruit, sealed them, and boiled them as usual. She was the only one I knew who enclosed the fruit that way. Here is the more or less miserable result of my first attempt to duplicate my other Grandma's Kolac (keep in mind the "c" is pronounced like the "ch" in "choice"). It tasted OK, with the fruit filling being Solo Raspberry, but I made the outer crust too thick, not knowing how much the stuff would "rise". Now I'm getting hungry for another! Frank
I haven't seen kolaches in a while, because they're not as prevalent here as they were up in Houston and over to the West of Houston, so I decided to look at the menu at Kolache Factory, and their kolaches actually look pretty similar to yours. The more I look, the more I see that the authentic ones look like yours. The places where I first encountered them back in the 80s, when I first moved down here, must have been using a different method, because as I said, they were more like fruit on a piece of dough, with the ends folded over, which is not at all like these. Here's an interesting article I found about them.
@Diane Lane Thanks for that link, Diane! I was not aware of a contingency of Czechs living in Texas, as Chicago seemed to be their "hub of existence" when I was a kid growing up there. The pastries with turned over ends sound more Polish, I think. Surely, the methods and recipes were early on handed down Mother-to-Daughter fashion, little being widely spread in writing. The mention of a cookstove rang home, for me. My Grandma had an old Majestic which followed the family all around the Midwest during their many moves. My Dad recalled at least 12 moves, all within Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, and Indiana. Frank
Here's a pic of the Blackberry Kolach. My wife cut each (9-inch cake pans) into 8 slices, calculated calories per slice about 200. Scrumptious!
@Debbie Seattle Thought we might hear from you! I wonder if one of these "Bohemian Pies" could tolerate several days in transit. I'll mail you one if you're willing to trust a faceless name I a forum..... Frank