Good morning! I know what you’re thinking. Food again? Does Sabrina do anything but eat? I promise, I do. But last week, someone brought kolaches to work and it occurred to me that these fluffy, yummy, spicy snacks fit perfectly into my Only in Texas series which I have been neglecting a little. So, from English food, let’s make the jump across the pond and I’ll tell you about this Texas delicacy. Yes, yes, I know, the original kolache, also spelled kolacky, is from the Czech Republic. But, the Texas kolaches are actually very different. The Czech kolache, as I understand it, is a sweet pastry that surrounds sweet fruit jams or poppy seed paste. Texas has taken the kolache to a whole new savory level. Here, kolaches are yummy small sausage links (usually a little spicy with jalapeno bits in the sausage) surrounded by sweet, fluffy dough. Variations are endless! You can add a little cheese, actual jalapenos, and I have heard of breakfast kolaches that are filled with egg, ham/bacon, cheese, etc. The Kolache Factory in Houston apparently also offers a large array of kolaches that are more like the original Czech pastry: sweet and topped with fruit. So, it looks like the Texans took the kolache, changed it around, and brought it back to its roots (in a way). 
I found kolaches to be totally addictive! I have never seen them anywhere but Texas. We used to have a director in our office who would bring kolaches to work sometimes in the mornings. In fact, I’ve never had them anywhere but at work. Why? I don’t buy them because they are so addictive. You cannot just eat one – well, maybe you can, I can’t 
If you’ve never had a kolache, you might think that it’s just another pig in the blanket, but it’s different. Kolaches usually have spicier sausages while pigs in a blanket have a tiny hot dog. Also, the dough is different; for kolaches you use a pastry-kind of dough while for pigs in a blanket you use croissant dough.
So, if you visit Texas and want to eat like Texans do, go treat yourself to some kolaches. Yes, you should also have some of the more traditional Texas foods like BBQ and Tex-Mex, but you shouldn’t skip kolaches just because they’re not as famous (yet) And believe me, they are big in Texas. Remember that chicken fried steak festival I went to a while ago? Well, there are also kolache festivals here! I just haven’t made it to one yet. So if you ask me about typical Texas foods, I’d include the Texas kolache
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Seriously? Wow. I can’t say that I find this appetizing. Throw a little peanut butter on it, and then maybe we can talk. Kidding
Oh, you’ve never tried them then. So good! Peanut butter and sausage? You just got me hooked on peanut butter and apples, but I’ll skip the sausage and peanut butter combo
I prefer sweet kolaches. We had some really good ones in a town called West, which was originally a Czech colony. And there’s a kolache shop near us but I’ve never tried it.
Ana recently posted..West Texas Road Trip: Day 2
Maybe it’s time for me to try the sweet ones – I’ve only had the spicy, sausage ones.
Hmm, I hadn’t heard of kolaches before but they sound delicious. Look good too!
InsideJourneys recently posted..Soulful Sundays – Dame Shirley Bassey
They are delicious! As I said, there’s a reason I don’t buy them… I would buy way too many and then eat them ALL
If you’re interested, this is the place Ana is referring to…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDOAZ81JqTo
As you can see, they have a large variety of kolaches. And as I’m sure you can imagine, they are delicious! Funny side note: There are hardly any customers seen in the video above, but when I’ve been there around 11:00 pm, the order line is almost out the door!
What a neat video! I can’t believe they have all these sausages
And I want some of their kolaches!!
We had an employee some years back of Latvian descent, who made similar things with bacon-onion fillings. Marvelous stuff, but I can’t remember the name anymore. The Texas variety sound good too.
Cheers.
R. Sherman recently posted..Religious Sacrifices
Bacon-onion? Sounds delicious!
I love pigs in a blanket – they’re like my favorite finger food! So I’m pretty sure I would dig these kolaches. Nom nom nom….
Technosyncratic recently posted..A Day in the Life of a Housesitter
I think you would too! These are so much better than pigs in a blanket
Wow Czech pastries in Texas. That is amazing. I kind of remember going to a Czech bakery and getting something rolled like that. No clue what it was, I hat to point and the woman still looked unamused.
I like the idea of sausage, but i think I would prefer sweet too. Strudel like?
Andrew recently posted..Titisee, Schwartzwald
Hmmm, kind of like strudel, but the pastry dough is a different one. The kolache dough is really kind sweet and soft – kind of like… do you know the Milchbroetchen?
Can I say again how much I love your blog? So glad I found it! Am having such a fun time reading all of your Only in Texas posts because they bring me back home.
Used to pick these up on Saturday mornings. They were a nice balance to the regular, sweet donut….eat a chocolate one, eat a kolache, another glazed (omg I miss Krispy Kreme!) and then a kolache….you see the pattern here.
texasborncologne recently posted..Kampf der Weihnachtsmärkte (aka Battle of the Christmas Markets)
Oh, thanks!
You just made my day!
PS: I love both donuts and kolaches! So good! You Texans know what you’re doing! Have you tried the “Berliner” around Karnival? They are kind of like a jam-filled donut…. well, almost. But just as good, I promise.