bierocks and kolaches...

boy do those words take me back!

a friend of mine, who also is one of my former teachers and 4H leaders, posted that she had made bierocks last night. my mouth started watering. as people began to comment on her post, someone else mentioned kolaches, which began a whole new discussion...and my drool began to intensify.

since my kids don't have the pleasure of growing up in kansas and eating these fine, baked delicacies like i did as a child, i have decided that they need to be introduced to them. so i went on an internet search for recipes and we'll be trying both of them soon, especially now that i am once again the proud owner of a bread machine! i'm making a list of needed ingredients and plan to have a baking day this coming week...pictures to come too!

this recipe for bierocks looks amazing (and easy), and then i found a recipe for kolaches that comes with a great tutorial and information too.

bierocks were so common when i was a child that i remember my mom taking me to a restaurant in wichita to eat them when i was in preschool. when i entered school in a small rural town, i was surprised that they made them for school lunches in our cafeteria (though they were bland and we always drowned them in ketchup whenever possible). i don't think i have had a bierock since 8th grade now that i think about it.

kolaches were a staple at the sumner county fair, and from what i understand, they still are. i remember spending tons of time running around at the fair as a kid, riding the rides, submitting 4H entries, and hanging out with my friends. but the thing that sticks out in my mind is the smell of the kolaches baking... they had all kinds too! some of the fillings included pineapple, apricot, prune (yes, prune...and they were good too!), and poppyseed. the tables would be full of rows and rows of kolaches, just waiting for someone to come sink their teeth into and melt in your mouth! row upon row of little gem-topped pillows of dough...the thought of them just makes my mouth water and gives me a twinge of homesickness...if only i had a pair of ruby red slippers that really worked...sigh...