Three Kolachkis before Easter

I apologize for this tardy post.  I was engaged in trial last week.  Now with my head somewhat clear, I can move on to very important matters...kolachkis!

(The box was full of kolachkis or "dainties" as Michael's Bakery called them at the Westside Market.)

I only had four days before Easter to find the best kolachkis in Cleveland.  Unfortunately, I did not find them.  However, I do have a clear favorite of the ones I tried.

On Wednesday before Easter, I went to the Westside Market before work.  The Westside Market is another whole post in and of itself which I will tackle at another time.  For those of you who are not aware, the Westside Market is one of the oldest free standing markets in the U.S.  You can go there Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday to get everything from produce, meats, cheese, candy, Steve's Gyros (which has been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives so the wait time is ridiculous), crepes, and coffee.  I like to head there before work on Wednesdays and pick up veggies and my favorite bread.  But, more on that later.

I went to the Market for two Internet recommended kolachkis, Vera's Bakery and Michael's Bakery.  I found Vera's quickly because it is in the center.  They only had about two dozen available.  I picked up a dozen.  The majority was nut and two pineapple, not sprinkled with powder sugar.  Nut is my favorite, followed by cheese.  I then searched for Michael's Bakery.  I was about to give up and get a cup of coffee at City Roast Coffee when I realized that the stand was across from the coffee stand.  Duh.  Anyway, they had an entire box.  They had some huge looking ones that they called kolachkis.  I don't like big kolachkis; it's mostly dough.  The box they had were called 'dainties' but they looked exactly like the ones I had at my Grandma's house for Easter.  I also had to wait 10 minutes in line for my turn.  If you hear other Westside Market workers ordering their morning pastries from there, you assume that it's better than the average.  I was excited so I ordered two dozen in a variety of raspberry, apricot, nut, and cheese.

I brought them into work and dove right in.  They were decent, but not memorable.  In the morning I preferred Michael's.  By the afternoon, I liked Vera's better.  Both had dough that was light and tasty, but not overpowering.  The downfalls was the fillings.  They were not as flavorful as I hoped.  Vera's nut and two pineapple did not have robust fillings.  They were good, but not what I was looking for.  Michael's raspberry kolachki was good, but the rest had somewhat bland fillings compared to the kolachkis in my dreams.  Do not fear, I did not let those kolachkis go to waste though.  I shared about four out of three dozen and the rest disappeared as I prepared for trial.

Now I have a very good friend...I will call...Officer Whitehair.  We go to lunch at some of Cleveland's ethnic or out-of-the-way eateries.  Because he read my blog, he brought me a huge container of assorted kolachkis from K&K Meat Market in Warren Village Shopping Center in the Westpark area of Cleveland.  I like going to K&K for meat and their chocolate chip cookies are good when I had pregnancy cravings.  Their pre-made food of stuffed cabbage, fried chicken, and kielbasi and sauerkraut are awesome.  It's very good food.  K&K is a family owned shop for many, many years.  Love it.  Anyway, these kolachkis were the best out of the three.  The dough was light and moist.  The former cookies lacked moisture.  The kolachkis were sprinkled with power sugar too.  Most importantly all the fillings were yummy.  I would definitely eat these again.  After eating half the container without sharing one, I realized that my perfect kolachki had more of a cream cheese taste to the dough.  The dough is made of cream cheese after all.  But these were very good.

Now that Easter is over, I will put my kolachki search on the back burner.  I plan to hunt for more in the coming months, but right now, my waistline is tattling to the world of my weak will power.

Please remember that I am searching for a kolachki that I remember from my childhood.  The above mentioned kolachkis were delicious in their own right.  If you like kolachkis, I implore you to seek these and others in Cleveland to search for your favorite.  Ethnic food is what kept this place going for decades and will continue to do so for decades to come.