The Kolache

The Czech engineer was astounded.  Kolaches?  In America?  We were working together in Freiberg, Germany.  About 40 miles from Dresden.

I smiled.  Not just America.  In TEXAS.  That was even better.

The Kolache is a Czech import.  I don't mean to say that they are imported.  I mean, the idea of the Kolache is imported and improved (depends on who you ask, I guess) here.

In fact, there is a wikipedia article on the subtley famous foodstuff:

Kolache /kɵˈlɑːtʃi/ (also spelled kolace, kolach, or kolacky, from the Czech and Slovak plural koláče, sg. koláč) is a type of pastry that holds a dollop of fruit rimmed by a puffy pillow of supple dough.  Originating as a semisweet wedding dessert from Central Europe, they have become popular in parts of the United States. The word kolache (колаче) itself means 'a small cookie' in Macedonian.

...

In Texas, many restaurants and bakeries specialize in kolaches. In central Texas, the kolache is particularly widespread among Czech Americans, as well as their respective local communities, such as West and Caldwell. Many other communities known for kolaches, such as Weimar, Taylor, Hallettsville and Schulenburg, Texas, have a considerable Czech ethnic population. Shipley's Donuts, a popular Texas donut chain, as well as other donut shops, provide kolaches.

In fact, other than maybe Dunkin and Krispy Kreme, donut shops throughout Houston and other cities in Texas also sell kolaches.

To get an idea of how popular they are.  Here is a map of Houston showing all the places that sell donuts, and by default, kolaches:

There a number of kolache videos on youtube.  Here are a couple that I think show and explain the tradition of Kolaches in Texas.  There are basically two types of "kolaches".  The fruit topped and the meat filled.