Homemade Sausage Kolaches

Total Time: 2 hrs 12 mins Preparation Time: 2 hrs Cook Time: 12 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 12
• 2 (1/4 ounce) packages dry yeast
• 1/2 cup water, lukewarm
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 cup shortening or 1/4 cup lard
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups flour
• 1/4 cup butter, melted, for topping
• 1 (16 ounce) package cocktail smoked sausage links

Recipe

• 1 in a small bowl, combine the yeast with the water.
• 2 set aside.
• 3 in a large bowl, cream together the butter, shortening, and 1/4 cup sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy.
• 4 mix in the egg yolks, milk, and salt, combining well.
• 5 stir in the dissolved yeast and the flour, and mix until the ingredients are thoroughly blended into a soft dough.
• 6 cover the dough with a towel, and set the dough aside to rise to about double in size, approximately 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• 7 grease a baking sheet.
• 8 pinch off pieces of dough about the size of a golf ball, flatten the balls slightly, and transfer them to the baking sheet.
• 9 place the balls at least 1 inch apart, and brush them liberally with the melted butter.
• 10 set them aside to double in size again, about 45 minutes to one hour.
• 11 gently indent the top of the dough with your thumb, fairly deep.
• 12 place the little pinky size smoked sausage link (could be a spicy sausage link, or could add cheese and/or jalapeno with the sausage link, too) in the indent and fold the kolache over the sausage and seal.
• 13 bake in 425 oven for 10- 12 minutes or until golden brown.
• 14 immediately brush butter on the top.
• 15 they are best eaten as soon as they are cool enough to handle.