Home Made Pierogi

March 21, 2018

Home Made Pierogi

Home made pierogi - the ingredients are inexpensive, simple and everyone LOVES them, making the time spent rolling and filling all worthwhile!

One or two extra pair of hands (young or old) make the dough pinching easy.

If hand made dough is not your thing we have included an alternate recipe using store bought frozen pierogi.

 

PIEROGI DOUGH

  • 1 cup warm milk
  • 4 tbsp butter
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 4 egg yolks, beaten
  • 3 ½ to 4 cups flour

CHEESE POTATO FILLING

Mix the following ingredients together with a hand mixer (spatula attachment). Cover and place aside until you are ready to fill the pierogi.  

  • 6 cups (approx.) mashed potato (mash with milk and butter, salt and pepper to taste)
  • 2 to 3 cups  shredded sharp cheddar cheese
  • 1 large onion finely diced

How to Make Very Best Pierogi Dough

Step-by-Step 

  1. Melt butter in warm milk. Add egg yolks. Add flour and salt to the warm milk and egg mixture and blend with a fork until the dough starts to come together , add a little extra warm milk if you have used too much flour, the mixture should not be dry. Turn it out onto a lightly floured counter and very lightly knead it just a few times until the dough comes together in a ball. Don’t over knead, the dough shouldn’t be sticky but soft and pliable. Cover dough with a tea towel or plastic wrap and let dough rest, in a warm place, for 10 minutes or more. Knead the dough again for 2 additional minutes. Let the dough rest again for 10 minutes or more. The dough must be kept covered so it doesn’t harden and dry out.

Filling the Pierogi

  1. Once it has rested a second time, roll out ½ the dough on a floured counter.(keep the other half of the dough warm and well covered) Roll out to a desired thickness (1/8 to 1/4inch). The dough should be easy to stretch and pull without tearing. Cut into 4 inch circles with a 4 inch cookie cutter. Place a heaping teaspoon of filling into the center of a round and gently pull the edges of the dough together. Firmly crimp the edges of the pierogi, making sure there are no openings in the seam, lay them out on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and cover. Repeat with the second round of dough. Once you are finished filling you can proceed to boiling them or freeze them uncooked on the cookie sheets, once frozen they can be transferred to a zip lock freezer bag until you are ready to complete the recipe.

 

  1. ** Once all the pierogi are formed, gently drop them, one at a time, into a large pot of boiling (salted) water. Do not over crowd the pot or the pierogi will stick together. Within a few minutes the pierogi will float to the top, allow them to gently boil for a minute then remove them one by one with a slotted spoon. Place boiled pierogi in a buttered casserole dish, layer the pierogi with melted butter and sautéed onion. Bake them, tightly covered, in a  300 degree oven for at least 30 minutes, serve warm with sour cream. Leftovers are great, simply pan fry/steam the pierogi in a covered skillet with a little water.  

 

  1. SHORT CUT USING FROZEN PIEROGI

Repeat from this point ** in the recipe using home made or store bought frozen (not THAWED) pierogi.

NOTE : You may have to boil the frozen pierogi a minute or two longer to make sure the dough is cooked and tender, otherwise, follow the same directions.