Chef Charlotte Langley is a Pierogi making expert. She messed around with a recipe that she learned from a friend’s mom in high school, and the results are delicious. Classic comfort food, Charlotte’s recipe is for Cheese and Potato Pierogi, and the dough she makes is the softest, most delicate deliciousness around. The dough results in a “yielding mouth experience” (something she demands of her Pierogi-eating) and these dumplings go perfectly with crispy bacon and sour cream on the side. YUM!
RECIPE (makes approx 48 hand-made Pierogi, or a bunch more if you use a mold)
INGREDIENTS
For Dough (this dough is forgiving, and you can play around with amounts until you get the results you desire!)
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for kneading
- 1 1/2 cups sour cream
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon salt
For Filling (if you have extra filling, it can be made into potato cakes!)
- 3 large potatoes
- 2 cups coarsely grated white Cheddar
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1 cup cottage cheese
- 1/2 tsp salt
Toppings
- bacon, rendered
- sour cream
Special Equipment
- Pierogi mold (not necessary, but fun), or a round cookie cutter or shape to cut the dough
PREPARATION
Make dough:
- Put flour in a large bowl and make a well in center. Add sour cream, egg, and salt to well and carefully beat together with a fork, or use a mixer with a dough hook. Continue stirring until a soft dough forms. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead, dusting with flour as needed to keep dough from sticking, until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes (dough will be very soft).
Make filling:
- Peel potatoes and cut into 1-inch pieces. Cook potatoes in a large saucepan of boiling water (just a whisper!) until tender, about 8 minutes. Drain potatoes, then transfer to a bowl along with cheddar cheese, cottage cheese, and sour cream and mash with a potato masher or a handheld electric mixer at low speed until smooth.
Render bacon:
- Cut bacon into small matchsticks or lardons. Charlotte used 1 pound of bacon. Put bacon in a frying pan and add a little water (approx 1/4 of a cup) and cook on medium-low heat until the water has evaporated and the bacon is crispy. About 20 minutes or so.
Form and cook Pierogi:
- Halve dough and roll out 1 half on lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 15-inch round (1/8 inch thick), then cut out 24 rounds with lightly floured cutter. Holding 1 round in palm of your hand, put filling in center of round and close your hand to fold round in half, enclosing filling. Pinch edges together to seal completely. (If edges don’t adhere, brush them lightly with water, then seal; do not leave any gaps or pierogi may open during cooking.) Form more pierogi in the same manner.
- Bring a 6- to 8-quart pot of salted water to a boil. Add half of the pierogi, stirring once or twice to keep them from sticking together, and cook 2 minutes from time pierogies float to surface. Transfer to the frying pan you used for the bacon, and cook the pierogi until golden. Serve with sour cream and the crispy bacon.
- If you’re using a mold (Charlotte’s Pierogi Pogie was amazing), check out YouTube for video assistance!
