Today @stacyking and I are making pierogies.

Step 1 was last night. We peeled a batch of yellow potatoes, boiled them until very soft, then mashed them with grated old cheddar and parsley.

Important: Save that potato water! The starchy water will be used later in the dough.

Step 2: Once the potato-cheese mixture cooled, we rolled them into little balls and stored them in the fridge overnight.

Each of these will be the filling for a perogie.

You can do this whole process in one day, but getting the filling done the night before saves a bit of hassle juggling both parts (dough and filling) at once in the kitchen.

The dough ingredients are really simple:
All-purpose white flour (Grandma swears by Five Roses, but any all-purpose non-cake flour should work)
2-3 Eggs
Strained potato water
Pinch of salt

I'll go through how it all comes together here...

Step 3: Beat the eggs. Add some potato water.

Step 4: Put 4 cups of flour on your work surface. Make a well. Pour liquid in.

Step 5: Incorporate together + knead. Too sticky? Add flour. Too dry? Add potato water.

(No photos here because my hands were covered in flour + dough)

Step 6: Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes. Throw the dough ball down on the counter a couple times to get out any air bubbles.

If you cut the dough in half, you shouldn't see air bubbles in there.

Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 40-60 min.

Step 7: Dough gets separated into manageable sections and rolled out thin with a bit of extra flour so it doesn't stick.

Step 8: Use a wide glass, mug or circle template to cut circles.

Step 9: Flatten filling a bit in the middle, then fold over and pinch dough closed.

If the dough doesn't seal, use a bit of water along the edge and press together.

Step 10: Set the pierogies in rows on parchment paper and put the trays in the freezer.

We over estimated on filling, so I whipped up another batch of dough and these ones turned out even nicer.

Practice makes perfect.

Once the pierogies are frozen, you can put them in freezer bags all together or portioned out.

To prepare-
Boil in salted water for 6-7 minutes.
Strain and toss with butter.

And here's dinner, with our pierogies as the main course, served with sour cream, salt and pepper.

Ukranian comfort food achieved.

Not as good as dinner with Grandma, but as close as we're going to get right now.

I can't eat store bought pierogies. When I was in college one of my friends at residence bought a huge bag from the grocery store and I tried them - horrifying. Bland sticky dough with a tiny puck of orange muck in the middle...and he thought they were good!