How to Make Pierogies

Pierog, are a traditional part of Polish cuisine. They consist of dough dumplings filled with either mashed potatoes, sauerkraut, cabbage, cheese, meat or fruit. In the U.S., you can buy frozen pierogi in grocery stores. Making your own pierogi will take time, since you will need to make your own dough and add the ingredients to each individual dumpling. You can either make your own fillings or you can add store-bought fillings into pierogi.

Things You'll Need

• Large stove pot
• 2 cups of all-purpose flour
• Bread board
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp.of salt
• 1/3 cup of water
• Bowl
• Towel
• Rolling pin
• Large biscuit cutter
• Spoon
• Filling of your choice
• Tongs
• Plate

Instructions

1. Boil a large pot of water on a stove.

2. Measure 2 cups of all-purpose flour and dump it onto a bread board. Mold the flour into a mound shape using your hands.

3. Press two fingers down into the top of the flour mound to make a well or deep indentation.

4. Crack open two eggs above the well using your hands. Discard the egg shells.

5. Add 1/2 tsp. of salt and 1/3 cup of water to the well.

6. Mix the ingredients in the well using your hands. As you mix, start to gather in the sides of the dough until all the dough is firm and kneaded together.

7. Let the mound of dough rest for 10 minutes by covering it with a warm bowl. To get the bowl warm, run the bowl under hot water for one minute and then dry it with a towel.

8. Cover a section of the counter top in flour. Uncover the dough and divide it in half using your hands. Place one half of the dough on the floured counter top and keep the half of dough that you are not using covered with the bowl.

9. Roll the dough on the counter top using a rolling pin until the dough is flat and 1/8 or 1/4 inch thick.

10. Cut 3-inch diameter circles into the flat dough using a large biscuit cutter.

11. On one half of each circle, place a spoonful of your chosen pierogi filling.

12. Moisten the edge of each circle by dabbing a drop or two of water along it using your fingers.

13. Seal the pierogi by folding over the side of each circle that does not have the filling on it to form a half-moon shape. Press the edges of the folded dough firmly together using your fingers.

14. Drop the sealed pierogi into the boiling pot of water and let them cook for three to five minutes, or until they float to the surface.

15. Remove the pierogi from the pot using tongs or a spoon and place them on a plate. Continue making pierogi with the remaining dough. This recipe will make up to 2 dozen pierogi.

Tips & Warnings

• Serve your pierogi plain, or serve them topped with sour cream, crumbled bacon or butter.

• If you decide to make your pierogi filling by hand, make the filling before making the pierogi dough since the dough tends to dry out.

References

• "Culinary Arts Institute Polish Cookbook"; The Culinary Art Institute Staff; 1976
• "Polish Folktales and Folklore"; Michal Malinowski, et al.; 2009

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• Tasting Poland: Pierogi