Pierogies

Recipe By: Mary Kolling & Robbie
Prep. Time: 2:30
Yield: 80-85

3 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup half and half cream
1/4 cup butter OR margarine - softened
1/2 tsp. salt
5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 egg white - beaten
1 Tbls. water

-Beat together first 5 ingredients; fold in flour, adding more if needed to form a soft dough; cover and let stand for 5 minutes in a warm place
-Kneed dough on a lightly floured surface for 10 minutes OR run dough through the thickest setting of a pasta maker 5 times.
-Divide dough into 4 pieces; cover with a moist towel.
-Roll out each dough section to 1/8" thick; cut out 3 1/2" circles using a cookie cutter, cup, or can.
-Beat together egg white and water; set aside.
-Place 1 Tbls. of filling (your choice, see below) in the center of each circle; fold circle in half over filling; brush with egg wash, and seal edges by pressing the tines of a fork; place finished pierogies on waxed paper until all are complete.
-Either freeze pierogies in a single layer, then store frozen pierogies in a sealable plastic zipper bag OR boil filled pierogis in water for 5 minutes, or until they float. To cook frozen pierogies, boil for 10-12 minutes.

Fillings: The possibilities are endless, but these are the 3 my family makes.

Notes: This is an old Czechoslovakian recipe. It has recently become available in supermarkets, but this recipe beats them all. Top cooked pierogies with sautéed onions in butter.

(7) Visitor Comments:

• Thank you for posting your pierogi recipe! I am visiting in Atlanta (I'm from the Pittsburgh area) and locals do not know what pierogi's are. Growing up on them & making my own, I found this surprising. Since I don't travel with my recipe collection, I appreciate being able to find a great recipe on-line. THANK YOU!

• I can't tell you how happy I was to find this recipe on the internet. Pierogi's have been a Christmas Eve tradition in my family since I can remember. In 1988 I moved away and continued the tradition down in Atlanta. (originally I was raised in Chicago and my mother was Croatian). Everyone here had never heard of pierogi's but loved them. Last year I was divorced and my ex took the recipe and has refused to give it back to me. I was distressed thinking about breaking a tradition that had been with me for over 40 years. I tried making the recipe from memory and was missing something as the pierogi's would separate when boiled. Thanks again. I can't wait to have them this year.

• Hi there! I have FINALLY found the most perfect recipe for Piroges…I am of French and Irish descent but the Novak ladies here in ND still hold the record for talked-about piroges but do you think they will break with the recipe?? I could live on these yummy things, and the heavenly potatoes are just that, and even better then my Norwegian daughter in law makes.(heheh)

• My parents and Grandparents are Czechoslovakian and when I found your recipe for pierogi's i was so happy to have a taste of the old country, Thank you very much!!!!

• My Polish friends family, Domowicz, would make them very much the same, but their favorite filling was farmer cheese ( fresh, somewhere between ricotta and cottage) with finely chopped onion, then topped not only with buttered sauteed onion, but sour cream too!

• Pierogies are a Christmas eve staple in our family as well. My great-grandparents came over from Czechoslovakia and we carry on the tradition with pride. For a delicious change, the following day, my grandmother would fry any leftover "boiled" pierogies in butter and onions till golden brown...OHHHHH YUMMY!!! It's still a long standing debate in our family which is best, boiled or fried. I LOVE THEM BOTH!!

• My Slovak grandmother always made prune pierogies. She took pitted prunes and cooked them down, adding water and sugar as she saw fit. Served with sour cream.....fantastic

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