Every Chicagoan loves pirogies! And no matter how you spell it,....pierógi, pyrogy or perogi....everyone knows that pirogies are delicious filled dumplings! Homemade pierogies are also preeeeeetty cheap to make as well! Pretty much all they require is a couple potatoes, flour, egg and cheese...and a chunk of time for pirogie-making! It goes quicker with 2 or 3 people. (Ask you kids or family members/roommates to help!) My husband and I enjoy making these tasty little dumplings together and then, afterward enjoy eating them and sharing them with friends! Make a double batch and freeze a bunch for easy weeknight dinners, or serve with applesauce and sour cream for an easy delicious and cheap party food!
Ingredients for Pirogi Dough (makes 50 dumplings)
• 4 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• (also more sour cream to use later with the finished pierogies!)
• 1/2 c. butter, softened and cut into small pieces
Pirogi Dough
To prepare the dough, mix together the flour, salt, beaten egg, sour cream and soft butter and work together in a stand mixer with a dough hook (about 5-7 minutes) until the dough loses most of its stickiness.
Wrap the dough in plastic and let it rest 20 minutes in the fridge (it can rest overnight up to 2 days, but it is much easier to work with the day of). Each batch of dough makes about 50 pierogies (3 inch size).
Potato, Cheese & Onion Filling: (Classic!)
Boil 5 red potatoes until soft. (I didn't peel mine and they turned out fine) While the potatoes are boiling, finely chop 1 large sweet onion and saute it in butter until soft and translucent. If you use a regular onion, add a little teaspoon of sugar to help caramelize it.
Mash the potatoes when fork tender with the onions and add 4-8 oz of grated sharp cheddar cheese (depending on the cheesiness desired). Add salt & pepper. To mash the filling I used an immersion blender, but you can just mash by hand or using an electric hand mixer).
Then let the potato mixture cool, otherwise it is almost impossible to work with (super sticky!!).
Prepare the Pierogies:
Start a large pot of boiling water for later and set out drying racks.
Roll the dough on a floured board or counter top until about 1/8 inch thick. Cut circles with a cookie cutter or other tool, about 3 inches wide. Place a small ball of filling on each dough round and fold the dough over, forming a semi-circle. Press the edges together and finish with the tines of a fork to make the seal and a cute pattern.
THEN - Boil the pierogies, a few at a time, in a large pot of water. They are done with they float to the top (about 8-10 minutes). Scoop them out with a slotted spoon and let dry.
To eat them right away, you can:
Saute the pierogies with chopped onions and fry with butter until lightly crispy. Serve with a side of sour cream for a true pierogi meal. OR My favorite is to bake them on parchment paper or foil in the oven and lightly spray with olive oil to get that cripsy texture! (About 20 minutes at 350 degrees) Serve with sour cream (I like adding applesauce on them as well but some people say that's just me being weird)
For later:
If you don't want to cook all the pierogies right away, you can store them in the fridge after the boiling/drying stage for several days or freeze them for several months in freezer bags.
Total Cost:
- Flour 2 cups: $1.00
- Egg: .16 cents
- Sour Cream: $1.00
- 5 red potatoes: .87 cents
- 8 oz cheese: $1.89
- 1 sweet onion: .60 cents
50 delicious homemade pierogies = $5.52 (about .11 cents/pierogi) These are delicious cheap eats! Yum yum! (compare that to Mrs. T's! Usually $4.99 for 18 pierogies!)
