Where I was staying in Sommerset has this lovely, open, comfortable kitchen. The kind of kitchen that I always end up wanting to bake in. It’s gorgeous. So, on one the down days before Christmas I took over the kitchen, drank champagne and made Pierogi dumplings from scratch.

Goodness, I wasn’t expecting it to take so long, or be so involved. I always wasn’t expecting it to taste as brilliant as they were, or to have made the best mash I’ve ever made in my life (literally. I couldn’t stop eating it!)

The great thing about when I did this, is that there were enough people around to pick up the camera
and document the process so I didn’t have to. It was alot of fun to have a cheering squad.

So, I stole this recipe shamelessly from OH Mommy over at Classy Chaos with the knowledge that if she can make this with her toddler, I can make this without help. Hopefully.

Ingredients
Oil for frying.
6 to 8 Yukon Gold potatoes.
6 to 8 ounces of grated cheddar cheese.
Flour.
3 eggs.
3 tablespoons of cream cheese.
3 teaspoons of milk.
2 tablespoon of butter.
Salt to taste.
(There was also onions, I think, but I don’t know why anyone would ever invite onions to the party).

How to make Pierogi Goodness

1. Boil potatoes, cut in quarters, in salt water.

2. Prepare the pierogi dough. This is a little bit pedantic, but it worked, so: Add one egg, one tablespoon cream cheese, one teaspoon milk and 1/2 cup flour. Once it’s all mixed up good, add another 1/2 cup flour, one tablespoon cream cheese + one teaspoon milk. When the dough is well blended, add one egg, one tablespoon cream cheese and another 1/2 cup flour; mix well. Finally, add the remaining egg, one teaspoon milk and 1/2 cup flour. If dough is too dry, add a little more milk; if too wet, add more flour.

3. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin & separate into cute little circles with a glass. Make sure that each side is covered in flour so it doesn’t stick. This makes things ALOT easier.

4. With your now boiled potatoes, add butter + cheese and mash like you’ve never mashed before. Try not to eat too much of it. Boil more water.

5. Scoop up a little bit of the mash, and place in the middle of your dough circles.

6. Fold the dough over the potato, and mash the ends down with a fork. Should like any dumpling you’ve ever seen the world over.

7. Using your previously boiled water, add your pierogi. When they start floating (about 2-3 minutes) you can fish them out.

8. Dry the pierogi with a paper towel, and then fry them.

And tada! When done, you should have tasty Pierogi’s. Mine didn’t last very long, which was nice. They were quite tasty, and if it wasn’t so much work I’d do it more often.

Still, yay! Number 26, done!