Growing up in northern Ontario I have many fond memories of skiing, skating and winter carnivals. One of the best food-related memories is of my mom and her friends making roast pans full of pierogis to sell during our community winter carnival. You see, they would make them a month in advance and freeze them in roast pans until they were needed. Well, sneaky me would come home from school and chip off a couple of those delicious pierogis and eat them as a snack. (Christmas baking was not safe in the freezer either.) Well my mom caught on to me quickly and so enlisted me to be part of the production line any time pierogis were made, and it is one of the greatest recipes Mom ever taught me. Now, it is a tradition for me and my girls to make these every Christmas season. Thanks Mom!
2cupswateryou will likely only need 1¾ cup of this water for the dough
Cheddar potato filling:
4poundspotatoespeeled and chopped chunky
optional - 2 large onionspeeled and quartered
1-400gcheddar cheesegrated
½teaspoongarlic powderthis is optional
¼teaspoonsalt
½teaspoonground black pepper
Instructions
To make the cheddar potato cheese:
Peel 4 pounds of potatoes and cut into chunky pieces. Rinse the potatoes with cold water, to the remove starch. Add them to an 8-litre pot and fill with water. Add some kosher salt (1 tablespoon) and bring to a boil. (Note: you can also add two quartered or halved onions which you will remove after boiling.)
While the potatoes are boiling, grate one 400g block of old cheddar cheese.
When the potatoes are done, if using, remove the onions. Mash the potatoes and, while hot, add the grated cheddar cheese. Continue to mash until the cheese is incorporated.
If using, add ½ teaspoon of garlic powder. Add ½ teaspoon of ground black pepper and ¼ teaspoon of salt. Continue to mash the potatoes and cheese mixture to distribute the seasonings.
Leave in the pot until completely cool. Use immediately, or refrigerate overnight.
To make the pierogi dough:
In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt.
In a small bowl, whisk the egg.
To the flour mixture, add the egg, the oil and 1½ cups of the water. Using a spoon, mix the ingredients until combined.
Start mixing the dough with your hands. Add a little bit of water while pressing the dough together. When the mixture forms into a ball that is slightly tacky, you can stop adding water.
Knead dough until smooth. This you can do for about 3-5 minutes. (The dough may feel tough but it will relax into a soft ball after it rests.)
Oil the bowl or the dough ball slightly, and place the dough in the bowl. Cover with cellophane (saran wrap) or a lid. You do not want the dough to dry out. Let rest for 15-20 minutes. This will allow the dough to relax and will make it easier to roll out the dough.
To assemble the pierogis:
Divide the dough in half or in thirds and, on a well floured surface, roll out each piece to ⅛" thickness. (If you roll out half of the dough, be prepared to roll the dough into a 20"x22" square to get the desired thickness.)
Using a 3½" round cookie cutter cut out rounds.
Add a heaping tablespoon of the cool potato cheese filling, shaped slightly cylindrical, in the centre of each round. Wet the edges with a bit of water, fold and press to seal.
Place each pierogi on a baking sheet that is lined with wax paper, and lightly floured. When you have a baking sheet that is full, put it in the freezer for at least 2 hours. Once the pierogis are frozen, you can remove from the baking sheet, put them in freezer bags and store in the freezer.
To cook:
For cooking 2 dozen pierogis, bring a large heavy bottomed pot (12-litre) filled halfway with water to a full boil. Boil until the pierogis float to the top. Remove with a slotted spoon and put in a casserole dish with melted butter.
I like to layer my cooked pierogis with melted butter, crispy fried bacon and onions.
Video
Notes
It takes me about 1½ hours to assemble 6 dozen pierogis when I make them by myself. When I have my daughters help me, we get the job done in less than a hour.