Babas Perogies Recipes

BABA'S PEROGIES

Steps:

• Mix flour and salt, and add water to make dough that doesn't stick to fingers.
• Knead well and cover with damp cloth for 10 minutes.
• Roll out to 1/8" thick.
• Cut in squares or circles and fill with mashed potatoes and cheese.
• Pinch closed and boil until they rise to the top.
• Strain and serve with fried onions, sour cream, mushroom gravy, etc.

BABA'S TRADITIONAL UKRAINIAN PEROGIES RECIPE

Steps:

• Peel potatoes and cut into quarters. Cook in boiling water until soft enough to mash.
• Drain well. Reserve 2 cups of potato water for dough (optional: You can just use regular water but potato water works really well for making perogy dough!)
• Return potatoes to the pot and add the grated cheese and sautéed onion. Mash until smooth and all ingredients well combined. Place filling in the fridge to cool. Prep filling ahead of time and let it cool overnight if possible. Otherwise let cool for at least an hour or so while making the dough.
• In a large bowl, sift flour and combine with salt. Mix together the water, the oil and the egg and pour half of this mixture into the flour. Mix and slowly add the remaining liquid. Knead by hand until flour and liquid are well combined. You may need to add a small amount of either flour or water, depending on the consistency of the dough. You should end up with a ball of dough that is very pliable but not sticky.
• Wrap dough in plastic wrap or a clean plastic bag and let dough rest for at least 30 minutes.
• Cut dough in half or in thirds, keeping unused dough well wrapped in plastic until needed. Flour the table or counter lightly and roll dough to about 1/8 inch thickness.
• Cut the dough in rounds using a biscuit cutter or a small, upside down drinking glass.
• Fill each round of dough with about one tablespoon of potato filling and seal the edges of the dough together with your fingers. Make sure there are no gaps when pinching the edges because if there are, your perogies will boil out when you cook them and you'll be left with just the dough (although this is still really yummy).
• To cook, bring a pot of water to a boil and cook in small batches (10-15 perogies at a time), stirring gently to prevent dumplings from sticking together. Perogies are finished cooking when they float to the top.
• Use a slotted spoon to remove them from water and drain before transferring to a serving bowl. Toss with butter and serve hot with sour cream. Add fried onions and.or bacon bits to take your perogies to the next level!
• To freeze perogies, place them in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and flash freeze them. You can layer parchment paper on top of perogies to freeze more on one tray, just don't let the perigees touch each other or they will stick together. Once perogies are frozen solid, transfer them to a freezer bag and store for up to 6 months.

BABACI'S POTATO PIEROGI

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain and cool.
• Meanwhile, prepare dough by combining 1 egg, 1 tablespoon cream cheese, 1 teaspoon milk and 1/2 cup flour. Once all the flour has been worked in, add another 1/2 cup flour, 1 tablespoon cream cheese and 1 teaspoon milk. When the dough is well blended, add 1 egg, 1 tablespoon cream cheese and another 1/2 cup flour; mix well. Finally, add the remaining egg, 1 teaspoon milk and 1/2 cup flour. If dough is too dry, add a little more milk; if too wet, add more flour.
• On a well floured surface, roll out 1/4 of the dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Using a glass, muffin cutter, or any rounded surface, cut out circles of dough. Flour both sides of the circle and set aside in a single layer on wax paper. Repeat process with remaining dough.
• Mash the potatoes with the cottage cheese, salt and butter. Place a spoonful of the filling slightly below the center of a circle of dough. Fold the dough over and seal edges with fingertips. Use enough filling so that you have to stretch the dough over it, but not so much that it squeezes out when sealed.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Drop in pierogis, a few at a time. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, or until they float to the top; drain.
• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry boiled pierogis in hot oil until crispy.

BABA'S HOMESTYLE PEROGIES

Steps:

• Boil potatoes in a large pot with 2 tsp of salt for 45 minutes or until soft and tender. Drain water.
• Using a food processor bowl with a paddle attachment, transfer the boiled potatoes, finely grated cheddar cheese and pepper and mix at low speed until mostly cooled.
• If desired, add additional ingredients to your potatoes during the cooling process such as bacon, fried onions, dill and cottage cheese.
• If you don't have a food processor, use a masher and/or wooden spoon to break up potatoes if need be and lightly mix in the ingredients.
• Give filling sufficient time to cool completely. Overnight in the fridge would be best.
• Add the oil, salt and water to food processor bowl. Next, in a table-top mixer, add flour and mix with dough hook for 7-10 minutes, until dough ball is well formed.
• Place the dough ball on a floured surface. Cut a small piece you are comfortable working with. Begin to knead with floured hands. The dough should not feel wet, dust in a bit extra flour if needed. Roll out dough to ⅛ inch thickness.
• With a small cup, cut perogy circles by hand or with a pastry tool. Save excess dough to knead in with remaining dough ball.
• Set aside for assembly.
• Stretch dough circle in your hand to create a small pocket.
• Hold dough circle in one hand and fill with a tablespoon of filling.
• Fold circle around filling and pinch edges together. Ensure no spaces or gaps on the pinched edges or filling will come out. Ensure a good seal.
• Cover a baking sheet with a dish towel and lay pinched perogies on top. Freeze overnight or cook immediately.
• Fill pot with water and wait until it's at a rapid boil. Add perogies to pot and stir well ensuring that the perogies don't stick to each other or the pot.
• Once perogies float to the top, wait another minute and remove (approximately 7 minutes).
• Put cooked perogies into a margarine bath before serving. (Alternately pan fry perogies in butter.)
• Garnish with your choice of fried onions, bacon bits, sour cream and mushroom-dill sauce.