Shortcut Pierogies Recipes

SHORTCUT POTATO ONION PEROGIES

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, stir together the flour and salt. Cut in the butter using a fork until pieces are very small. Stir in the water and mix until well blended. If the dough is too sticky, stir in a little more flour until you can knead it on a floured surface. Knead the dough for 2 to 3 minutes. Cover, and let rest for 10 or 15 minutes.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into circles using a cookie cutter or large glass. Set aside while you prepare the filling.
• To make the filling, prepare the mashed potato flakes according to package directions. Set aside. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onions; cook and stir until soft and transparent. Remove from the heat, and mix in the mashed potatoes.
• Place one tablespoon of the pierogi filling onto each circle of dough. Fold circles over and pinch the edges to seal tightly so that no filling will escape while they boil. They can be frozen at this time if you like.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Carefully drop several perogies into the water. They are done when they float to the top. Continue the process with remaining perogies. You can also fry the perogies in some butter with onion before serving if you like.

SHORTCUT PIEROGI RECIPE

Steps:

• Bring large saucepan of water to boil. Meanwhile, mix potatoes, cream cheese spread and pepper.
• Cut won ton wrappers into circles with 3-inch biscuit cutter; brush edges with egg white. Spoon 1 Tbsp. potato mixture onto center of each wrapper; fold in half. Press edges together to seal. Add, in batches of 12, to boiling water in large saucepan; cook 2 to 3 min. or until pierogies float to surface. Drain in colander. Rinse with cold water; drain well.
• Melt 1 Tbsp. butter in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add 12 pierogies; cook 2 to 3 min. on each side or until golden brown on both sides. Remove from skillet; cover to keep warm. Repeat with remaining butter and pierogies. Serve with sour cream.

PIEROGI

Steps:

• Make a well from the flour. Add eggs and about 1/2 cup of water. The amount of water will vary according to the weather. You want to make a stiff dough. Divide it into 3 equal portions and knead until silky smooth.
• Fillings: We usually make cheese and kapusta (sauerkraut), but you can use meat, potatoes, or even fruit.
• Saute onion in butter until just soft. Add kapusta and brown. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Allow time for the filling to cool before assembling pierogi, otherwise they will fall apart when cooked. If making more than one filling, this one can cool while you prepare the others.
• Mix well.
• To assemble and cook pierogi: Roll out a portion (or half portion, if space is limited) of the dough on a floured surface as thinly as possible -- somewhere between a wonton and a thin pizza. Put about a tablespoon of filling on the dough and use a large plastic cup (a big gulp-type cup works really well) to cut a circle around the filling. Dampen half of the circumference of the circle with a bit of water on your finger and fold into a dumpling. Boil the dumplings a dozen at a time in a big pot of salted water until they float -- no more than 3 minutes. At this point you can freeze them in bags for later use. To prepare for serving, brown the pierogi in a skillet using a bit of butter. If you want to be really traditional you can use bacon grease. Alternately, you can bake them in a casserole, spraying both the casserole and the pierogi with a butter flavored spray, and putting a few pats of butter on top of the dumplings.

SHORTCUT PIEROGI CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Heat oil in large skillet on medium heat. Add onions and garlic; cook 5 min. or until tender, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Add Neufchatel and milk; stir until Neufchatel is completely melted and mixture is well blended.
• Combine pierogies, ham and peas in 2-qt. casserole sprayed with cooking spray; top with Neufchatel sauce and shredded cheese.
• Bake 40 min. or until heated through.