Pierogi Recipe

Dough (makes enough to use one batch each of the below fillings):

3 heaping cups flour

3 eggs, beaten

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.

Kapusta filling:

1 stick butter

1 large onion,

1/4" dice

32-ounce canned or fresh kapusta (sauerkraut), rinsed well to remove brine

Salt and pepper

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.

Cheese filling:

Note: a traditional recipe would call for farmer's cheese, but we find it too dry.

1 pound ricotta

2 eggs

Salt

1 tablespoon sugar

Mix well.

3 minutes. At this point you can freeze them in bags for later use. To prepare for serving, brown the Pierogie 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 Pierogie with a butter flavored spray, and putting a few pats of butter on top of the dumplings. Yield: About 72 Pierogies