Lithuanian Pierogies Recipes

Steps:

• 1. Mix the dough ingredients. (First 4 listed)Dough will be soft, so have extra flour for rolling out on; adding etc.
• 2. Mix your filling ingredients. (Last 3 listed) To make: Work on a large table. Using a well-floured wooden board or table top surface,( I put a vinyl cloth down) roll out 1/2 of the dough; sprinkling more flour on it as needed to be less sticky. Roll as thin as for a cut out sugar cookie. Then using a nice size glass, cut your circles;dipping your glass into the flour with each cut. When you have all your circles cut, lift away the excess dough to a pile to use later. Circles will not stick if you use enough flour.
• 3. On your table, spread some wax paper sheets out and well flour them. This is where you'll place the finished pierogies until you par-boil them. Important to flour the wax paper to prevent sticking. Now using a spatula or carefully lifting - take one circle at a time and fill w/ about 1/2-1 tsp of filling. To close your pierogie take your finger into the warm water and go around the inside of each dough circle edge. Fold over your pierogies to make a half- moon shape. Close by pinching the edges of your dough so there are no holes along its edge. (Important so the filling cannot escape) As you complete each pierogies lay it onto the waxed paper. Keep going using the dough and cutting circles and filling them until all the pierogies are complete. Should make about 30.
• 4. When finished, bring some water to boil in a large frying pan and par-boil the pierogies to "set them" for about 2 minutes. Place on a plate or more wax paper. When drained enough, you can freeze them or put them into plastic container until ready to make them for a meal. I fry butter and onions and add my pierogies to fry them on each side. If using frozen ones, I par-boil them to thaw again and then cook in my frying pan.

Steps:

• Make dough:
• Put flour in a large shallow bowl and make a well in center. Add water, egg, oil, and salt to well and carefully beat together with a fork without incorporating flour. Continue stirring with a wooden spoon, gradually incorporating flour, until a soft dough forms. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead, dusting with flour as needed to keep dough from sticking, until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes (dough will be very soft). Invert a bowl over dough and let stand at room temperature 1 hour.
• Make filling while dough stands:
• Peel potatoes and cut into 1-inch pieces. Cook potatoes in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until tender, about 8 minutes. Drain potatoes, then transfer to a bowl along with cheese, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and mash with a potato masher or a handheld electric mixer at low speed until smooth.
• When mashed potatoes are cool enough to handle, spoon out a rounded teaspoon and lightly roll into a ball between palms of your hands. Transfer ball to a plate and keep covered with plastic wrap while making 47 more balls in same manner (there will be a little filling left over).
• Make onion topping:
• Cook onion in butter in a 4- to 5-quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally (stir more frequently toward end of cooking), until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.
• Form and cook pierogies:
• Halve dough and roll out 1 half (keep remaining half under inverted bowl) on lightly floured surface (do not overflour surface or dough will slide instead of stretching) with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 15-inch round (1/8 inch thick), then cut out 24 rounds with lightly floured cutter. Holding 1 round in palm of your hand, put 1 potato ball in center of round and close your hand to fold round in half, enclosing filling. Pinch edges together to seal completely. (If edges don't adhere, brush them lightly with water, then seal; do not leave any gaps or pierogi may open during cooking.) Transfer pierogi to a lightly floured kitchen towel (not terry cloth) and cover with another towel. Form more pierogies in same manner.
• Bring a 6- to 8-quart pot of salted water to a boil. Add half of pierogies, stirring once or twice to keep them from sticking together, and cook 5 minutes from time pierogies float to surface. Transfer as cooked with a slotted spoon to onion topping and toss gently to coat. Cook remaining pierogies in same manner, transferring to onions. Reheat pierogies in onion topping over low heat, gently tossing to coat.