Cook’s Country Potato Cheddar Pierogi
I thought I’d try out Cook’s Country Pittsburg Potato Cheddar Pierogi Recipe because it seemed easy and you don’t need a pasta machine for the dough.Cook’s Country tells a nice little story about how they learned about the pierogi from Pittsburgh’s Polish Hill Neighborhood. According to about Pittsburg.com the Pierogi is eaten there 11 times more than anyplace else in the country and many Pierogi shops are in business there. I thought the dough recipe was very unusual because it uses bread flour and sour cream so I thought wtfork I’ll give it a try. I didn’t make any changes to the dough and I thought the filling was a little bland possibly due to not using a better sharp cheddar instead of the store brand I used. I grated in 1/2 of a banana pepper to add some flavor and a tiny bit of heat to the filling. After I boiled the pierogi I took them one step further and crisped them up in a pan a little with some butter with some onions.
I’ve read that not always but often most people will eat the fresh made pierogis just boiled and often it’s the leftover pierogi that get eaten fried. In the past I worked with a Polish Cook at a restaurant and he always served the pierogi deep fried with crispy onions and they are very tasty that way too.
Cook’s Country say’s this recipe makes about 30 pierogi but I got 44 and would have gotten maybe another dozen but I wasn’t about to re-roll out the scraps thin. I did however use the rolled out extra dough and made thick chewy tasty noodles. I had about one cup of extra filling left too. I summed up the directions to simplify.
Filling
1 lb russet potatoes cooked and pealed
4 oz sharp cheddar cheese shredded
2 Tablespoons butter
salt and pepper to taste.
Directions
While potatoes are hot mix everything together till smooth and set to the side.
Dough
2 1/2 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup sour cream
1 large egg
1 large yolk
salt
Directions
Whisk dry ingredients together. Get your stand mixer out and the dough hook on. Mix on Medium high for 8 minutes. Transfer to a floured bowl cover with wrap and refrigerate.
Roll dough and 1/8 inch thick. (I found it was much better to roll the dough in maybe thirds because the faster you work with the dough the better it seals) Use a 3 inch cutter and add a small spoon full to the center of each circle. Then seal shut and keep going.
Get a pot of water on with salted water and boil your pierogi and enjoy. You can freeze pierogi that might want to save for latter or you might want to boil them all freeze leftovers and fry what you want for dinner. Either way serve with some caramelized onion and a little sour cream.
Cook’s Country Potato Cheddar Pierogi
Thank’s to Cook’s Country that is a good recipe!
This is a great recipe but I recently figured out that they come out EVEN BETTER if you chill the filling. I had leftover cheesy potatoes that I wanted to make into Pierogi. The cold hard filling scooped out with my meatball scoop was just right. The pierogi were much easier to fill and look much better too.
This post is too old for me to add a photo.
This is really Good and That’s The Forking Truth
Boil for how long?
Thanks
Hi Leah Good question! Sorry I didn’t put that in there. it wasn’t long at all. Only about 3-4 minutes. Thanks for asking!
I saw this today on Create /Cooks Country/. My mom used to sometimes add a little bacon fat to the potato filling and finely chopped bacon bits. Also sometimes added some bacon bits with the sautéed onions. Anther thing is that sometimes she just fried the pierogi till crispy from raw without boiling them first.
Nice! What a nice memory to share. Yes the pierogi would be great that way too!
Pretty sure your image at the top of the page is upside down.
Thanks for copying this recipe down for us!
Sorry about the photo. On some computers it is upside-down and on others it isn’t so I didn’t know what to do. Had a lot of trouble with photos at that time and got a new phone since. Thanks for your interest and enjoy the pierogi!
In the recipe, it says to refrigerate the dough before rolling.
How Long?
Good Question Stephen, at lease 20 minutes. I think I did more like 45 minutes.
Loved ’em!! I used a Kerrygold cheddar for max flavor and definitly fried in butter and onions.
Great recipe but the dough was difficult to roll thin, it was very springy and kept shrinking back as i rolled. I let it rest, covered, for about a half hour, perhaps not long enough?
Sorry you had difficulty rolling the dough thin. I don’t know why? Did you use bread flour and time the mixing exactly? I know the brands of flour all are ground slightly different….I’d suggest a different brand of bread flour but I can’t say for sure if that was the reason. Good luck and try again sometime.
Karen, I make the dough for our church Pierogi/Varenyky food sales for thousands of them at a time. I let my well kneaded dough rest covered (under a bowl) for a minimum of 1 hour. Longer is fine also. That helps them not spring back like little rubber bands. My dough recipe is different but I use Five Roses Flour – hard to find in US but it has 16 Grams Protein per cup. THAT makes the difference.
We also use small “ice cream” scoops that you can find in any cooking shop for the filling. We just make up a dish full of mashed potato balls first and then place 1 ball on each circle. Much faster and easier to do all of 1 process at a time. Cover you dough circles with a lightly damped towel so they don’t dry out until you get to them. And I’d use WAY more butter and onions and caramelize them longer. Good Luck Karen Seredynsky (your name means in the Middle “Sered” ) in case you didn’t know ;o)
Thank you for your input Katya. It’s wonderful that you shared your expertise. I’m certain that MANY people will find your comment helpful. Thanks again and happy cooking!
This is the best perogy recipe I have found.
And I have tried many recipes and read lots about perogies…as well as eating my grandmother’s and mother’s versions. There’s something about using bread flour that makes the dough so fabulous.
I agree. I thought the dough came out so easy and also like you said fabulous Linda!