My Family's Amazing Perogy Recipe

At some point in your life, you've likely had perogies, or varenyky or pyrohy or pierogi. There are many different names for this delicious dumpling. Perogies are best homemade! A fresh dough, with a rich cheese and potato mixture. In my house perogies are a family favourite! Try them fried in butter and onions with a dollop of sour cream. Delicious!

My family arrived in Canada from Ukraine in the early 1900s. I grew up with traditional homemade Ukrainian dishes, including perogies. This recipe has been passed down through the decades. And now I will share my family's amazing perogy recipe with all of you.

Perogies are easy to make, but they take time. It's best to have a group of people working together in the kitchen to help roll, cut, and pinch these delicious dumplings.

Let's get started!

The Perogy Dough

A good perogy dough is essential. It's best to make the dough ahead of time and let it chill for 2-3 hours or overnight. We were able to get 9 dozen perogies from this recipe. It's a lot, but you can freeze your prepared perogies for another day.

The dough should be halved. Wrap the two halves tightly in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator. Make sure the dough is covered in cellophane, or it will harden.

Once you are ready to start the perogy assembly line, roll your dough to about 1/4 inch thick on a large flat surface, avoid flouring, or flour very minimally. You want your dough to be able to stick together when you fold your dumplings. The dough needs to be rolled quite thin (about 1/4 inch thick) or your perogies will be gummy.

Use a large glass or circular cookie cutter (3.5 to 4 inches in diameter) Cut circles from the rolled dough. You will continue this process until the dough is all gone.

The Cheese and Potato Filling

This should be made ahead and chilled for 2-3 hours or overnight. Warm filling is sticky and difficult to work with.

We use a mixture of cheese and potato, mashing the ingredients together to make a rich filling. Once your perogy filling has been mixed and cooled, roll the mixture into small balls (about a teaspoon of filling per ball, an inch in diameter) Place the cheese/potato balls on a cookie sheet for the assembly line.

Take your cut out dough circle (you may want to roll each circle just a little bigger or carefully stretch it with your fingers, without tearing), place a cheese ball in the centre of the dough circle and fold it in half. Make sure the filling doesn't spill into the dough edges. Pinch the dough edges to close. Make sure there are no holes in the closed perogy, or the filling will spill out when boiling.

Place the finished perogy on a lightly floured cookie tray or a tray covered in parchment paper. Avoid letting the fresh perogies touch each other. You can freeze each individual cookie tray and then bag the perogies once frozen. Or you can cook these fresh. Drop the perogies in batches in boiling water. Cook for 5-6 minutes. Until they rise to the top of the boiling water. Remove the perogies with a slotted spoon. And fry in butter and chopped onions.

Macyshon Family Perogy Recipe

Prep Time: 1.5 hours (plus chilling time)

Servings: 9-10 Dozen Perogies

Perogy Dough Ingredients

• 1 container Sour Cream (500 ml)

• 4 large eggs

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

• 6 cups all-purpose flour

Directions

1. Add sour cream, eggs and oil to a large mixing bowl.

2. Add flour and mix. (I used a stand mixer and a dough hook) Knead 3-4 minutes.

3. The dough should not be too floury. It will be slightly sticky to the touch once completely mixed.

4. Separate perogy dough in two halves. Wrap dough balls in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator.

   
   

Cheese and Potato Filling Ingredients

• 8 medium russet potatoes, peeled and quartered

• 1 block of Kraft Velveeta Cheese (450 gram brick)

• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

• salt and pepper for taste

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil

2. Peel potatoes and cut into quarters

3. Carefully add potatoes to boiling water and cook for 15 minutes until tender. Drain. Return potatoes to pot and turn element to medium/low.

4. Cut Velveeta cheese into 2 inch cubes, add to potatoes. Add shredded cheddar cheese. Melt. Mash potatoes and cheese together until smooth.

5. Add salt and pepper for taste

6. Cool filling in refrigerator for 2-3 hours or overnight

7. Once cooled roll potato/cheese mixture into balls (about 1 inch in diameter)

8. Place filling in centre of perogy dough fold and pinch edges careful not to get filling into the edges of the dough.

9. Place finished perogies on a lightly floured cookie tray in rows. Freeze trays of perogies and place in storage bags from frozen.

10. To cook perogies bring a large pot of water to boil. Boil perogies in batches (dozen at a time) for 5-6 minutes. Until the perogies rise to the top of the lightly boiling water. Remove perogies with a slotted spoon.

11. Melt 1/4 cup butter in a frying pan on medium-high heat. Add 1/2 sliced yellow onion. Cook union until slightly translucent 2-3 mins. Add boiled perogies. Stir to warm perogies and cover in butter/onion mixture. Remove perogies and serve with a dollop of sour cream.

    
    

    I hope you love this recipe as much as I do. Enjoy!