Submitted by: Cindy Kerschner of cindysrecipesandwritings.com
There’s an art to making homemade pasta. My Gram used to say, “You need to know how to make ‘em with your eyes shut!”
Ingredients:
3 C. all-purpose flour, plus 1 C. reserved
2 large eggs
1/2 C. water
4 C. potatoes, peeled, cubed
1 medium onion, sliced
2 C. (8 oz.) shredded cheddar or American cheese
Salt, and pepper to taste
Directions:
Filling:
To make filling, cover potatoes with water and boil for 10 minutes, add onions and continue boiling until potatoes are fork tender. Drain. Return to pot, add cheese and mash. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside to cool.
Dough:
In a large bowl, add 3 cups flour, make a depression or “well” in the center and add the eggs. Slowly add water a little at a time, working into the dough as needed. Knead dough until soft and slightly sticky.
Cover bowl with damp towel and let dough rest 15 minutes. Sprinkle some of the reserve flour over the work surface and lightly coat hands and rolling pin. Divide dough into thirds and roll out until about 1/8-inch thickness. Sprinkle reserve flour as needed to keep from sticking. Use sparingly or excess flour will toughen dough. Dip a 3-inch diameter drinking glass, donut cutter or biscuit cutter into reserve flour. Cut out dough circles.
To Assemble:
Scoop about 1 teaspoon of filling onto the center of the dough circle. Lightly wet the outside edge of the dough with water. Fold the dough over the filling. Wet the edge of the outer rim of the dough. Start at one end and begin pinching the edge of the pocket shut. Be careful to keep filling off the seam. Seam should be about 1/4-inch wide. You can seal the seam with a fork if desired. Lay closed pierogie on lightly floured waxed paper. Cover with damp cloth. Repeat above steps with remaining ingredients. Bring 4 quarts of lightly salted water to a rapid boil. Carefully drop pierogies into boiling water. Nudge pierogies from bottom with a slotted spoon. Reduce heat and gently boil until pierogies float (approximately 5 minutes). Test one for doneness. Dough should be cooked through but not soggy. Remove pierogies with slotted spoon to a colander. Rinse with cold water to prevent sticking. Drain. Move to waxed paper to thoroughly cool.
You can then eat them as is, deep fry them, sauté in butter with onions, or freeze them for later!