Cheddar Pierogi

The reason I decided to cook Hungarian food this week is because I was craving my Great Grandma's pierogi. We called her "Oh My Goodness Grandma" because whenever she saw my sisters and I, she would say Oh My Goodness, you've grown up so much!
I can remember visiting her, sitting at her kitchen table and eating pierogi. They were the best!
So I asked my mom for the recipe. She didn't have it, so she asked my Dad (it was his Grandma) if he knew who had it, and he didn't. Then my mom rembered her friend from church learned her mother in law's Polish pierogi recipe, and it gets rave reviews! So my mom asked Mrs. Hudak if she would give me the recipe and let me blog it, and she was more than happy to!


So here is the recipe Mrs. Hudak gave me. It is absolutely delicious! They are a little time consuming to make, but I think it's worth the effort.
Now when I looked at this recipe, I thought it seemed pretty rich, but I planned on making it as it was written. However, when I went to get the butter out of the fridge (something I rarely use) I was out! So I used chicken stock rather than butter. I also used skim milk in the dough, and light sour cream (even though she says not to, it's all I had!) So I think i was very sucessful at making this a bit lighter, but I would like to try the ultra rich version one day too!


I served my pierogi as my mom always did, with some sauteed onions and sour cream.
For the sides, I made red cabbage and creamed spinach (see next post)


I hope you have enjoyed Hungary, as I have loved every dish from the country!
Thank you very much for sharing your recipe, Mrs. Hudak!

Mrs. Hudak's Cheddar Pierogi

Pierogi Filling (40 pierogi)
5 Idaho potatoes
1 8 oz. bar extra sharp cheddar
1 8 oz. bag grated sharp cheddar (I only used cubed)
1/2 stick butter (I used 4 tbsp. chicken stock)
ground pepper

Peel and cube 5 potatoes.

Boil until tender (25 min)
Drain very well. Mash with an electric mixer.

Add butter and mix.

Cube the bar of extra sharp cheddar and mix.

Add grated sharp cheddar until the filling feels really thick like play dough.

I'm not sure how much of the grated cheese I put in. The filling will look very orange. If you want the filling to be whiter, you can use brick cheese or some white American, along with the extra sharp cheddar, but I like the flavor of the sharp cheddar and don't care how orange the filling is.

Add ground pepper to taste. I'm generous with the pepper.


Dough (40 pierogi):
1 egg
1/4 cup milk (she likes to use half and half)
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sour cream
2-2 1/2 cups flour


Whisk egg, milk, water, and sour cream in a small bowl.

In a large bowl put in the flour. Slowly add liquid. Mix well. Knead. Do not add more flour.

Dough will be smooth, elastic, and sticky.

Cover dough with a towel.

Roll out a little of ball of dough, enough to make 6-8 circles, on a lightly floured board using a lightly floured rolling pin.

Cut out three inch circles using a cookie cutter or a glass.

Put a blob of filling on each circle.

Fold over and pinch the edges.

Your fingers cannot have flour on them when you seal the pierogi.

Drop the pierogi into boiling water that is salted and has some oil in it to keep from sticking.

Boil 6 min. Remove the pierogi with a slotted spoon. Rinse.

Place pierogi in a nonstick skillet with sauteed onions until ready to eat.

The whole dinner plate, a great vegetarian dinner option!

The pierogi waiting to go into the water, I did 6 at a time

I used a cookie scoop to ration out the potato filling