Gluten Free Pierogi: A Dream Realized

Tvorog and Potato Filled GF Pierogi with Melted Butter

I did it.  For the last four years since going gluten-free I have mourned the loss of my favorite family foods, but none more than homemade pierogi filled with a cottage cheese and potato mixture, with melted butter drizzled over them and a dollop of sour cream. They were a staple in my family (Polish and Ukrainian in origin), especially around the holidays.  We used to spend Christmas Eve at my Ukrainian Grandmother's house where she served them with roasted kielbasa, pickled herring on rye bread, head cheese (never was brave enough to try that) and various pickled vegetables.  I loved them best the next day fried in butter.  My Mom (Polish side of the family) learned to make the Ukrainian version when I was little and she had a hard time with the dough, possibly because my Grandmother forgot to tell her to add a little oil to it.

I made them once before going gluten free and had trouble with the dough too, so the thought of making them with GF flour really scared the living daylights out of me.  But, after having much success with GF baking with Jules GF All Purpose Flour, I decided to have a go at it this year. Mom came for Christmas and we made these Christmas Eve and served them with Polish Kielbasa from George's Deli in Seattle and with homemade borscht (The Russian Tea Room Cookbook recipe). I used Jules' flour and substituted tvorog (an East European version of Farmer's cheese, which is not as wet as cottage cheese) for the cottage cheese in the recipe.  I got the tvorog from an Armenian Deli in Bellevue, WA.

The recipe I used for the pierogi dough is a modified version of my Ukrainian Grandmother's Pyrohy (Ukrainian version of pierogi).  I used the instructions from the recipe for Varenyky (Pyrohy) recipe from the Ukrainian Daughter's Cookbook, because they seemed more fool-proof.

Pyrohy
Dough
4 1/2 cups of flour (I used Jules All Purpose GF)
1 Tablespoon salt
1  1/2 cups cold water
1 egg
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil


Filling
6 cups of mashed potatoes
1 carton regular cottage cheese (or equivalent amount Farmer's cheese or tvorog)

Whisk together water, oil and egg (use a large bowl).  Blend well, then add 3 1/2 cups of the flour.  Knead dough, while adding the last cup of flour. Knead until smooth and soft.  Put in a lightly oiled bowl and cover. Let rest 20 minutes ( I put the bowl in the fridge).

Roll out a small amount of the dough on a floured board (I used marble) until thinner than pie crust and cut out circles with a 3" biscuit cutter.  (I rolled out enough dough for 5-6 circles at a time).  Place a teaspoon of filling in the center of the dough circle and fold in half, crimping the edges with your fingers. Place completed ones on a linen towel and cover with another towel to keep them from drying out. When you have rolled out, cut out and filled all the pyrohy, cook them in boiling water.  They will float to the top when done. Stir them with a wooden spoon while cooking so they do not stick to the bottom.  When done, remove them with a slotted spoon (I used a Chinese skimmer) and place them in a bowl and drizzle with melted butter.  Serve with sour cream.  You can refrigerate or freeze leftovers and reheat again without loss of flavor.  Take care to put butter over them before storing so they do not stick together.

Pierogi Making Process