Peroghy…Pirogi…Pierogi anyway you spell it, they are delicious

I was fortunate enough to be invited to take part in a family pierogi making day this past weekend.Last year we were given some pierogi to eat and they were so perfect and delicious that I am really glad I got to make some with these talented ladies and some of their husbands. This family has been getting together and making pierogi for many years, The woman fill them, a couple of the guys make the dough and one boils them up. Everyone who wants to take some pierogi home brings thier own filling. I brought potato and cheddar cheese. There was a sauerkraut filling, a cheeseburger one, some with bacon, cottage, cheese and potato, blueberry  and a few more. The dough recipe comes from the Kruper family. They have given me permission to post the recipe! This year the family made 144 dozen!! (5 of those were mine)
Kruper Family Pierogi 
Ingredients
Dough
 2 cups flour
1 cup sour cream
 My Filling 
4-6 potatoes *** I used Russet
1/2 pkg grated sharp cheddar cheese
Method 
1. Boil potatoes until soft. Drain the water out completely  and mash well
2. Add the grated cheddar cheese , salt and pepper to taste and mix well until completely combined and cheese melts into the potatoes.. Best to taste lots to the delicious cheesy filling!! …To make sure it is seasoned well!  Let cool
3, Measure the flour into a bowl and add the sour cream. Mix well with your hands until well combined. Put this onto a floured board or counter and knead until a soft dough forms. Add a little bit of flour if needed but not much because then the dough will be hard.
4. Roll the dough on a lightly floured board approximately 1/8 thick,using a glass or cookie cutter cut rounds in the dough.
5. Fill the circles with a heaping tablespoon of filling. Gather the circle around the filling forming a half-moon shape. Pinch the edges together well so that they do not come apart while being boiled.  If your edges do not stay together well, put a bit of flour on your fingers then pinch again. This helps the dough stick together..
6. At this point, there are several options. You can boil them and eat them of course!! OR, boil and put onto a floured cookie sheet in a single layer and freeze, then when frozen put them into a freezer bag for storage. OR, freeze them uncooked, put into a freezer bag with space between them and freeze or do the same as the cooked ones, freeze onto a floured cookie sheet them when frozen store in freezer bags. If you freeze them cooked, when ready to use you can just put them into a frying with some oil or butter and cook until defrosted. If frozen uncooked, bring a pot of water to a boil and put your pierogi into the boiling water and cook until they pop up to the top and are done.
**** I think that the amount of filling will be the right amount for one dough recipe, although I am not exactly sure. so much depends on the size of your potatoes and how thick you roll your dough out. I could not give you an accurate number of pierogi that this makes as they just keep making dough until all the different fillings are used up!
 
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