Potato Vareniki (Ukrainian Pierogi Recipe) are one of the best and most comforting Eastern European dishes. Stuffed with mashed potatoes and wrapped in homemade dough, they’re easy to love by both adults and kids!
Bring a large pot to a boil, salt with water to taste. Peel the potatoes and cut into quarters. Add to water along with bay leaves and cook uncovered on medium heat until fork tender. About 10-12 minutes.
Remove from heat, drain water and remove bay leaves.
Add butter and mash until smooth. Add milk and using a spoon whip the potatoes until combined.
Make Vareniki
Add milk and butter pieces into a pot and heat until butter melts on low heat. Mix to combine. Let cool for 5 minutes.
In a bowl add flour, salt and 1 egg, whisked. Slowly add in the slightly cooled milk and butter mixture. Stir to combine.
Once dough is formed, add some flour on your countertop and knead the dough for 2-3 minutes.
Set the dough aside and cover to rest for 10 minutes.
Once you are ready to make your first batch of vareniki, divide your dough into 3 pieces. Cover the pieces you aren’t using.
Roll out the dough thinly on a floured surface to just under 1/8” thickness. Using either glass or a 3 inch cookie cutter, cut out round shapes. Keep the shapes as close as possible, keeping the scraps (add them to the unused dough to reuse).
Assemble Vareniki
Add 1/2 Tbsp of potatoes over each round piece of dough, fold over in half and pinch together to seal and make a half moon shape. To ensure a tight seal, crimp the edges a second time with a pinch and twist motion.
Place the prepared vareniki on a floured baking sheet to prevent sticking.
Freezing Vareniki
If making ahead, you can freeze them and once frozen on the floured baking sheet, add to a freezer bag and store until ready to use.
Cooking Vareniki
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and add kosher salt to taste. Carefully add fresh or frozen vareniki once water has boiled.
Cook for about 10-12 minutes, then once the vareniki are floating and water is back to a boil, the dough should be very tender. Carefully remove to a bowl with a slotted spoon. Add butter and gently toss to combine. Add to a bowl, top with sour cream and fresh dill or green onions and enjoy. Or kick it up a notch and cook up some caramelized onions and bacon to add as a topping along with sour cream and fresh herbs.
Notes
This recipe makes 55-60 pierogi, based on how thinly you roll.
The preparation of vareniki requires a little time and a few tricks:
The vareniki dough should not be too thick. Indeed, if the dough is not sufficiently rolled thinly, the vareniki will be pasty. The dough can be passed through a pasta roller to have an even thinner roll.