Pierogi

I have to admit, these do require a bit of work, but I think they are worth it. This recipe makes enough for several meals, which means that you can keep the leftovers in the freezer and have them whenever you'd like. You can pretty much top these with anything. I topped a few of mine with cheese and hot sauce and a few others with sauteed mushrooms, both were delicious. These work the best with leftover mashed potatoes since they are a little more sturdy to work with.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 dash garlic powder
1 dash cayenne pepper (optional)
1 egg
3 tablespoons plain yogurt
3/4 cup water
2 cups of cold mashed potatoes, seasoned however you'd like*

*I seasoned mine with butter, sour cream, cheese, leeks, and salt

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, and garlic powder (and cayenne pepper if you're using it). Make a little well in the flour and add the egg and the yogurt. Slowly and gently combine the ingredients and then add water. Stir to combine and then turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Knead a few times to bring it together, then let it rest for a while. After it has rested, roll the dough out pretty thinly. Mine took up most of my counter space. You'll want it to be thick enough to make sure it doesn't tear but thin enough to not be gummy or tough. Using a cookie cutter or an upside down pint glass cut dough into 3-4" circles. Fill each circle with a scoop of cold mashed potatoes and press the sides together to seal. Repeat until you've used all of the dough. Store these in the fridge while you're working so that they can get nice and chilly. Once you're done filling them, take a large pot of water and bring it to a boil. Drop 5-6 into the pot of water and stir to make sure they don't stick to the bottom. Cook them about 3 minutes, or just after they float to the top of the pot of water. Remove from the water and repeat until you've cooked all the dumplings. Allow them to cool a bit, then add as many as you'd like to eat to a saute pan with a little butter. Cook the dumplings for a few minutes over medium heat until they get a little crispy and brown on the bottom. Remove from heat and serve with whatever toppings you'd like.

You can freeze the rest of the boiled dumplings. To serve those just toss as many as you'd like into a saute pan with a pat of butter and cook for 1 minute over medium heat. Then add about a 1/4 cup of water. Cover the pan and cook for about 3 minutes. Remove the lid and continue cooking until they are crispy and brown on the bottom, maybe 1 minute more.