Homemade Pierogi

1. First, start preparing the filling. Fill a large pot with cold water and put it on the stove. Peel and quarter the potatoes, and add the quarters to the cold water in the pot as you go. This will keep them from browning while you work on the rest of the potatoes. Once all of the potatoes are prepped and in the cold water, bring the pot to a boil. Boil the potatoes until they are completely tender and mashable, about 45 minutes.
2. In the meantime, make the dough so it can rest. In a bowl combine the egg, sour cream, salt and flour. Stir it together completely and then turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead it for a couple of minutes to have it come together in a wonderful ball of dough. Wrap it in plastic and set it aside to rest for about 30 minutes. This will allow the gluten in the flour to relax and make for a really tender pierogi dough.
3. The potatoes should be just about done at the same time the dough is ready. Remove them from the water with a slotted spoon and transfer them to a very large bowl. Do not drain the water, leave the pot of water on the stove. Mash the potatoes in the bowl and stir in the farmer’s cheese, American cheese and butter until it becomes a creamy, luscious filling.
4. Divide the dough in half and roll out the first half to about 1/4 an inch thick on a floured surface with a floured rolling pin. With the mouth of a glass, cut out perfect little circles. You should get nine circles the first time, and then take the scraps and roll it out again to cut out another 3.
5. Fill each of the circles with a heaping teaspoon of filling on one half, then bring the other half over to enclose it and pinch it together thoroughly. Really seal them well, and make a pretty pattern along the edge by pressing down with the tines of a fork over the whole edge. Lay out the pierogi on a sheet tray lined with a towel and repeat the process with the other half of dough. There is going to be a lot of filling leftover, and that’s OK. I just pack it up, and then I make another ball of dough to use it up later. Don’t double the dough recipe though, it won’t be quite the same.
6. Bring the pot of water that you boiled the potatoes in back up to a boil. I had a master plan for this, I promise! All of that starchy water was too good to waste. Boil the pierogi in batches of 6 or 7 in that starchy water until they rise to the top. It should take only about 3 minutes. Transfer them to a large platter with a slotted spoon and boil all of the rest until they are done. If you wish, heat a large skillet over medium heat and thinly slice up an onion. Then saute the onion in half a stick of butter. As the onions cook, give the pierogi a quick toss with them in batches again to make them slightly golden and then plate them to serve with the onion on top.
7. On their own, or on the side of a nice kielbasa with mustard and sauerkraut, these pierogi are just made for an amazing Polish feast. I think my late mother-in-law would be proud of how they came out!