Out of all of the dumplings that can be found in the world, none bring me back to my childhood like the Eastern European Pierogi. When I was in elementary school, every Friday we were allowed to head the local Ukrainian Church and purchase homemade pierogi that the Woman's council had made. Here I was, barely 9 years old, indulging in Potato dumplings smothered in garlic butter and onions.

Life was pretty darn good.

For those of you not living in the Northeast, and not living in an area of the country that had Polish, Slavic or Ukrainian immigrants, there is but one simple fact: Homemade pierogi is worlds better than the frozen kind. It's a lesson that's well learned.

Being dumplings, they can be filled with any number of ingredients, including sauerkraut, cheese, mashed potatoes, cabbage, onions or any combination thereof. These are a basic potato/onion filling.

Special bonus tip: Sour Cream makes the perfect topping.

Dumpling

• 1 cup white flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/8 cup warm water

Filling

• 4 Tablespoons Butter
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• Salt and Pepper (to taste)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Cup Mashed Potatoes
• 2 egg whites

For the Dumpling

Pour the flour and salt into a food processor. Pulse together. Add the egg yolk, and blend. While blending, slowly pour the water into the flour. Mix until the dough combines into a ball and rolls within the processor. If more water is needed, add 1 teaspoon at a time.

Remove the ball of dough from the processor and place on a floured surface. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to set for 1 hour.

After one hour, knead the dough into a ball. Roll the ball into 1/16th of an inch thick sheet. Cut the dough into 2-3 inch circles or squares, it matters not. Combine any excess dough together and repeat the kneading/rolling process. You should get approximately 25 dumplings out of this.

NOTE: Rolling the dough is a bit of a task, and my arms are still sore from doing this. Be prepared, or have someone with really strong fore arms ready for action.

For the Filling

Place a large skillet over medium heat, and place 2 tablespoons of butter in the pan. When the butter has melted, add the onions. Add Salt to help the onions sweat a bit, and pepper for flavor. Add the garlic, cover and cook until the onions are juuust starting to turn brown.

In a mixing bowl, combine the mashed poratoes with the onions and mix well.

Combining the two

Place the empty dumpling shell on a floured surface.

From the mixing bowl, take 1 teaspoon of the potato/onion mixture (or 1 1/2 if you really want to push it), and place it in the center of the dumpling. Take a brush and dip it into the egg whites, and the brush the edges. Fold in half and seal with the tines of a fork. Set aside. Repeat until all the dumplings are filled.

To cook, place the dumplings in boiling water. Cook until they float for approximately a minute or so. Top with butter and serve.

Serves 4-6

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