My maternal grandparents immigrated from Poland to Winnipeg. Somewhere along the line, between 1910 and 1955, the cheese component switched to orange cheddar, nice old tangy orange cheddar. And by the time I was ready to receive the recipe, the dough was "enough flour to use up your filling, made with as many eggs as you can afford. add some oil and milk, or water if that's all you have." The freshly boiled perogies would come out of the pot and be tossed in a bowl with either sauteed bacon and onion or melted butter. The first helping was eaten like that with sour cream. They weren't fried until breakfast the next morning. I don't make them much since my brother died, and I miss them almost as much as I miss him, and it's been 20 years now.

My (late) paternal, immigrant grandmother was half Polish and half Ukrainian. She taught me how to make pierogies when I was a child. She used all purpose flour, a pinch of salt, an egg, corn oil and water in her pierogi dough. There were two fillings. Cottage cheese and mashed potatoes, and sauerkraut and onion. They were really good. Butter and onions, as well as sour cream are obligatory on pierogies. I also had them fried in butter until they were golden brown. Those pierogies sure look good. In Alberta, we know all about pierogies, because we have a very large Ukrainian population. The town of Glendon, has the world's largest pierogi. It's a sculpture. Cheers, Chef John!

'My grandmother made it this way...' , 'but because her grandson is a chef...' and 'this is how my mum made it...' - a perfect recipe a love! 💕💕

I'm Polish and I've eaten pierogi thousands of times but I've never made my own. This year I'm hosting a chrismas eve dinner and I just decided to make pierogi following chef John's recipe.

Thank you to Grandma Sofie and Momma Pauline for passing this on to our Chef John!

Chef john getting me in my feels, talking about "Grandma New York" watching from heaven

I'm from Poland and your grandmother knew what she was doing. You can add a little twist by adding some finely chopped and fried bacon and a little bit of grated horseradish. But the ones from your recipe are already amazing ;)

Brought tears to my eyes, John. Grandma Birdie was a German born in Warsaw and raised in Cleveland. Her and her sister had a small cafe on the near east side before working at Cleveland Twist Drill to support the war effort and raising a family. I came along in the 60's and live nextdoor. Spent days with Grandma in the kitchen learning cooking, German and a little Polish (kielbasa & sour kraut). Pierogi was one of my favorites to make AND eat. Potato and onion are my favorite, but the sour kraut pierogi we're also good. Thanks for the memories, kind sir.

Hi Chef John, i just want to share my comments: - yes, recipe is 100% correct, we call them "pierogi ruskie", but it doesn't stand for Russia, but for eastern part of legacy Polish territory -Ruthenia - I'd say having grains of cheese visible in the filling is a plus - typically served with fried onion and/or smoked bacon, to balance the dryness of the filling - when served first time - only boiled, pan is used for re-heating - those are very popular in Poland even nowdays, can be found in most restaurants - those are eaten across the year, more typical Christmas pierogi are the one with cabbage (sauerkraut) and mushrooms (PL: pierogi z kapustą i grzybami)

Best comfort food in the world. I live in Poland with my huge Polish family and twice a year we make an enormous batch together - one is everyday potato and cheese and the other is the Christmas batch - mushroom filling, mushroom and sauerkraut, and pure sauerkraut. Oh, and the traditional "Ushka" (little ears), a special Christmas Eve type of dumpling with mushrooms, it's tiny and cute and it's eaten with clear red beetroot soup. Looks like a work of art, tastes like heaven. I'm so happy to see Polish cuisine represented, we don't have many fancy snacks, but we have plenty of feel-good hearty meal recipes to enjoy with the family. You all should definitely come visit and have a taste!

This is how most polish grandmas would make pierogi, they look picture perfect in my opinion. My grandma also puts a bit of boiled potato in the dough which makes it more fluffy kinda like gnocchi and also makes it brown better. I also love the addition of dill into the potato filling. When I comes to the most traditional Christmas iteration I would say it's the cabbage, mushrooms and golden onion filling. Give them a try as well!!

Growing up on the northwest side of Chicago in a predominantly Polish neighborhood, we had an awesome Polish deli that was across the alley from us. My brother and I would go there and get all kinds of goodies with just a few bucks. They had homemade pierogis, smoked sausage and fish, this spongey cheese cake. This video brings back memories.

Chef John, I am an American who moved to Poland in 2009 when I met my wife here as an ex-pat. She makes the best pierogi and I am happy to say your's are nearly identical. I am amazed that your dough is the same as so many people over complicate it. This is perfect. Thanks for making it true to the cuisine of Poland.

Pierogies are a favorite of mine, and a real comfort. My Nan used to make them for me. She was the best. I am also obsessed with sour cream. I add it to pretty much everything I make.

THIS is comfort food. When it comes to cheese, quark is the best choice, however it works with cream cheese, but the texture will be completely different. And yes, sour cream is obligatory, especially if you add a LOT of ground pepper into the filling which I highly recommend. Thank you Chef for sharing this Polish classic!

My Polish grandmother used to make these all the time, and she usually browned them pretty good. I knew you were the real deal when you took them from the boil and then to the pan to brown 👍 She passed last year, unfortunately but this will be the perfect tribute for me to follow this recipe. Thanks a lot Jon, you're awesome!

I grew up outside of Cleveland; there're are tons of Poles historically there, and local women would sell pierogis in the big West Side Market w/ little chunks of Velveeta Cheese (don't be a snob!) mixed in the potato pierogis which melted when you boiled them, and they were seriously the best things ever.

My Grandma who is a Polish immigrant used to make these all the time for us! I miss the way she made them so much

As someone of Polish background I can appreciate these perogies. They look amazing. The golden butter onions are a nice touch.

Never heard of these until I was 50. 50 years of missing out on heavenly delights. Making up for lost time though! Will make these as soon as I find proper ingredients!

I've been making your old recipe for years! My husband is polish and for him to tell me that they taste like the ones his grandma used to make is the highest praise. I'll give this New recipe a go this Christmas :)

I have these regularly because I'm Ukrainian and my mom also makes them from scratch all the time but I prefer other people's pierogi recipes over hers, so right now I can only imagine how delicious Chef John's pierogi recipe must taste. Probably next level delicious.

the very best recipe for "Ruskie" I've seen from an american. Grandma Zofia is proud. I'm sure of it.

My grandmother cooked diced salt pork with the onions. She rolled the dough out into a rectangle cut it into straps then crosswise into squares. Filled them and folded them over into triangles. No re rolling of dough. Some were filled with mashed potatoes and cheddar cheese. Others with dry cottage cheese. Served with sour cream. Loved them

Greetings from Wrocław, Poland! Love your channel

My favorite pierogi filling that my grandma made combines farmers cheese (or processed dry cottage cheese), lemon, sugar, salt, and eggs. Slightly sweet and so delicious. The other one she made has reconstituted prunes. Also, if it was a “good” year we would use sour cream instead of water in the dough.

Your voice is so distinctive, thank you for sharing your family recipe.

After making so many of Your recipes i just now discover You have polish roots! Great! Greetings from Gorlice Poland. Although - where i am from the traditional Christmas pierogi are ones with mushrooms - porcinis especially, sour cabbage and mushrooms or - as a dessert - pierogi with dried, smoked plums with butter and sugar. 😁 Merry Christmas /Wesołych Świąt!

You can always spot a true teacher of the cooking arts and one that really wants you to enjoy what your cooking and eating when they are sharing family dishes and how to make them. Thank you so much.

My husband's grand parents were polish and she taught me her pierogie recipe with beef, porcini mushrooms and sauerkraut. Absolutely my fav. But I will definitely try your recipe as well

I'm Slovak and where I grew up there were two types of pierogi: mashed potato and prune. I never liked the prune but man are the potato ones good. Most of my life I've eaten either Mrs. T's or Aldi's own brand of potato pierogis, and they're quite good. I'll definitely try this recipe, although I think I'll stick with a potato/cheddar/onion mix.

Pork chops and pierogi is my son's absolute favorite supper. I haven't made them from scratch in forever! I will have to do this over the holidays.

My mother used to make pierogies!! Loved them growing up. My mother died a few years ago and I eat them and remember her love. I’m crying writing this. Thank you Chef John for this video. It’s amazing how a meal can mean so much to people. God bless you this Christmas season.

Polish Christmas dumplings are filled with sauerkraut stewed with forest mushrooms. Delicious! :) Potato&Cheese are called "ruskie" in relation to geographic region not nation ('rus' do not confuse with 'russian') and I never had them or even saw them during Christmas in 30years

This is so much like my late mom’s recipe except she used dry cottage cheese in hers. The dough circles were cut out with a beer glass then stretched out a little. This is the time of year when we would make dozens for Christmas, first the potatoes and cheese then some sauerkraut ones. If any dough was left she would make noodles out of it. Lots of memories! Thanks Chef John.

The cheese traditionally used is quark, which is similar to cottage cheese, or farmers cheese in the US. In Polish they're called 'Ruskie Pierogi', which means Rusyn Pierogi (Not 'Russian'), and they originate from the Galicia region in present day Slovakia and Ukraine. The traditional Polish Christmas version of pierogi uses sauerkraut and wild mushrooms.

I make these every year for Christmas. I use my husband’s grandma/grandpa’s recipe. They were from Poland. Potatoes/grated onion/S&P/farmer’s cheese and sausage. Boiled and pan fried in butter topped with sour cream.

My wife is from Binghamton, N.Y. and she introduced me to Peirogis. I absolutely love them but have never taken the time to make them from scratch. Thank you so much for sharing this family recipe 😊

As a half polish nothing has ever brought me memories so nostalgic in my life like a pierogi my Nanna conquered it without hassle everytime. It's a Nanna or grandma thing in most traditions/countries no matter how hard you try you can never get that smell that taste from the authenticity and knowledge of the food that you remember eating. Thanks chef

We did something similar in Slovakia. It is calling „Pirohy“. We filled up with mash potatoes, salty cottage chess(different like yours) or any kind of jam. Kids love with Jam. 😉

Wow! Thank you Chef John for sharing a part of your soul with the world. I have lived in Eastern Europe and had one aunty make these for me and my friends for breakfast (we were pretty hungover). Brings back a flood of memories.

Thank you for sharing your beloved family recipe with us!❤️ I made this for my Polish boyfriend and he loved it and said it reminded him of happy memories with his grandfather🥰 also very fun to make, thanks again

There have never really been pierogi in my home of central Iowa, at least nowhere we ever went when I was growing up. But they had it everywhere in Pennsylvania where I went to grad school and, indeed, I have developed a real love for them.

Chef John you just keep getting better and better, thank you for sharing your wonderful family recipe with all the pointers about folding too! ❤️

Wow! I don't remember when i smiled for 13 minutes straight watching a video on KZfaq. Chef Jon, that's how my mom used to make them, brings a tear of joy to my eye. These just never get boring, so simple, so delicious. i have so many great memories making them with my friends, so much fun. I never really thought about my last meal but i have to agree with you! My culinary adventure started by going away from my country's cuisine, but as i get older i tend to get back to them. Geez, so many emotions. Thank you for that video!

A Canadian pierogi-lover here, Chef John. My responsibility is to make the dough and it takes 30 - 45 minutes of kneading for my wife to be satisfied. Will try the fridge trick to cut on the effort, never done it. Also, her filling is potatoes, onion, cream cheese and cheddar.

I love how Chef John bares his soul with his Ratatouille moment.

“If you can’t find farmers cheese…” I was hoping you would announce a future video for homemade farmers cheese.

I LOVE pierogies and can’t believe you haven’t already made a video for this iconic dish! I’m excited to try your recipe.

My father was Ukrainian, and he always made mashed potato and cheddar pierogies with fried salt fat back and onions to top them. So damn good!

Oh my, just by the thumbnail alone looks absolutely delicious!

I love Pierogi, especially fried like that at the end. I sometimes take a leaf from the Japanese & make a slurry of corn/potato starch & water which I pour over in the frying pan to create a "Hanetsuki" or crispy skirt. Just adds another layer of texture. Funny you add cayenne to so many dishes, I have a reputation of adding fresh nutmeg or all-spice to a lot of mine, either works really well in the potato & cheese mixture here. Then served with sour cream, some braised or pickled cabbage & some good sausages.🤤[Guess I know what I'm making this weekend now, many thanks for the reminder, I haven't made them in a while.]

Wow, you got Polish heritage! Do you know Gołąbki (Go-whomb-kee)? Stuffed cabbage leaves. Aparat from Bigos which you did an awesome Polish dish. As for Pierogi, there is also a sauerkraut stuffed version, very chrismassy thing.

Thanks Chef John, I wanted to make this for Christmas dish with kielbasa, as well as a Puerto Rican/Cuban dish to honor my grandparents.

Fresh chopped mint is sometimes also added to the filling, believe me it takes these to the next level!

Live from my Christmas Eve kitchen, attempting a gluten free version of this recipe and here's what I can report: you can sub Trader Joe's 1 to 1 baking flour blend for the 3.5 cups of flour but you'll need to add more moisture because the different grains suck up the oil/water quickly. I added 1/2 cup of vegan sour cream (I'm watching my dairy, but I'm sure you could use regular sour cream) and an egg and that was just a tad overkill, so I scattered a fairly generous layer of flour on the counter and rolled the dough around in it and it took on a nice, workable consistency. This dough rolled out nicely after refrigerating for an hour, but keep the following in mind: add the smallest amount of water you can around the outside, around the outside, around the outside or the dough will start falling apart. Use less filling than he showed in the video because this isn't a glutinous dough so it doesn't stretch as well. Flour your two fingers before pinching so as to further not add moisture to the dough that will cause it to break. Since the dough is more delicate, freeze it for ~10 minutes before dropping into the boiling water, and boil it for less time (like 2 minutes... mine didn't float before I took them out). These fried up nicely and turned out pretty damn tasty, if I do say so myself. Happy Holidays to all my fellow non-wheat eaters!

Pierogi Ruskie, often incorrectly translated as Russian Pierogies. It's called by the name our old polish territories of Ruś (currently Belarus). Love your channel btw., greetings from Warsaw!

Thank you Chef John, you just saved Christmas for me. A batch of these are going to be my dad’s gift, he loves potatoes, cheese and onions. Also, your recipes are enjoyed by three generations in my family. I found you first and now my teen daughter’s “signature recipe” is your holiday mashed potatoes. Then I recommended you to my dad and he loves many of your recipes too. Can’t wait to see what you show us next.

My mother taught me how to make them with different fillings and each filling had a different shape so we could tell them apart after frying. The 2 methods you showed us plus also taking the corners and connecting them together to create a circle. My favorite are cabbage (not sauerkraut) & onions and also meat filling. My aunt made cherry filling that were awesome but I haven't them since she pasted many years ago. BTW: since my parents were from Russia, we call them vareniki...

I was having a bad day and needed a dose of food wishes! Thank you 🙏🏼

Thank you Chef! I can tell this recipe was near and dear to you and i greatly appreciate it and will make it always with that in mind.

I was completely hypnotized by this recipe. Those look fantastic. Another fantastic job Chef John.

I have been waiting for this. Thanks for sharing this. We will keep the recipe tradition alive.

My husband is Polish American and I was very lucky to learn how to make periogies from his Babci while she was alive. It's a family favorite and I am always requested to make huge batches during the holidays.

Nailed it from every possible angle and that comes from a Polish domestic chef. Loved everything about your recipe, all the way to final presentation. I tip my hat to you good Sir.

This looks amazing! Thank you Chef John! Enjoy! ♥

Had a lot of Polish friends, loved going to weddings, Pierogis for days with every kind of filling imaginable, those women must have spent days preparing them. So delicious!

Wow! Chef John thank you for this video. I thought pirogi were getting to be pretty much of a lost art. My godmother was polish, but she didn't learn how to make pirogi, however her mother, who lived with her, would make them on special occasions. She would do the potato and cheese and she would also do sauerkraut filling. They would always send over a nice dish of both to us. We are not of Polish descent, so we really appreciated them. I believe unless you've had homemade pirogi, you have no idea how wonderful they are. The dough is the thing, so tender the pirogi just melts in your mouth and of course the little crunch from sauteing them and the onion flavor just wonderful. I've been buying them from the polish store in my area, which has them with a variety of fillings and they're almost like homemade. Right now I have 18 frozen potato and cheese pirogi in my freezer. But I will definitely try your recipe. Oh, and yes serving with onion butter and sour cream is the way to go.

You had me at pierogi, Chef John.

All my favourite ingredients in one dish....can't wait to make this!!! Thank you🙏

Yum, thank you, they look incredibly good!

My mouth was watering, I am trying them soon! Thanks for the great tutorial!

Thank you and stay safe this holiday season Chef

Dear Chef John, I really like how you are doing more Eastern European foods. Please keep it up!!

thank you for sharing your family’s recipe. i never had pierogi until moving to new york five years ago, and it quickly became one of my favorite foods. definitely going to make this soon!

This was well-timed, as I’m leaving today for a trip to Poland 🇵🇱 and will definitely seek out pierogi.

What a beautiful tribute to your family. These look tender and luscious, and soothing. When you said “otherworldly”, I thought you were going to say, “Heavenly”. I’m sure that’s what our Polish grandmothers will greet us with when our turn comes.

It's the best! I ate this in Poland! Thank you for sharing this recipe.

Thanks for all of your videos. They always inspire. The crimping gave me a new twist. Being Italian, we have the "Seven Fishes" Christmas but also traditionally have Potato pierogi and Sauerkraut pierogi. We cut squares with the dough and fold side to side to make rectangles for the potato and fold cross-corner to make triangles for the kraut. The Polish lady my Mom learned from SWORE by Velveeta Cheese for the potato, so that is what we use.

Pierogi is my favorite comfort food but I've never made it from scratch (not when the Ukrainian Church Ladies make the best ever). Fried golden brown. Usually alongside fish fried in butter with lemon & dill and some steamed green beans. Or with kobasa & sauerkraut.

Oh dang these look incredible!! 😋 thank you for sharing your family recipe

I knew there was a reason I liked most of your videos and it's because your part Polish! Wesołych Świąt!

My mum was born in Berlin in 1927 with the radical consequences but the most gallant wonderful person who found my Dad in Toronto Canada. The one thing she didn't make was peroghi there was a kiosk across from a church and those crescents literally floated on air .... my favorites included porcini duxelle mushrooms and creme fraiche I'm serious still dream about them my mum could do anything but those memories such a delight. Thank you for such an extraordinary memory brought back! I think a kind of cottage cheese called quark might approximate your recipe am going to try in memory of Eva a wonderful gallant brave and wonderful mum. Tx so much.

Thank you Chef for sharing this recipe! It's a keeper ☺️!

I love chef John. I missed binging these videos. This is a beautiful recipe. I think I will make it.

My fiance is polish and I have been trying to perfect pierogi's for awhile now. Thank you for this recipe. Easy to follow and your tips were so helpful. They came out amazing!

I grew up in Detroit and actually lived in Hamtramck as a kid (which at one point was the largest concentration of Polish immigrants in America), so I ate a lot of these. Made this recipe, and they turned out great!❤️❤️❤️

So Delightful and looks doable 🙂 Thank You Merry Christmas Blessings

My husband's family is Polish and Ukranian. I had the good fortune of knowing his Polish grandmother who made wonderful food. My favorites were the blueberry perogies that she made in the summer.

I made these once with my Polish immigrant boyfriend and a family. We didn't speak the same language, but we were able to make these anyway. They were delicious! I added a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese- next level!

Chef John, I’ve been watching you since I was a teenager :) probably 10 years now! I’ve not once commented or tried a recipe ahaha. Today I thought why not let you know that you’ve been on my list of “things to do on bad days” to help manage my depression. Thank you, truly 🙏🏻

Chef John, has anyone ever told you that you have impeccable timing? We just had pierogies for dinner and I said out loud "I HAVE to see if Chef John has a video on pierogies!" I can't wait to make these, thank you for sharing. ♡

christmas came early cause pierogi recipes make me so happy!! let alone from chef john himself!

Personally I like adding a little mustard to my plate- it makes an amazing addition for pierogis.

Dziękuję, Szefie Kuchni!

From one Polish to another - thank you for this one! I still have my Nana's original cheese blintz recipe. The best!

You just amazing every recipe is a master class . Thank you for another class, and yummy food!

Great video as always. Homemade pierogi ruskie are one of the things that make Christmas such a joy.

Also a recipe for good polish chilled beet soup- please! I always enjoy your demonstrations as well as tickle of laughter! YOU ARE AMAZING!!!

These look absolutely incredible