Homemade Perogies Baked in a Creamy Dill Sauce
Time to switch up the classic mashed potato side dish. I'm still serving up potatoes but in a more satisfying way. This recipe is great because you can make the perogies ahead of time and keep them in the freezer until the day of. You can also opt out of baking the perogies altogether, and just pan fry them and serve them with sour cream and fried onions. This recipe will make enough perogies for the creamy dill bake as well as a bunch of leftover perogies that you can keep in the freezer for another use. If you don't want any extra and you want to cut the prep time in half then cut the ingredients "for the dough" and "for the filling" in half as well. Or for an even better time saver - just use frozen perogies instead!
Homemade Perogies Baked in a Creamy Dill Sauce
Prep time: 2.5 hours
Cook time: 1 hour
Total time: 3.5 hours
Yield: approximately 60 perogies (but only ~20 are used in the creamy dill bake)
INGREDIENTS
For the Dough:
4 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 eggs
2 cups sour cream
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
For the Filling:
4 large Russet potatoes, peeled and roughly cubed
1 1/4 cup shredded old cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon onion powder
Salt and pepper to taste
For the Creamy Dill Bake:
1 onion, chopped
¼ cup butter
1 ¼ cup heavy cream
½ cup sour cream
1 handful chopped fresh dill
Salt and pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
Sift together flour and salt. In an electric stand mixer (or by hand) on medium speed, mix together melted butter, eggs, sour cream and vegetable oil (measurements listed “for the dough”). Slowly pour flour into the wet ingredients and continue to mix until a dough ball is formed. Cover with a towel and set aside for 20 minutes. Once the dough has rested, if it is too sticky to work with gradually add flour until an elastic dough is formed (similar to a pizza dough).
To make the filling, boil the potatoes until tender. Drain and then transfer the cooked potatoes to a large bowl and add the shredded cheddar cheese, butter and onion powder while still hot. This should melt the cheese and butter. Use a potato masher or a handheld mixer to combine and season with salt and pepper.
Separate the dough into four pieces, working with one at a time. Roll out on a well-floured surface until it is thin enough to work with but not too thin that it tears when folding. Using a large glass or a biscuit cutter, cut out circles in the dough. Place a large mound of potato filling in the middle of the circle and fold the dough over, pinching the edges to form a seal. You can use a fork to help seal the perogy and if the dough is still not staying together you can wet the edges with a small amount of water.
Once finished, place the perogies on a wax paper-lined baking sheet and freeze. Once frozen, transfer the perogies into a large ziplock bag to free up space in your freezer and to prevent freezer burn.
To cook, boil the perogies in salted water for approximately 8 minutes. They should float to the top when they are finished. If you want to stop here go for it! You can pan fry them to crisp them up and serve them with sour cream.
If you want to continue and make the creamy dill perogie bake then remove the boiled perogies from the salted water and place them in a greased, large glass baking dish with a lid. **Please note that this dish does tend to bubble while cooking so your dish needs to be deep. You should have at least 2 inches of the rim showing once you pour the sauce over the perogies to prevent the bake from boiling over and causing a big mess in your oven.
Preheat the oven to 350F. Meanwhile, fry the onions in the butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat until translucent. Pour in heavy cream, sour cream, salt and pepper and fresh dill and simmer for 15 minutes. Pour the sauce over the perogies and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the lid and continue to bake for an additional 10 minutes or until the top is bubbly and brown. Let cool slightly before serving.
