These delicious dessert pierogi are filled with sweetened twaróg cheese (Polish farmer’s cheese) flavored with vanilla and taste like little cheesecake bites. I served them with whipped cream, cinnamon, and strawberry sauce. This is one of my favorite pierogi recipes!
What are pierogi?
Pierogi are one of the most popular Polish dishes (in Poland and abroad!). These polish dumplings are made with a simple unleavened dough and filled with sweet or savory fillings. They are boiled and then sometimes additionally pan-fried. It’s the comfort food of every Pole!
I’ve seen people calling them pierogis, perogy, pyrogy, perogies, perogis, pierogies – yes! so many different versions. It’s much simpler in Poland – pierogi is the plural name of these delicious dumplings (so calling them pierogis makes no sense since this is already plural!) and 1 dumpling is 1 pieróg. You could also call them pierożki (this is how my daughter calls them!) which means literally ‘small pierogi’.
Ingredients:
Here’s what you need for pierogi dough:
- flour – I used all-purpose flour
- water – the water should be very hot but not boiling (it will make the dough softer)
- salt – to season the dough
- butter – adds flavor and makes the dough softer, you can use any vegetable oil instead (like sunflower or canola oil), some readers also reported that this recipe works well with vegan butter
For the sweet cheese filling you need:
- full-fat Polish twaróg cheese (you can read more about this cheese below), you can use farmer’s cheese instead.
- Egg yolks – add flavor and bind the filling.
- Sugar – to sweeten the filling. You can use xylitol instead or any other sweetener of your choice.
- Vanilla extract – to flavor the filling.
- Vanilla pudding powder – adds vanilla flavor and gives the filling better texture – it’s less watery after boiling the pierogi. It can be omitted or you can substitute cornstarch + more vanilla extract.
A very similar filling is used to make Polish crepes (naleśniki).
What is twaróg cheese:
Twaróg cheese is a very popular Polish curd cheese, it’s our most important, national cheese. It’s really delicious, it tastes fresh and slightly sour. Twaróg cheese is also called white cheese in Poland. When you’ll say ‘go and buy white cheese’ everyone knows that you’re meaning twaróg cheese. It is made from soured milk, that is warmed up, then cooled and strained.
It’s hard to find a cheese with a similar taste. You can substitute it for farmer’s cheese – it tastes almost the same (it’s just a little less sour in my opinion and more crumbly). Similar cheeses like cottage cheese, Italian ricotta, German Quark, Austrian Topfen come close but can’t really be substituted.
Cottage cheese looks similar but is much sweeter and the grains don’t clump to each other. Ricotta is too creamy and mild-flavored, just like the quark and topfen.
You can find twaróg in any Polish supermarket (as well as in Russian or Ukrainian supermarkets). It should be labeled ‚Twaróg tłusty‘ / full-fat (my favorite kind for this recipe) or ‘Twaróg półtłusty’ / reduced-fat or ‘Twaróg chudy’ / low-fat cheese. Twaróg cheese is also used to make Polish cheesecake (sernik).
How to make it step by step:
Make the pierogi dough:
- Stir the flour with salt in a medium/large bowl.
- Warm the water with butter/oil in a small pot until very warm but not boiling.
- Add the liquid to the bowl. Stir the dough with a spoon until roughly combined.
- Knead the dough by hand or with a stand mixer fitter with a hook dough attachment, until it’s soft and smooth (it will take about 5 minutes with the mixer). When you follow the recipe (especially if you weigh the ingredients, instead of using measuring cups), the dough should be perfect, but if for some reason it’s not, add some water if it’s too dry, or a little bit of flour if it’s too wet. If the dough already forms a ball, is relatively smooth, but still tough, it means that it’s not ready, it must be further kneaded until soft and elastic (after resting time it will be even softer).
- Wrap the dough with plastic foil and leave to rest for 30 minutes. While the dough is resting, make the filling. You can make it in the same bowl.
Make the cheese filling:
- Mix the egg yolks with sugar until combined.
- Add all the other ingredients and mix until combined. I’m using my stand mixer with a paddle-shaped attachment, but you can just stir the ingredients with a fork if you don’t have a mixer.
Make the pierogi:
- Divide the dough into 2 parts.
- Roll out the first part of the dough on a lightly floured surface (I like silicone rolling mats). Cut out rounds with pierogi cutter/biscuit cutter/a glass. The dough should be rolled out thinly. If the dough is hard to roll out, set it aside for about 5-10 minutes to rest.
- Gather scraps, cover with plastic wrap and set aside.
- Scoop some filling with a teaspoon and place on each round.
- Fold the dough over the filling to create a half-moon shape. Press edges together, sealing and crimping with your fingers.
- Place the pierogi apart on a towel lightly sprinkled with flour, cover loosely with a kitchen cloth so that they don‘t dry out.
- Repeat with the remaining dough.
Cook pierogi:
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Cook the pierogi in batches (for a 8-inch (21 cm) pot I cook about 10-12 dumplings at a time). When they float to the water surface cook them for 1-2 minutes more, then remove from the water with a slotted spoon. The cooking time will depend on the thickness of the dough.
- Drain well and transfer onto a plate.
Enjoy!
How to serve these sweet cheese pierogi:
- whipped cream and cinnamon
- plain yogurt and cinnamon
- whipped cream and strawberry sauce (strawberries pureed with sugar in a food processor)
Here you’ll find all my pierogi sauces and toppings ideas.
Storing and freezing instructions:
Storage: To ensure that the cooked pierogi don‘t stick to each other, brush them lightly with melted butter. Store in a tightly-closed container in the fridge for about 2 days. On the next day, it‘s best to pan-fry them with butter until golden.
You can also store separately pierogi dough and the filling in the fridge for up to 2 days. The next day you can make and cook fresh pierogi.
Freezing: you can freeze cooked and raw pierogi. You can cook frozen pierogi straight from the freezer (don’t thaw them).
How to freeze pierogi: Place the pierogi apart on a tray, lightly sprinkled well with flour. Freeze until solid. Transfer to containers on plastic bags.
How to cook uncooked frozen pierogi: Cook like fresh pierogi but take them out once they float to the water surface.
How to cook cooked frozen pierogi: I cook frozen dumplings just like fresh ones, with the difference that you can cook a smaller amount of them at a time, I cook max. 7-8 frozen pierogi at once (and about 10-12 fresh). When you drop too many frozen pierogi at once it will lower the temperature of the water too much and they will burst.
More pierogi recipes:
I have many pierogi recipe on my website!
- recipe for pierogi dough
- post describing many different authentic and modern pierogi fillings
- pierogi ruskie (authentic potato and cheese pierogi)
- potato and cheese pierogi the American way (with cheddar)
- pink pierogi with spinach and feta filling
- pierogi with sun-dried tomato and lentil filling
- sauerkraut and mushroom pierogi
- uszka – tiny wild mushroom pierogi
Did you make this recipe? RATE THE RECIPE or tell me in the COMMENTS how you liked it! You can also add a photo of your dish. It would make me very happy and will help other readers. Thank you!!
Sweet Cheese Pierogi
Ingredients
for the dough:
- 2 cups (250g) flour
- 1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp (140g) water
- 1.5 tablespoons (20g) butter or vegetable oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
for the filling:
- 18 oz (500g) Polish twaróg cheese or farmer's cheese
- 2 egg yolks
- 1/4 cup (50g) sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon vanilla pudding powder
Would you like to save this?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Instructions
Make the dough:
- Stir the flour with salt in a medium/large bowl.
- Warm the water with butter/oil in a small pot until very warm but not boiling.
- Add the liquid to the bowl. Stir the dough with a spoon until roughly combined.
- Knead the dough by hand or with a stand mixer fitter with a hook dough attachment, until it’s soft and smooth (it will take about 5 minutes with the mixer). When you follow the recipe (especially if you weigh the ingredients, instead of using measuring cups), the dough should be perfect, but if for some reason it’s not, add some water if it’s too dry, or a little bit of flour if it’s too wet. If the dough already forms a ball, is relatively smooth, but still tough, it means that it’s not ready, it must be further kneaded until soft and elastic (after resting time it will be even softer).
- Wrap the dough with plastic foil and leave to rest for 30 minutes. While the dough is resting, make the filling. You can make it in the same bowl.
Make the filling:
- Mix the egg yolks with sugar until combined.
- Add all the other ingredients and mix until combined. I’m using my stand mixer with a paddle-shaped attachment, but you can just stir the ingredients with a fork, if you don’t have a mixer.
Shape pierogi:
- Divide the dough into 2 parts.
- Roll out the first part of the dough on a lightly floured surface (I like silicone rolling mats). Cut out rounds with pierogi cutter/biscuit cutter/a glass. The dough should be rolled out thinly. If the dough is hard to roll out, set it aside for about 5-10 minutes to rest.
- Gather scraps, cover with plastic wrap and set aside.
- Scoop some filling with a teaspoon and place on each round.
- Fold the dough over the filling to create a half-moon shape. Press edges together, sealing and crimping with your fingers.
- Place the pierogi apart on a towel lightly sprinkled with flour, cover loosely with a kitchen cloth so that they don‘t dry out.
- Repeat with the remaining dough.
Cook pierogi:
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Cook the pierogi in batches (for a 8-inch (21 cm) pot I cook about 10-12 dumplings at a time). When they float to the water surface cook them for 1-2 minutes more, then remove from the water with a slotted spoon. The cooking time will depend on the thickness of the dough.
- Drain well and transfer onto a plate.
- Serve with whipped cream and cinnamon / plain yogurt and cinnamon / whipped cream and strawberry sauce (strawberries pureed with sugar).
- Enjoy!
2 Comments
Donna
18 November 2023 at 02:00want to make for holidays! can I make these in advance and freeze? I’m guessing it would be ok if I freeze before cooking and then cook day of usage? Thank you!
Aleksandra
18 November 2023 at 19:02Yes, pierogi freeze well, you can freeze them raw and cook on the day of serving. Detailed instructions can be found in the post (at the end). I hope you will like them!