• If needed, please refer to the step-by-step photos in the body of the post or you can go to his (traditional) pierogi dough recipe post where I have a video showing the whole process of making pierogi.

Make the dough:

• Add the flour, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and salt to a large mixing bowl and stir them together.
• In a small saucepan, warm the water with butter until they are very warm but not boiling (temperature should be around 176°F/80°C, that is when the water starts to move and steam).
• Pour hot water with butter into the bowl with flour, and mix with a wooden spoon until roughly combined.
• Knead the dough by hand or using a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook for about 5 minutes. You can also use a food processor with a dough blade. The dough should be smooth, soft, and not sticky—it will become even softer after resting. If you follow the recipe closely, especially if you weigh the ingredients instead of using measuring cups, the dough should turn out just right. However, if it feels too dry, add a little water; if it’s too wet, add a bit of flour until you reach the perfect consistency.
• Wrap the dough in plastic foil and leave to rest for about 40 minutes (don’t omit this step).
• In the meantime, you can wash the fruit and pat it dry with paper towels but don’t prepare the filling just yet – the sugar will start extracting water from the fruit, the fruit will get watery, and it will be difficult to stuff pierogi with watery filling!

Roll out the dough and cut out rounds

• Divide the dough into 3 parts.
• Onto a lightly floured surface or silicone rolling mat (you can also use a mix of flour and cocoa powder to roll the dough out), roll out thinly the first piece of the dough, to a thickness of approx. 1/8 inch or 3mm (or as thinly as you like).
• Use a cup or a pierogi/pastry cutter to cut out rounds.
• Gather scraps, cover with plastic wrap and set aside (I like to roll out the main parts of the dough by hand, using a rolling pin, and the scraps, which are harder to roll out, using pasta attachment on my kitchen aid, I’m using the setting 3).

Make the filling

• Make the filling: now you should make the filling, but don’t make all of the filling right away, the fruit starts to get watery really quickly. I like to quickly stir together 1 cup of fruit (halved raspberries or chopped strawberries) + 2 tablespoons sugar + 1 teaspoon of corn starch + ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract. I make more filling as I go and fill the pierogi. As for the raspberry and cheese filling, I like to make it in 3 batches, using 1 cup of raspberries, ¾ cup of crumbled farmer’s cheese, and ¼ cup of sugar. Then I make more when my pierogi are filled.

Filling and shaping pierogi

• Place some of the filling on a round, do not use too much or the pierogi can be difficult to seal. If there is any liquid in the bowl, leave it behind.
• Fold the dough over the filling to create a half-moon shape. Press edges together, sealing and crimping with your fingers. If the dough is sticky or some of the liquid from the filling makes the edges wet, just dip your fingers in flour or flour and cocoa and pinch the dough well.
• Place the pierogi apart on a surface sprinkled with a mixture of flour and cocoa powder.
• Repeat with the remaining dough. When you are halfway done, you may start cooking some of the pierogi (see instructions below).

Cook pierogi

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
• Cook the pierogi in batches, about 10–14 at a time, depending on their size and the size of your pot. Once they float to the surface, cook them for 1 minute, then remove them with a slotted spoon. If the dough is thicker, you may need to cook them for 2 minutes.
• Avoid adding too many pierogi at once—if the water temperature drops too much, they may open up while cooking.
• Drain well and transfer onto a plate. Pour over some melted butter so they won’t stick to each other.
• I like to serve them with chocolate sauce, fresh berries, and whipped cream.
• Enjoy!