"How to make Pyrohy" by Zoe C

     Growing up, I was the only American in my family because the rest of my family was  either born in Canada or in Ukraine. So because of this, the majority of the things I ate were  Ukrainian/Canadian foods. I was introduced to Pyrohy at a young age and I have been eating  them and participating in making them ever since then. But, if you don’t know what a Pyrohy is,  it's a Ukrainian version of a pierogi (which is a Polish Dumpling filled with mashed potatoes and  cheese/onion). In other parts of Ukraine Pyrohy is called Varenyky. But the dish is also very  popular in Canada( this is mostly because of the mass waves of Eastern European immigration to  Canada after WWII).    First off, I’m going to let you guys know that this process is very messy and long. So you will  definitely need to wash your hands multiple times throughout the process. 

 You will need (for filling): 

● 3 cups of mashed Potatoes  
● 1 teaspoon olive oil  
● 1/2 chopped small onion 
● 4 ounces shredded cheddar cheese 
● 1 tablespoon of melted butter 
● 1 cup of sour cream

  You will need (for the dough):  

 ● 5 cups of flour
 ● 1 teaspoon of salt
● 1 cup of water 
● 2 tablespoons of butter 
● 3 large eggs 
● ½ cup of butter (softened) 
● ½ teaspoon pepper

Directions:    Now that you have all of your ingredients ready, you have to make the dough of the pyrohy first.. 

 1) Mix together the flour and salt. Then add the egg to the flour and combine. The dough  will be a little clumpy at first but it's ok!

2) Now you have to add in the sour cream and butter until the dough becomes nice and soft  and sticky.

 3) Wash your hands and begin to knead and fold the dough. If it's too sticky you can  sprinkle a little
more flour onto the dough. 

4) After the dough has been thoroughly mixed and kneaded, you can then wrap it up in  saran wrap and leave it in the fridge for 5 hours.

 5) Now to make the filling:​ Combine the shredded cheese with the mashed potatoes. Stir  the mashed potatoes until the cheese is melted. You can add salt and pepper at this step  depending on if you want to or not. 

6) Now to actually fill the pyrohy:​ Roll half of the dough to 1/8" thick. Use a cup to cut  out circles of the dough. 

7) Then place 1 1/2 teaspoons of filling on each circle dough. Gently fold the dough over,  forming a pocket around the filling. Pinch the edges of the pyrohy to seal it and then seal  it again with the sharp edges of a fork. 

8) The LAST STEP!! ​Gently drop the pyrohy into a pot of boiling salted water. Only drop  in 10 pyrohy at a time in the pot because it starts to get a little crazy in the pot if it's any  more than 10. Then they will start to float up to the top of the pot and that's when you  know they are ready!

You can also fry up these babies in a buttered pan with bacon and green onions and top it off  with sour cream and they will taste amazing...If you have any leftovers you can put them in a  ziploc bag and put them in the freezer and they’ll last for months.