Plum Vareniki (Plum Pierogi)

I’ve been meaning to make vareniki with plums for a long, long, long, long time. I halved my recipe for pelmeni dough. Why? (1) It’s blazing hot outside and I didn’t want to spend half the day making these. (2) I suspect hot days make me lazy. (3) I wanted to go shopping ;). Admittedly my pierogi are, well, ugly and at times a little frumpy, but they sure taste good. Fruit vareniki are quite a treat; sweet inside and out. This was my favorite food growing up and it always brings back sweet memories. My mom always made the best vareniki and this recipe is hers.

Ingredients for Vareniki Dough:

• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 Tbsp sour cream
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 1/2 cups plus 3 Tbsp all-purpose, unbleached flour

Ingredients for Plum Filling:

• 1 lb sweet plums, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup sugarplum vareniki (pierogi)

How to Make Plum Vareniki:

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together 1/3 cup buttermilk, 1/2 Tbsp sour cream, 1 cup warm water, 1 large egg, and 1 tsp salt, just until well blended. Note: you could do all of this by hand, but who would want to?
2. Using the dough hook attachement, add in 2 cups flour and mix on speed 2 until well incorporated.
3. Add in the rest of your flour 1/2 cup at a time allowing each addition to become well incorporated before adding more. Allow the dough to mix for 15 minutes, then add more flour 1 Tbsp at a time until your dough no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl. Continue mixing another 5 minutes. Total mixing time from  the time you first add flour is 20-25 min. (You could use this time to learn a new hobby, check your facebook page or be productive and slice your plums ;)). Your dough will be elastic and feel sticky, but won’t stick to your fingers.plum vareniki (pierogi)
4. Cover dough with plastic wrap until ready to use.
5. Cut off about a gumball of dough at a time and roll into a flat 3-inch circle sprinkling with flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking to your work surface or the rolling pin.
6. Place two slices of your plum over half of your dough, being careful not to get plum juice on the edges of the dough or it won’t stick together. Pour 1/2 tsp sugar over your plums (use more or less depending on how sweet/tart your fruit is). Bring the two sides together and pinch tightly to seal the edges. Transfer to a well-floured cutting board.
7. Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil and add 3/4 Tbsp salt.
8. Carefully place finished pierogi in boiling water. Add them in batches (maybe 1/4 at a time). Wait for them to float back too the top and then give them another minute to cook. Pull them out with a slotted spoon and drain well. Drizzle sugar in between layers of cooked pierogi to keep them from sticking to each other. The sugar will melt over the hot pierogies and turn into a light syrup. Mmm. Serve with sour cream or eat them as is.

Source:

http://natashaskitchen.com/2013/07/07/plum-vareniki-plum-pierogies/