How To Pinch A Pierogie With Rudy's Strudel

Rudy’s Strudel and Bakery’s Lidia Trempe talked to us about her apricot pierogies for this month’s “Pierogies!” package. But she calls the potato and cheese variety “the mother of all pierogies.” The third-generation baker, who hosts instructional sessions at the Parma shop, shares some “serious Ukrainian and Polish secrets” for making pierogies at home. 

1. Make a simple dough of flour, butter and egg, but don’t roll it out immediately. Instead, roll it out partially and let the dough rest, covered in plastic, after each portion.

2. When making your filling, add a touch of cream cheese to your mashed potatoes to bulk them up. Let the potatoes cool before adding cheddar cheese for extra fluffiness.

3. Use an empty, cleaned-out soup can to cut circles in the flattened dough.

4. Place the potato and cheese filling on the dough, fold and pinch hard to enclose the filling. Don’t be gentle, says Trempe. An open pierogi in a boiling pot is a disgrace.

5. After boiling your pierogies, serve with butter, sauteed onions and a heap of sour cream. “I eat them with everything,” she says. “After 40 years, I’m still not tired of them.” 

Read about Rudy's Strudel and Bakery's apricot pierogi, stuffed with house-canned apricot and served best with powdered sugar.

Check out the full list of 25 pierogies every Clevelander must try.