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Once you make the Basic Vareniky Dough, the cherry vareniki filling is very straightforward. You’ll need about 1lb pitted bing cherries, or whatever cherries you like best.
The best part is; you can use fresh or frozen cherries so they’re not just a summer treat. We have a cherry tree so we’re always freezing cherries for smoothies, pies, eating straight-up, and of course for these cherry pierogies!
Cherry Vareniki Ingredients:
Vareniky Dough (use the dough mentioned here)
1 lb pitted cherries (fresh, or frozen/partially thawed)
1/2 cup sugar (1/4 tsp per each dough round)
1/2 Tbsp salt (for the water)
How to make Cherry Vareniki:
1. Cut out dough rounds that are 2 to 3″ in diameter. You want to put 1/4 teaspoon sugar in the center of your cut-out dough round. Place cherries on top of the sugar. Fold the sides together and pinch together to make a tight seal.
(or) To make the cherry pelmeni:
Use 1/8 tsp sugar and 1 cherry. You can also make the dough rounds slightly smaller (about 2 inches). Fold the two sides of the dough together and pinch to make a tight seal. Then fold the two corners together to make a “diaper” shape. Place them on a floured cutting board until ready to cook.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. As you finish the first batch of pierogi, place them in boiling water. After they float to the top, cook about 2 to 3 minutes more, then remove them with a slotted spoon to a bowl.
3. Sprinkle the pierogi with sugar to keep them from sticking together. Serve right away with sour cream or eat them as is.
Click Here for the Basic Pierogi Dough Recipe
Cherry Vareniki (Cherry Pierogi)
Ingredients
Instructions
How to make Cherry Vareniki:
- Cut out dough rounds that are 2 to 3″ in diameter. You want to put 1/4 teaspoon sugar in the center of your cut-out dough round. Place cherries on top of the sugar. Fold the sides together and pinch together to make a tight seal.
How to make the cherry pelmeni:
- Use 1/8 tsp sugar and 1 cherry. You can also make the dough rounds slightly smaller (about 2 inches). Fold the two sides of the dough together and pinch to make a tight seal. Then fold the two corners together to make a "diaper" shape.
- Place them on a floured cutting board until ready to cook.
- Add 1/2 Tbsp of salt to approximately 4 quarts of water and bring it to a boil. As you finish the first batch of pierogies, place them in boiling water. After they float to the top, cook about 2 to 3 minutes more, then remove them with a slotted spoon to a bowl.
- Sprinkle the pierogies with sugar to keep them from sticking together. Serve right away with sour cream or eat them as is.
Hi Natasha, can I use a gluten free dough?
I haven’t personally tested using Gluten Free dough but if you decide to try it, just make sure to use a GF Flour that works well for dough used for baking. You might also need to adjust the liquid slightly as GF absorbs differently. Hope that helps!
Natasha, are you making these with Vishnya, sour cherries like in russia/ukraine or with sweet cherries availible in america (chereshnya)?
Hi Anna, I made these with sweet cherries but if you wanted to use sour cherries, just add more sugar.
Made these. They are amazing! The dough is really good too. Thanks you for the recipe!!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Valik!
My Mom’s grandmother made cherry Varenikis… my mom loved them. My family is Jewish from the Ukraine back in the late 1800s/early 1900s. My mom told me that the cherry varenikas were so delicious. Yours look amazing!! Thank you for posting your recipe! 🙂
You’re so welcome. I hope this becomes your new favorite recipe!
I just made these today and they are incredibly good !!! I can’t wait to try them with different fruit filling !
Thanks for a great recipe !
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Susan!
Dear Natasha, I am 83 years old and live in an Independent living facility in Florida. Our latest assignment in our Creative Writing class is to write what we remember when we were 5 years old. I am writing about how my mother used to make cherry vereniki using cherries from a neighbor’s tree. Was delighted to read your blog and your recipe. Wish I was able to taste those goodies once again!
Sounds like a good plan, Adele! Thank you for sharing and I hope you can personally try this recipe soon.
Can you deep fry the different kinds of pierogi?
I do this at times w the store bought ones?
Hi Georgie! I haven’t tested that to advise. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
Can’t wait to try this recipe! Being stuck inside, I now have all the time in the world! I used to make these with my mama using the canned cherries, we’d drain them and use the cherries. Once they were cooked, we’d put a little of the cherry juice on top and sprinkle with sugar! So yummy!
That sounds delicious! Thank you for sharing that with me, Alina!
This was great thanks for sharing this recipie!!!
You’re welcome, Kathy! I’m so glad you enjoyed that.
I’ve had them once in Kyiv and loved them! 🙂 I was curious to know if you can bake them instead of boiling?
Hi Nathalie, I haven’t tried baking that so I can’t advise without testing it
Thank you Natasha! I love having easy access to the foods of my roots. My Baba and I would make these when I was a kid. I can’t wait to try your recipe!
I love that! Thank you for sharing this with me, Chantal!
Estou amando essas suas sugestões de recheios para o perohê / pierogi. Vi em outras receitas você utilizando frutas vermelhas, aqui no Brasil elas são muito caras 🙁 quase não compramos. Ansiosa por mais variedades de recheios, aqui sempre comi de feijão preto, batata doce com queijo, batata com cebolinha e ricota e recheado com repolho azedo, e os molhos branco ou de tomates.
I love your filling ideas also! thanks for sharing! 🙂
Is it possible Natasha to translate this to English please?
My friend at work is from Azerbaijan and grew up eating these as a kid. Hard to find in the USA so I made this recipe for her birthday and she said they taste just like her mom’s. Thanks!
You’re welcome! I’m happy to hear she enjoyed the recipe!! Thanks for sharing your great review!
Hi Natasha, should the dough be really elastic? I cut out a circle and it gets real small? Too much flour or not enough?
Hi Tanya, it sounds like maybe too much flour. Did you knead it per the recipe?
Question for you Natasha,
have you tried vareniki with cherry using Poltavian vareniki recipe?
My grandmom used to make them. It is on steam. Did your parents used to make it or not? Or maybe you will try to make it and post recipe?
thanks
I’m not sure I’ve ever tried those but from a quick search (there really aren’t any recipes easily available online) but they do look good in pictures! If I come across a great recipe, I will be sure to share 🙂
those vareniki on steam they’re delicious especially with strawberry. But the problem is that my grandmother is no longer alive and I do not know who to ask…
Hi !
I just watched a video on YouTube yesterday where the lady steamed the dumplings instead of boiling them. The channel is called Food Around the World on YouTube. I’d send you the link, but I’m not sure how to do that. Basically you make them as per this recipe, but just steam them in a steamer pot( regular pot with a colander set above the water& covered with a lid, instead of boiling them.
My grma used to make a sauce out of the pits (there’s always some flesh left on them). She’d cook the pits with some sugar and add some starch to make it thicker. Pour over pierogies as a sauce and enjoy the even more pronounced cherry taste 😉
Wow that is very creative and economical! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Hi! How many veriniki does this recipe yield? And how many cherries in each?
Thanks!
Hi Julia, it depends on how large your cherries are – I would say 2 to 3 in each. I probably should have counted them but I didn’t! I would say between 50 and 75 vareniki.
Can I use canned cherries?
Yes, just be sure to drain the juice or they will be ver difficult to seal.
Привет Наташа,
Спасибо – ваши фотографии хорошо!
From your experience, how do cooked ones keep overnight in the fridge? Or do you only recommend freshly boiled ones for serving?
I would definitely recommend freshly boiled ones for serving. The only way I like to eat reheated vareniki is to saute them on a skillet but that really only works for the savory ones. They toughen up in the fridge and they just aren’t the same.
“pierogies” is not the plural form of its singular form, pieróg. The correct plural for would be “pierogi”. FYI.
Thanks David! 🙂