DARLENE’S PIEROGI – following in her mother’s footsteps
Posted on: May 21, 2022
- In: Family | Food | guest posts | Memories
- 44 Comments
I was invited to share my mom’s pierogi recipe over at Bernadette’s New Classic Recipe blog. A great blog filled with fabulous recipes and stories to go along with them. I love recipes with a story connected to them. Check out the blog post and let me know if you try the pierogi recipe.
Mom’s Pierogi by Darlene Foster
One of my favourite memories about growing up on the farm is when Mom would make pierogi. It’s my ultimate comfort food. After mom passed away last year, I was determined to make them in her memory. Mine are never quite as good as hers were, though. As you mentioned, mothers seem to have a secret ingredient. I think that the ingredient must be love.
Pierogi are from Eastern Europe and are called by a number of different names. In Russia and Ukraine, they are called varenyky and in our German Canadian home we called them case knoephla, but they are mostly known by their Polish name of pierogi. Here is mom’s recipe. I’m so glad I got it from her. Whenever I start to miss her, I make a batch.
Click here for the rest of the article and the recipe.
What is your comfort food?
PS I had some pierogi last night!
44 Responses to "DARLENE’S PIEROGI – following in her mother’s footsteps"
May 21, 2022 at 5:09 am
When I was 10, we moved into a Polish/Catholic neighborhood in Detroit and the lady next door was the pierogi making champ on the block! Thank goodness our families were so close, we feasted on her homemade pierogi all the time! I will check out your mother’s recipe.
May 21, 2022 at 5:56 am
I ate a lot of Pierogi in Russia though this doesn’t sound quite the same. No surprise. Everyone adapts recipes to their families. It sounds excellent.
May 21, 2022 at 7:05 am
There are many versions. It’s like a trifle, every family has its own version.
May 21, 2022 at 6:23 am
Darlene, thank you for sharing this family recipe. I cannot wait to try it, and will be sharing it on my food blog tomorrow!
May 21, 2022 at 7:08 am
Thanks so much, John. The dough can be tricky to get just right. It needs to be thin but not too thin or it will fall apart in the water.
May 21, 2022 at 6:55 am
Thanks Darlene I have never eaten or even tried to make Pierogi. In fact, I don’t know that I’ve ever heard of it. I can now try to make it with your mum’s recipe.
May 21, 2022 at 7:51 am
Hi, Darlene – Thank you for the recipe (and memory) share. I love pierogies and agree that they are the ultimate comfort food. I also agree about mothers’ recipes having a secret ingredient. My mom makes a wonderful creamed spinach. I’ve tried to make it several times (with her talking me through it). Somehow, mine is never quite the same!
May 22, 2022 at 4:38 am
So true. Mom and grandmas have that special touch. Perhaps our kids will say the same one day.
May 21, 2022 at 8:50 am
I LOVE Perogis! I remember when I was little my dad would go to the “Polish Sausage Store” and bring bags of them home. And there was a church near where my hubby grew up in Chicago that would sell them in bulk once in a while! I am going to try your recipe!
May 22, 2022 at 4:40 am
If you are lucky enough to live near a polish or eastern European community, you will know how good they are. Good luck with the recipe. I had to try it a couple of times to get it the way I wanted.
May 21, 2022 at 9:52 am
Hey Darlene, I grew up feasting on my grandma’s perogies – mostly on special occasions like Christmas and Easter- a definite comfort food for me. Your recipe sounds fabulous -will try it!
May 22, 2022 at 4:41 am
They were always part of any special occasion and we still feature them at our family reunions. They are always the first thing we run out of.
May 21, 2022 at 10:27 am
I read this on Bernadette’s site and think it sounds delicious!
May 21, 2022 at 4:25 pm
I haven’t heard of this! It sounds tasty.
May 22, 2022 at 4:44 am
It is a very Eastern European dish, although other cultures have something similar. (like ravioli in Italy for instance)
May 22, 2022 at 3:24 am
I LOVE pierogis, Darlene. They are definitely the ultimate comfort food. The first time that I tasted pierogis, they were called varenyky. They were homemade by a lovely Mennonite friend of my mother. I had never tasted anything as wonderful before. Living in Edmonton back in the 70’s, I would visit every restaurant that were serve pierogis. There was a family restuarant near 118th Avenue and 124st that was amazing and became my favourite go-to place.
Food holds many memories. As I was reading your words, Darlene, I could envision the kitchen where you and your mother worked side by side to make this delicious meal. And now, when you make them, I believe that she is standing by your side, a guiding force of love.
May 22, 2022 at 4:51 am
Yes, the Mennonites call them varenyky and often serve them with an amazing creamy sauce. Edmonton and Winnipeg are two places where you can find pierogies easily. I do feel mom’s approval as I make these reminders of home. I have a fond memory of dropping into mom’s place and finding her making pierogies with my granddaughter. So great to see the tradition carried on.
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May 22, 2022 at 4:46 am
That Pierogi looks delicious, even in digital form–ha!
I just submitted a personal essay to a writers’ website calling for time-tested recipes. My contribution: my Grandma L’s chicken pot pie recipe, so that’s my comfort food for the day.
May 22, 2022 at 4:54 am
So great to pass these recipes on. We were fortunate to have great cooks in both of our families.
May 22, 2022 at 10:50 pm
Thanks for sharing the recipe for your mom’s pierogi. It looks (and sounds) amazing and it’s nice that it brings back fond memories of her. I’m a huge fan of pierogis and will have to give this a whirl sometime. One of my favourite comfort foods is spaetzle, which kind of like an egg noodle pasta.
May 22, 2022 at 10:59 pm
I love spaetzle!! My mom made it as well but we called it knoephla. Dad would eat it with butter sprinkled with cayenne pepper. Now I’m hungry for some. I don’t think I have mom’s recipe for it though. Do you have one?
May 25, 2022 at 8:48 am
These are beautiful pierogis. My father (Polish) used to make them and so did my mother (Ukrainian/Russian).I have tried but have always been unsuccessful and all the times I bought any they never tasted like those of my parents!
May 25, 2022 at 5:26 pm
They are tricky and bought ones from the supermarket are never quite the same. My daughter-in-law makes excellent pierogis and sells them at the local farmer’s market. They are always sold out. The more I make them the better they get. Still working on it though and never as good as mom’s. xo
May 26, 2022 at 3:32 am
They’re wonderful comfort food, Darlene, and I’ve never learned how to make them. I’m heading over to Bernadette’s place to read. 🙂
May 26, 2022 at 3:35 am
Thanks! There’s something about doughy food that makes us feel better for some reason. xo
May 28, 2022 at 8:37 pm
Pierogis aren’t a thing in Nova Scotia. It’s only been the last 20 years or so that they’ve popped up in grocery stores. For some odd reason, I connect them to Wayne Gretzky. Anyways, to us, it’s a western Canada thing. I don’t know anyone who has made them, and I’ve never eaten them. I suppose my nephew’s wife, who is from Alberta, has made and eaten them. But then that is like saying everyone in Nova Scotia has eaten blueberry grunt and sauerkraut.
My comfort food? Hot cocoa and toast. It reminds me of my childhood.
May 28, 2022 at 10:52 pm
They are very much a prairie thing as they are eastern European food. The people who settled the prairies came from Eastern Europe which is where the Wayne Gretzky connection comes from. His family came from Belarus. Hot cocoa and toast is something I like to have when I don’t feel well.
Darlene Foster's Blog 
May 21, 2022 at 5:08 am
Pierogis are so yummy.
May 21, 2022 at 7:02 am
They certainly are! Thanks for stopping in.