Vareniki with Cherries
Pillowy soft vareniki with cherries are half-moon shaped perogies filled with sweet fresh cherry filling.
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Vareniki with cherries take me back to my childhood. It was one of my favorite meals growing up.
Made only in the summer when the cherries were at their best. It was always a family affair when it came to making vareniki. My mom rolled out the dough and cut out the circles while we added the filling and sealed.
What are Vareniki?
Vareniki are popular in Russian and Ukrainian cuisines. They are half-moon shaped dumplings made with an assortment of fillings, sometimes sweet or savory, such as potato perogies. Usually boiled in salted water and served commonly with sour cream.
Ingredients
Making homemade vareniki is not difficult to make with only five ingredients but you do need to give yourself enough time to prepare the dough and assemble it.
For the dough:
- all-purpose flour
- salt
- cold water
For the filling:
- fresh cherries
- sugar
How to Make Vareniki
This recipe makes about 45 vareniki. You can enjoy some now and freeze some for later.
To make the filling:
Toss halved and pitted cherries with sugar and let stand at room temperature until cherries release their juices.
To make the dough:
In a large bowl with a wooden spoon, combine the flour, salt, and water until the dough resembles a shaggy ball. Then, knead the dough until smooth.
To cut out the dough:
Divide the dough into two balls and roll out each ball on a floured surface about 1/4-inch thick. Using a drinking glass or a round cookie cutter, cut out the dough into 3-inch circles.
To assemble the dough:
Place a few halved cherries with syrup into the middle of each circle and seal the circle by pinching two sides together. You can leave the vareniki just like that or create a scalloped edge as shown in the image below.
Place assembled vareniki on a parchment-lined baking sheet. At this point, you can either cook the vareniki or freeze them.
To cook vareniki: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add vareniki one at a time. Do not overcrowd. Boil for about 5 minutes or until they float to the top. Scoop them out with a slotted spoon and serve with homemade cherry compote which I show you how to make in the recipe card below with only two ingredients.
To freeze vareniki: Place assembled vareniki on a parchment-lined baking sheet in a single layer without letting them touch each other. Place the baking sheet in a freezer for 1 hour. After vareniki harden, transfer them into a ziplock bag or an airtight container with a lid. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Helpful Tips & Notes
These helpful tips and tricks will ensure you get this recipe perfect every single time.
- When rolling out the dough, make sure the surface and rolling pin is thoroughly floured.
- Work the dough really well to get it to 1/4″-1/8″ inch thickness. It is really worth it as it makes the vareniki really delicate and not doughy.
- Keep the dough that is not being used, covered or wrapped in a plastic wrap to avoid drying and hardening.
- Place the assembled vareniki on parchment-lined baking sheet to avoid sticking.
- When freezing raw vareniki line a baking sheet with parchment paper, lay out the vareniki in a single layer, and freeze for 1 hour up to overnight; transfer the frozen vareniki into a large Ziploc bag and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
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PrintVareniki with Cherries
- Prep Time: 1 hour 45 mins
- Cook Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 50 mins
- Yield: makes 45 vareniki 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Ukrainian
Description
Pillowy soft vareniki with cherries are half-moon shaped perogies filled with sweet fresh cherry filling.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. + 12 oz. fresh cherries, pitted and halved
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 cups flour, plus extra for rolling out dough
- 1/4 tsp. salt, plus extra for cooking
- 3/4 cup + 1 tbsp. cold water
Instructions
Cherry Filling
- In a medium bowl, combine 1 pound of cherries with 1/2 cup sugar; mix and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour or until cherries release their juices.
Dough & Vareniki
- In a large bowl, combine sifted flour and salt; add 3/4 cups of cold water. Mix with a spoon until the dough comes together then using your hands knead the dough until throughly mixed and no lumps are visible. Divide the dough into 2 equal portions. Keep the dough not being used covered so it wont dry out.
- Roll out the dough on a thoroughly floured surface until 1/4″ – 1/8″ thickness. Cut out 3″ inch circles out of the dough (I used a drinking glass). Place two halved cherries on one side of the dough and seal the dough at the edge by pinching the two sides together. You can leave it at that or go back and create a scalloped edge as shown in the picture.
- Continue rolling, filling and sealing until all dough is gone. I re-rolled the leftover dough from cut out circles by rolling it back and cutting out more circles. Makes about 45 vareniki.
- To cook vareniki: bring a large pot of water to a boil, season with salt and add vareniki. Don’t overcrowd. Cook no more than 5 minutes. You will be able to tell when vareniki are done as they will float to the top. Drain and serve right away with cherry compote or sour cream. I also added little bit of butter to the drained vareniki to prevent them from sticking.
- To freeze vareniki: place the raw vareniki on a parchment lined baking sheet in a single layer, freeze for 1 hour up to overnight; transfer the frozen vareniki into a large ziploc bag and store in freezer for up to 3 months. When ready to cook, just follow the above cooking instructions. There is no need to thaw out the vareniki before cooking.
Cherry Compote
- In a small saucepan, combine the remaining 12 oz. cherries with 1/2 cup sugar and 1 tablespoon of water. Bring to a boil; lower the heat to medium/low and simmer, uncovered for 15 minutes or until the cherries cook down and mixture is thick.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 5 vareniki with cherry compote
- Calories: 219
- Sugar: 28.7 g
- Sodium: 65.4 mg
- Fat: 0.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 51.5 g
- Protein: 3.4 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
I made this recipe at school with the kids thank you a lot for the inspo! And for the great photos!
omg. so glad i found you through pintrest. please please please make a video on how you pinch the edges like that. so cute.
Hi Lena! Glad you found my blog too. Welcome 🙂 It’s not that hard at all. Did you see my step by step photos? I may do a video on vareniki in the near feature sometime.
Vareniki actually are Ukrainian originally, not Russian 🙂 I would say that probably pielmieni are the typically Russian dumplings, as vareniki are Ukrainian and pierogi Polish 🙂
Thanks An. I’m sure there’s a deeper background to them. To me they’ll always be a Russian food since I grew up eating them. Thanks for stopping by!
You are absolutely right – vareniki are Ukrainian cuisine. And there are so many different filling options. Vareniki can be both: a main course and a dessert. You can use as filling cooked ground meat, mush potato, sauerkraut, mushrooms or any kind of berries, fruits, cottage cheese And they can be served with sour cream, fried onions and bacon, with honey. It all depends on the filling.
Hi Katya, your cherry vareniki look so scrumptious! I love how you pinched the edges, very pretty!
Hi Marina! Thank you so much! We love vareniki in this household, especially with cherries 🙂 Have a great day!
These look amazing! Love using fresh cherries in recipes. Love the beautiful pictures.
Have an awesome day!
Hi Melanie. Tis the season for fresh cherries now and why not take advantage, right? Thank you for the kind words and for stopping by!
i so want to try cherry dumplings! they look great.
Hi Dina. They are super easy to make. Only 5 ingredients! Plus they freeze very well, which is the best part 🙂