Classic Vareniki with Cottage Cheese

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   How do you make classic vareniki with cottage cheese? Gather the ingredients — first for the dough. You may need more or less flour than the recipe states; go by the dough itself. The water needs to be warmed. Sift the flour first.

2. Step 2:

   

   Take a bowl and pour the warm water into it. The water should be noticeably warm, so the dough comes together faster. Crack in the egg and add the salt. With a fork, beat the water and egg together until smooth.

3. Step 3:

   

   Start adding the flour a cup at a time, stirring the dough after each addition. Stir with a fork at first, then with your hand once the dough begins to thicken.

4. Step 4:

   

   Add the third cup in small portions. The dough should come together into a ball but stay soft. At this stage it's important not to overdo the flour, so you don't toughen it. Otherwise you'll end up with a stiff, unpleasant dough. Knead the dough for a good while — it should take in all the flour and stop sticking to your hands.

5. Step 5:

   

   At the very end, knead the dough on a board. It will turn completely smooth and non-sticky. Gather the dough into a ball and cover it with a towel. Leave it on the counter for 30 minutes. In that time the gluten develops well — the dough becomes very elastic and supple.

6. Step 6:

   

   While the dough rests, make the filling. Gather the ingredients for it. Choose tasty cottage cheese — that's the main thing. Use as much sugar and salt as you like. We love sweet cottage cheese vareniki, but some people make them with savory cottage cheese. I didn't add an egg to the cottage cheese, since mine is soft on its own. If yours is on the dry side, add a yolk to "bind" the filling.

7. Step 7:

   

   Put the cottage cheese in a bowl. Add the sugar and salt. At this point, feel free to taste the filling and adjust it.

8. Step 8:

   

   Mix the cottage cheese well until smooth, and decide whether to add an egg.

9. Step 9:

   

   Divide the rested dough into three parts. Leave two under the towel. Roll the third part into a long rope and cut it into pieces. This is one way to shape vareniki. You can also roll the dough into a sheet, cut out circles, and shape them from those. With my method, all the dough gets used up, with nothing left over.

10. Step 10:

    

    Roll each piece out into a circle. Dust the board lightly with flour, as the dough will get a little sticky.

11. Step 11:

    

    Put a spoonful of filling on the circle. Pinch the edges shut to form a varenik. You can leave it like that, or crimp the edge decoratively — it looks nice and seals more securely. Make all the vareniki the same way. Set the finished vareniki on a flour-dusted board.

12. Step 12:

    

    How do you cook vareniki? Bring water to a boil in a pot. Use plenty of water so they're not crowded as they cook. Salt the water. Drop in the vareniki. Stir gently so they don't stick to the bottom. The vareniki will soon float to the surface. Boil them for just a couple of minutes. Lift the vareniki out with a slotted spoon onto a plate and serve immediately. Vareniki are served with butter, sour cream, and jam, to taste.