Eight days up in Door County.
That’s exactly what I needed. We’re back from vacation with my family and I’m feeling relaxed, healthy, and well-read. Eight of us spent the week in a house on the lake at the very tip of Northern Wisconsin. We hiked, we biked, we played charades and mafia, and we read a lot of books. I feel a little bit like I abused my mother with how much she took care of Theo, but something tells me she enjoyed it. Oh and also we cooked.
Eight dinners for eight people, three courses each, of course. This sounds tedious, I’m sure, but the menu was planned ahead of time and everything came together smoothly. Sure we had enough food for at least twelve every night, but leftovers became lunch and the extra walks made us feel less guilty.
On our way out of the peninsula, Jason and I stopped by a farmer’s market to pick up some sour cherries, the fruit that Door County is famous for. Maybe it was because I already had my fill of cherry pie for the week, or perhaps it was all the Russian influence from spending so much time with my family, but I decided to use those cherries to make varenyky.
In my family, varenyky are dumplings stuffed with sour cherries, although if you look online you’ll find a million different versions, stuffed with other fruit or cheese or even potatoes. I guess I always considered the savory version to be pelmeni (Пельмени), which has a similar dough and is stuffed with meat and onions. I can safely say I am no expert on the history of the Eastern European dumpling, but I can say that my sour cherry version is delicious.
Again, it can be debated whether varenyky are a breakfast or a dessert, but we chose to eat them for breakfast. The ingredient list is starkly simple: flour, milk, eggs, butter, and of course your sour cherries. You can sprinkle them with a little sugar right before serving, but that’s not required.
The dumplings can be a little time consuming to make, but I recommend you make a huge batch in one go. Once assembled, you can freeze them and cook as many as you want in just minutes. And if you’re like us and eat them for breakfast, don’t be surprised if you find yourself skipping lunch. The dumplings are very, very filling!
- 2 cups whole milk
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into cubes
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 5 cups all purpose flour, divided
- about 2 quarts sour cherries, pitted
- Butter (optional)
- Turbinado sugar (optional)
- Sour cream (optional)
- Using a stand mixer with a hook attachment, mix together milk, butter, egg, salt, and 3 cups of flour until well integrated, scraping down sides if needed. Slowly add in remaining 2 cups of flour, ¼ cup at a time, until dough comes together. Dough should be elastic but not stick to the sides of the bowl. Let dough rest for 30-60 minutes.
- Divide dough into four even sections. Working with one section at a time, roll out dough on a lightly floured surface until it is about 1/16th of an inch thick. Use a 3 inch cookie cutter or glass to cut out circles of dough. Gently gather scraps and return to bowl with remaining dough.
- Place two cherries in the center of each circle. Fold each circle in half and gently pinch the edges closed. Transfer finished dumpling to a lightly floured baking sheet and continue with remaining circles.
- Repeat process with scrap dough and remaining sections until all cherries are used up. At this point, you can freeze the dumplings on the baking sheets. Once frozen, you can place them all in a ziplock bag and store for 3-6 months.
- Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add dumplings (frozen or fresh) to water and stir, taking care not to overcrowd them (you may only be able to cook 20-25 at a time). Cook until the dumplings float to the top, about 5-7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer dumplings to a bowl.
- Top dumplings with a little butter and sugar or sour cream to serve.
[…] I wish I was better at planning—at giving you a decadent dessert recipe the week before Valentine’s day or for knowing that the Super Bowl was happening and showing you trendy appetizers that would be a hit at your party. But let’s be honest, that’s not how Things I Made Today works. I make rainbows out of beets and dumplings out of cherries. […]
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