Pierogi with Sweet Cream Cheese and The Sweet Polish Kitchen

The Sweet Polish Kitchen: A Celebration of Home Baking & Nostalgic Treats, written by Ren Behan, is a baker’s dream with a stunning collection of everyday Polish desserts and seasonal favorites. A few highlights include Sernik (Classic Polish Cheesecake), Stefanka (Chocolate and Honey Layer Cake), Eklery (Éclairs with Banana and Caramel), Katarzynki (Traditional Gingerbread Cookies), and Fluffy Breakfast Buns. I will also be sharing her recipe for Pierogi with Sweet Cream Cheese following the review.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from Interlink Publishing in exchange for my honest review. All comments and opinions are my own. This post contains Amazon affiliate links. If you purchase something through the link, I may receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.

Ren Behan

Ren Behan is a food writer and cookbook author. She started her blog (originally called Fabulicious Food and now RenBehan.com) in November 2010 with a focus on traditional and modern Eastern European cuisine.

Since then, her work has been featured on Food 52, BBC Good Food, JamieOliver.com, Great British Chefs, and she was a judge at The Guild of Food Writers Awards. Ren is also the author of Wild Honey & Rye.

The Sweet Polish Kitchen

Ren begins The Sweet Polish Kitchen with an introduction to her family and the inspiration behind her baking before sharing a few basics to help get started.

Chapters are divided according to the following: Polish Baking Basics; Polish Classics; Layer Cakes and Sheet Cakes; Carnival Treats; Seasonal- Easter, Christmas, and Other Occasions; Pancakes and Pierogi; Bread, Loaves, and Buns; and Desserts, Sweets, Preserves (and a Liqueur).

The Polish Baking Basics chapter is packed with information from top tips and equipment to Polish pantry items. She also has a resource page with Polish restaurants in England, online grocery stores, food blogs, and articles.

The photography is provided by Nassima Rothacker with illustrations by Nelly Edwards. Most of the recipes are accompanied by a beautifully styled, full page photo of the finished treat.

Titles are written in English and often Polish. Measurements are listed in US Customary and Metric. Each recipe has a headnote with background information, helpful tips, ingredient notes, and yield.

Pierogi with Sweet Cream Cheese

I was immediately drawn to the Pierogi with Sweet Cream Cheese and loved the flavors so much! This fun sweet variation pairs a soft, homemade dough with a sweet cream cheese filling for quite the wonderful meal.

After forming the pierogi and boiling until tender, Ren recommends serving them with a dusting of powdered sugar, a little melted butter, and a dollop of honey-sweetened sour cream.

Notable Ingredients

I filled these Sweet Cheese Pierogi (pierogi z serem na słodko) with twaróg sernikowy. This farmer’s cheese has a smooth texture perfect for cheesecakes and other desserts. You can also use cream cheese.

For those in the DC area, I found tubs of twaróg sernikowy in the refrigerated section at Kielbasa Factory in Rockville, Maryland. They also have a variety of Polish flour and many of the other pantry items mentioned in the book.

A Few Pierogi Tips

Do not pack in the flour when measuring or you may end up with too much. To measure flour, gently spoon it into the measuring up and level with a knife without pressing down. The most accurate way to measure is by weight.

If the dough is too sticky to handle, slowly add a little more flour. If it is too dry and crumbly, slowly add a little more lukewarm water.

Allow the dough to rest, covered, in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. If the dough is still shrinking back and not easily rolled, cover and rest for a few more minutes.

The prepared sweet cream cheese filling also needs to be in the refrigerator for at least an hour. It should be well-chilled when using to seal in the dough without seeping out.

After filling and sealing, I pleated the edges of each pieróg to add a little decoration and reinforce the seal.

Cook the pierogi in batches to keep from overcrowding the pot. This may bring down the water temperature and cause them to stick together.

If desired, you can pan-fry the pierogi briefly after boiling to add some crispy edges. They are pan-fried in The Sweet Polish Kitchen’s photo.

Other Desserts

I also made the Lemon and Poppy Seed Bundt Cake, Yeasted Buns with Sweet Cheese and Fruit, Quick Cream Cheese Doughnut Bites, and Faworki/Chrusty (Angel Wings).

The Lemon and Poppy Seed Bundt Cake comes from the Polish Classics chapter. Resembling the skirt of a grandmother (Baba, Babka, Babcia), this light cake is wonderfully flavored with lemon zest, lemon juice, and poppy seeds, then topped with a lemon icing and even more poppy seeds. Ren also adds edible flowers.

I bought two large tubs of twaróg sernikowy in preparation for this book, so many of the recipes I made incorporated it. These Yeasted Buns with Sweet Cheese and Fruit were another favorite. After forming the round buns, they are topped with a sweetened cheese filling, fruit or jam, and a crumbly finish before baking.

The Quick Cream Cheese Doughnut Bites were a particular hit with the kids. They were also the easiest recipe I have tried so far. The batter has a cream cheese (I went with twaróg sernikowy again) base and little spoonfuls are deep-fried in oil until puffed and golden.

The Faworki/Chrusty (Angel Wings) also come from the Carnival Treats chapter. These delicious ribbon-shaped bites are fried until crisp and topped with a generous dusting of powdered sugar before serving.

The Sweet Polish Kitchen is a fantastic pick for those interested in Polish cuisine and baking. There are options for every skill level and occasion from easy cookies and buns to more decadent layered cakes and fried treats.

Most of the ingredients are readily available in most larger American grocery stores. A few items that may require further searching include white rye flour, edible flowers, edible dried rose petals, semolina, white poppy seeds, and ground arrowroot. Substitutions are provided when possible.

Pierogi with Sweet Cream Cheese Recipe

Excerpt from The Sweet Polish Kitchen

Print Pin

5 from 3 votes

Pierogi with Sweet Cream Cheese

A recipe for Pierogi with Sweet Cream Cheese from The Sweet Polish Kitchen. These pierogi have a cheesecake-like filling and are paired with a honey-sweetened sour cream.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Polish

Keyword cream cheese, dessert, dumpling, pierogi, Poland, Polish

Prep Time 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

Resting Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 2 hours hours

Servings 20 Pierogi

Ingredients

• 3 cups (350 grams) all-purpose flour or '00' pasta flour plus extra for dusting
• 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar plus extra for dusting
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 cup (125 milliliters) lukewarm water 105-115˚F, 40-46˚C
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

For the Sweet Cream Cheese Filling:

• 3 1/4 cups (750 grams) cream cheese or twaróg sernikowy
• 2 egg yolks
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract

To serve:

• Confectioners' sugar for dusting
• A little melted butter
• Sour cream sweetened with a little honey

Instructions

• Mix the flour with the confectioners' sugar until combined, then add the egg and egg yolk and stir with a knife.
• Slowly add the lukewarm water and oil, mixing until a dough starts to form.
• Tip the dough onto a lightly floured board and knead for about 5 minutes, just until the mixture comes together with no lumps and feels smooth.
• Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and leave it to rest for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

For the Sweet Cream Cheese Filling:

• Mix all the sweet cream cheese filling ingredients (cream cheese, egg yolks, sugar, vanilla) together until well combined, then chill in the refrigerator, too, for an hour.

To Assemble:

• When you are ready to make the pierogi, bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil.
• Roll out your dough on a board dusted with a little confectioners' sugar. You are aiming for the dough to be around 1/8 inch (3 millimeters) thick.
• Use a 3 1/2 inch (9 centimeter) pastry cutter or a glass tumbler to cut out circles of dough.
• Take your cheese filling out of the refrigerator and place a tablespoon of filling onto each circle.
• Working quite quickly, take each circle in your hand, fold the dough over to form a semi-circle, and pinch the dough along the edge so that each dumpling is well sealed.
• Place each one back on the board dusted with confectioners' sugar.
• To cook the dumplings, carefully drop them into the boiling water, in batches of 5 at a time, until each one floats to the surface. They will only take a minute or so to cook.
• Carefully remove each one with a slotted spoon and place on a large platter.
• Serve with a dusting of confectioners' sugar, a drizzle of melted butter, and some sweetened sour cream.