Vareniki with Sour Cherries – Sweet Dumplings
The sweet dumplings of Ukrainian and Russian cooking, boiled and served with butter and the sugared juice of the cherries. A family tradition recipe, good as a dessert or as an unusual afternoon snack.
The resting step is the one that cannot be skipped. The dough rests covered for 1-2 hours in a bowl set inside another with warm water — a switched-off water bath. That warmth is what gives it the elasticity to be rolled thin without tearing.
Drain the cherries properly. Their juice inside the dumpling is what bursts the seal in the boiling water.
Ingredients
- 350 g all-purpose flour (plain flour)
- 110 ml room-temperature water
- 1 egg
- 250 g preserved sour cherries, well drained (regular cherries also work)
- 200 g sugar
- 30 g butter
- 1 pinch of salt
Method
- 1
Mix the flour with the salt, make a well in the middle and add the egg beaten with the water. Knead vigorously until you have a smooth, taut dough.
- 2
Let the dough rest, covered, in a bowl set inside another with warm water (a switched-off water bath) for 1-2 hours. Do not skip this: the warm rest is what gives the elasticity to roll it thin without tearing.
- 3
Roll the dough out very thin and cut disks of about 8-10 cm. In the center of each, put half a teaspoon of sugar and two cherries.
- 4
Close the vareniki by pressing the edges together firmly and seal them with a fork.
- 5
Cook in plenty of boiling water. Take them out 3-5 minutes after they rise to the surface and serve immediately, coated in melted butter.
Slavic Cooking: Tradition, Technique and Comfort
Slavic cooking does something few other kitchens do as well: it turns simple ingredients into unforgettable dishes. Here are the Eastern European classics — from delicate syrniki to a warming buckwheat soup — each one written so the authentic, familiar flavor actually comes out. If you want food that warms from the inside and surprises your guests with something unfamiliar, this is the place.
