The traditional pierogi is made from dough rolled out into flat circles and stuffed with a creamy filling, such as potato, sauerkraut or cheese. The dough must then be boiled to maintain its shape, rising to the surface of the pot when boiling is complete. If you like to eat pierogies on the doughy side, the cooking process stops there. But, if you prefer your pierogies cooked to a golden brown, let a toaster oven finish up the job.
Skip the Skillet
If you have a toaster oven, don't fry the pierogies. The idea of adding butter to a skillet and sautéing a tasty batch of greasy pierogies may make your mouth water, but your health may suffer. Save yourself the fat and empty calories by spraying your toaster oven’s tray with a thin coat of cooking spray. Lay boiled pierogies on the tray without overlapping. Set the toaster oven temperature to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and cook for 10 minutes or until the dough toasts to your liking.
Food for Thought
When planning your meals, serving size should always be a consideration. For instance, Giorgio recommends three pierogies per serving. Right out of the box, three pierogies contain 170 calories and 45 of those calories are from fat. Fry them up with a half stick of butter and you’ve just added another 400 calories -- along with 45 extra grams of fat. Baking pierogies in your toaster oven instead of sauteing them is a healthier choice.
Straight From the Freezer
Frozen pierogies do not need thawing prior to toaster-oven cooking. To make frozen pierogies in the toaster oven, remove them from the packaging and give your toaster oven’s tray a shot of cooking spray. Lay the frozen pierogies on the baking tray in a single layer. If the frozen pierogies come with their own baking tray, rest it directly on the toaster oven’s tray -- no cooking spray necessary. Set the baking temperature to 450 degrees Fahrenheit and run the toaster oven for 15 minutes or until the pierogies are golden brown.
The Foil Trick
When making pierogies in the toaster oven, cleanup can get a bit messy. Between the cooking spray and any pierogi remnants, the baking tray sometimes tends to require some scrubbing with soap and water after cooking. Make cleanup easier by lining the baking tray with aluminum foil before use. When cooking is done, peel off the aluminum foil and throw it away. The toaster oven’s baking tray is then clean and ready for your next batch of tasty pierogies.
Bake Instead of Boil
Skip the boiling process and bake fresh pierogies in the toaster oven. Make fresh dough by adding ½ cup of lukewarm water to a bowl, adding 1 teaspoon of sugar and a packet of yeast. Let the mixture stand for approximately 10 minutes before adding 8 cups of flour, ½ cup of margarine, another 3 cups of lukewarm water and 1 tablespoon of vinegar. Knead the dough with clean hands until it is no longer sticky. Allow the dough to rise for two hours. In the meantime, peel and boil 4 quarts of potatoes in a large pot of water. Drain the potatoes when they become tender and mash with a potato masher until creamy. After the dough rises, flatten ½-inch cubes of dough by hand, forming a flat circle about 3 inches in diameter. Plop a tablespoon of mashed potatoes in the center of the circle and fold the dough in half, forming a half circle. Pinch the open end of the circle together with your fingers. Spray the toaster oven’s baking tray with nonstick cooking spray and arrange pierogies in a single layer. Set the toaster oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for 20 minutes or until dough is puffy and lightly browned.
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