Cottage Cheese Vareniki (Ukrainian Dumplings)

Instruction:

• First make the dough and leave it to rest for 30 minutes:

• In a bowl, combine the cottage cheese with the egg, sugar and salt. The filling should be thick enough to hold its shape in a spoon:

• Roll out the dough quite thin on a floured board. Cut rounds with a large biscuit cutter or with the rim of a glass;

• Place a spoonful of the cottage cheese filling on the dough, fold it over to form a half circle or triangle, and press the edges together with your fingers. The edges should be free of filling. Be sure that the edges are sealed well to prevent the filling from running out;

• Place the vareniki on a floured board or a kitchen towel (don't crowd them), and cover with a kitchen towel to prevent drying:

• Bring a large pan of lightly salted water to a boil and add a few drops of vegetable oil to the water. Drop a few vareniki at a time into therapidly boiling water. Do not attempt to cook too many at a time;

• Stir very gently with a wooden spoon to separate the vareniki and to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Continue boiling for 3 or 4 minutes. If cooked from frozen, vareniki are boiled for 5 minutes;

• Vareniki are ready when they are well puffed. Remove them to a colander and drain thoroughly.

• Serve in a large dish without piling or crowding them. The traditional accompaniment is sour cream or honey.

PS: Vareniki can also be made to the same recipe but without any sugar. This type of  savoury vareniki is served  topped with bread crumbs, sour cream and/or crumbled bacon.