Name: Farmer Cheese and Cherry Vareniki
Cook time: P0Y0M0DT1H30M0.000S
Total time: P0Y0M0DT3H0M0.000S
Yield: 6 to 8 servings (50 to 60 vareniki)
Ingredients: 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (see Cook’s Note), plus more for dusting; Kosher salt; 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon seltzer water; 1/4 cup whole milk; 2 tablespoons sour cream, plus more for serving; 1 large egg; Two 10-ounce bags frozen sweet dark pitted cherries; 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons granulated sugar; 16 ounces farmer cheese; Zest of 1 lemon plus 1 teaspoon lemon juice; 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Directions

Make the dough: Mix the flour and 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment until combined. Add the seltzer water, milk, sour cream and egg and knead on medium speed until the dough comes together and is elastic, about 10 minutes. (Alternatively, knead by hand.) Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Cut 1 bag of frozen cherries into bite-size pieces and add to a small pot. Add 1/4 cup of the sugar and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Turn the heat to low and simmer until the sugar is fully dissolved and the cherries are juicy, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a shallow container and let cool completely.
Add the farmer cheese, lemon zest and juice and 1 tablespoon of sugar to the cooled cherry mixture and mix well. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to firm up.
Lightly dust a work surface with flour. Place a small bowl of water nearby. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Split the dough in half and cover half with a kitchen towel or wrap back in plastic. Roll out the other half to a thickness of 1/16th inch. Using a 3-inch round cutter, cut out circles. Combine the scraps and re-roll; repeat the process until no scraps remain. This is a very elastic dough that may shrink as it sits, so stretch each circle back to 3 inches before filling. Fill each circle with a scant 1 tablespoon of the filling. Wet your finger and run it around the edges. Seal the dumplings into half-moon shapes and use a fork to crimp the edges. Continue with the remaining dough and filling. You will end up with about 50 dumplings. Divide the dumplings between the baking sheets in 1 layer and cover with a kitchen towel. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes to rest. (You can also freeze the vareniki at this point. They will last 5 to 6 months frozen.)
Meanwhile, make a quick cherry jam. Add the remaining bag of frozen cherries to a small pot with the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Turn the heat to low and simmer until the sugar is fully dissolved and the cherries are juicy, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Bring 2 large pots of salted water to a boil. (Yes, you still salt water for sweet vareniki!) Alternatively, you can cook the vareniki in 1 pot in 2 batches. Add the vareniki to the boiling water and cook until floating and the dough is cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the pot with a spider or a slotted spoon, add to a platter and toss with the melted better. Serve with a healthy portion of sour cream and the cherry jam.

Cook’s Note

When measuring flour, we spoon it into a dry measuring cup and level off excess. (Scooping directly from the bag compacts the flour, resulting in dry baked goods.) The dough can be made 1 day in advance. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate.

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