Knedle – Dumplings – With Plums
- For me these are sweet pierogi – but I have been assured by my aunties in Poland – who made them for me on my last visit – that because of their shape – round balls – these are always called knedle. (This if from the German word knödel – for dumplings).
- The dough is just the same as for pierogi and they are also boiled in the same way but will take a bit longer to cook depending on the size of the plums.
- In Poland small dark plums called węgierki (Hungarian plums) are used.
- I think that in America these are called Italian plums.
- Serve them warm, dusted with icing sugar and soured cream.
Pierogi Dough
- Use the standard recipe for pierogi, just using 250g of flour (see below)
- Best not to make too many as they should be served warm and do not freeze well.
Plum Filling
- 500g fresh plums – small ones are best for the round shape.
- Mix around 3 tablespoons of granulated sugar with 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon.
- Wash and dry the plums and remove the stalks.
- Remove the stone but do not cut through completely.
- Put ½ to 1 teaspoon of the sugar mixture in the cavity.
- Roll out the dough – slightly thicker than for pierogi.
- Cut strips of dough more than twice the size of the plum.
- Place the filled plum on one side of the dough.
- Fold over the other part of the dough and seal the edges well with your fingers – take care as the added sugar produces liquid – use excess dough to give a good seal then cut away this excess dough to give a more rounded shape.
- Drop them into boiling water.
- Simmer for around 10 minutes.
- Remove with a slotted spoon into a colander.
- Dust with icing sugar and serve with soured cream.
Ingredients – Dough
- 250g pasta flour or plain flour & 2 tablespoons of fine semolina
- 150ml water
- 1 tablespoon oil – sunflower or light olive
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 egg yolk
Method – Dough
- In a jug or bowl mix together the water, oil and the yolk.
- Put the flour and salt into a large bowl and make a well in the centre.
- Pour in the liquid from the jug and initially use a knife to mix this into the flour and then use your hands to mix the liquid and flour to get a ball of dough.
- Turn this out onto a floured board and knead the dough for a few minutes until you have a smooth ball.
- Cover and leave to rest for about ½ an hour.
- Roll the dough out – slightly thicker than you would do for pierogi..

