3 lbs. potatoes
1 tsp. salt
5 lbs. American cheese
2 lg. onions, sauteed
1 tsp. pepper

Clean, peel and cut up potatoes into 3 quart pot. Add water and 2 teaspoons salt. Boil until well done. Drain and reserve potato water - refrigerate overnight. (Use potato water when making pierogi dough.)

Beat potatoes. Add shredded cheese and sauteed onions, salt and pepper to taste. Continue to beat until all cheese has been added. Heat from potatoes should melt the cheese. (If mixture gets too cold and doesn't melt cheese, add remaining cheese to mixture and pop in oven in covered pot until cheese melts.) Mix well. Mixture should be orange in color when done. Refrigerate overnight.

DOUGH:

3 c. Gold Medal flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 c. ice cold potato water

Sift flour and salt together in bowl. Add 2 beaten eggs. Add water (a little at a time) until dough forms a ball. DO NOT dry out the dough with excess flour, the excess stickiness will be eliminated as you roll the dough on a floured surface.

Take a small portion of the dough (keep remaining dough in bowl and cover with a cold moist towel) and roll on a floured surface until thin. Add 1 heaping teaspoon of the potato mixture on top of rolled dough. Fold over mound and use a small glass (dipped in flour around the rim) to cut a half moon shape around. Crimp edges (if dough does not stick together - the dough is too dry -- add a little cold potato water to fingertips and recrimp until edges adhere).

After you get used to this you can blop several mounds across the dough - leaving at least 1/2 inch between mounds. Fold dough over all mounds and cut out. This will yield more than one pierogi (and speed things up a bit). Continue until all dough and mixture is gone.

If you run out of dough, just make some more. After all pierogies are made, boil water in a large pot, add 1 stick of butter. Add pierogies into boiling water, when they float to top remove and drain and allow to cool in a strainer. When cool, place in large Tupperware container and layer between waxed paper and freeze.

COOKING DIRECTIONS: Thaw out pierogies and fry in pan with butter and onions until golden brown. Serve plain or with sour cream. Instead of frying some folks just like to boil them (like you would ravioli) and serve with melted butter.