Martha Stewart’s Mom Has the Most Comforting Weeknight Dinner Recipe

Because Martha Stewart has been releasing cookbooks since 1982, we likely associate her recipes with her years of experience as a caterer and homemaker. However, just like so many of us, some of Stewart’s most beloved recipes are ones that came from kitchens before her—specifically her mother, Big Martha’s repertoire.

Stewart recently released her 100th cookbook, called “Martha: The Cookbook,” which is filled with 100 of her favorite and most famous recipes. The recipes range from the paella that she makes for friends in the summer to her daughter’s chocolate chip cookies—a fan favorite for many years.

The recipe I was the most stoked to see in the new cookbook was Big Martha’s Potato Pierogi. The pierogies, filled with creamy potatoes and topped with brown butter, are one of the best-selling foods at Stewart’s Las Vegas restaurant, The Bedford by Martha Stewart in Caesars’ Paris hotel—alongside the infamous bread basket and caviar-topped baked potato.

Martha Stewart's Mom's Potato Pierogi

Maybe it’s because I grew up in Pittsburgh, where pierogies are so engrained in the culture we have a pierogi race at our Pirates baseball games, but I fell in love with Big Martha’s pierogies when I tried them at Stewart’s restaurant. It seems I’m not the only one.

“Because this was my favorite thing my mother, Big Martha, made for us, I reserved an entire day years ago to spend with her so I could learn her techniques. I recorded, step-by-step, how she made her dough, created my two favorite fillings—potato and cabbage—and cooked and froze, and reheated the dumplings. As I write this, my mouth is watering, and my cravings grow,” Stewart writes in “Martha: The Cookbook.”

The from-scratch pierogies feature a sour cream and milk dough that encases a cheesy mashed potato filling. Once cooked, the pierogies are doused in a sage brown butter for the perfect comfort meal.

The prep is certainly time-consuming, but these homemade bundles of potato joy will absolutely be worth it—plus, the recipe makes 60 pierogies, so you’ll have enough to freeze for easy weeknight meals later.

We got the recipe for Big Martha’s Potato Pierogi, here’s how to make it.

How To Make Big Martha's Potato Pierogi

Yield: 60 pierogies

Ingredients

For the Dough:

• 1 large egg
• 2 heaping tablespoons sour cream
• 1 cup whole milk
• 4 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

For the Filling:

• 5 pounds (about 10 medium) baking potatoes, peeled and quartered
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 4 ounces cream cheese
• 2 ounces cheddar cheese, grated (about ½ cup), optional
• 2 tablespoons cornmeal

For the Sage Brown Butter:

• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 30 sage leaves

Instructions

Make the Dough:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg. Add the sour cream and whisk until smooth. Add the milk and 1 cup water and whisk until combined. Slowly add about 3 cups flour and stir with a wooden spoon to combine.
2. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface and work in about 1 cup flour as you knead. Use a bench scraper to lift the dough, as it will stick to the counter before the flour is worked in. Continue kneading for 8 to 10 minutes, working in another 1/2 cup flour. The dough should be elastic in texture and no longer sticky. Be careful not to add too much flour, as this will toughen the dough. Place the dough in a lightly floured bowl and cover with an inverted bowl or plastic wrap; let it rest while you prepare the filling.

Make the Filling:

1. Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water. Season with salt. Place over high heat and bring to a boil. Cook until fork-tender, about 30 minutes. Drain and mash with a potato masher. Add the melted butter and cheese and continue to mash until well incorporated. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
2. Place a large pot of salted water over high heat and bring to a boil. Lay a clean linen towel on your counter, and evenly distribute cornmeal on it to prevent sticking.
3. On a floured surface, roll out the dough to about 1/8 inch thick. Using a glass or cookie cutter measuring 2 1/2 inches in diameter, cut out as many circles as possible. Gather the dough scraps together, rolling them out again, and continue cutting.
4. Form the filling into 1 1/2-inch balls and place a ball in the center of each dough circle. Holding a circle in your hand, fold the dough over the filling and pinch the edges, forming a well-sealed crescent. Transfer to the linen towel. Continue this process until all the dough circles are filled.
5. Working in batches, cook the pierogi in boiling water. They will sink to the bottom of the pot and then rise to the top. Once they rise, let them cook for about 1 minute more.

Make the Sage Brown Butter:

• Heat the butter in a medium heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high until the foam subsides and the butter begins to brown. Add the sage and cook, stirring, until the leaves are crisp and the butter is golden brown.
• Drizzle a platter with some of the brown butter. Remove the pierogi from the pot and transfer to the platter. Drizzle the pierogi with the remaining brown butter and the sage leaves, and serve.
  

Italian Plum Pierogi Variation

"I absolutely love this sweet pierogi! Make the pierogi dough above and then fill it with ripe Italian plums (you’ll need 24): Cut a slit into (not through!) each plum, removing the pits. Fill the cavity of each with 1/4 teaspoon sugar. Close the plums before wrapping them in dough. Use 1 plum for each pierogi. Cook them in boiling water, 2 to 4 minutes, depending on their ripeness. I serve them with sweetened and vanilla-flavored sour cream," Stewart writes.

Reprinted with permission from “Martha: The Cookbook” by Martha Stewart. Copyright 2024, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia LP. Photographs copyright 2024 by Dana Gallagher. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.