Guilty pleasure.

For most of my life pierogi, Polish dumplings, only came once a year. About a week before Christmas, my family would gather in Aunt Terry's kitchen to make several hundred pierogi in preparation for Wigilia (pronounced vee-geel-ya), the Polish celebration on Christmas Eve. My Dad always rolled out the elastic dough, then we would cut rounds with a drinking glass, fill them with potato and cheese, sauerkraut or prunes, then pinch the edges and seal them with the tines of a fork. Finally, the dumplings were boiled and tossed in butter.

Growing up in a Polish American family I loved golumpki (cabbage rolls), żurek (a sour white soup) and kapusta (braised sauerkraut), but the true prize was pierogi. Faced with scarcity of only making them once a year, we'd greedily spend Pierogi Day gobbling down each empty, burst dumpling that was tossed on a "seconds" plate. I'd fill my plate Christmas Eve, then return to visit my cousin Tony two or three days later for leftovers from my Aunt's fridge.

There are those moments as an adult when we realize we can have those things reserved for special moments anytime we want them. That awareness, therefore, gives rise to both great satisfaction and guilty pleasure making pierogi any other time of year.

In fall I fill them -decidedly untraditionally - with the harvest's overabundance of roast pumpkin. A sauce of butter, apple cider and cider vinegar adds sweetness and tang. The only thing missing is a kitchen filled with my family.

NOTE: Three years ago Pierogi Day tradition moved to my cousin Mike and his wife Sarah’s home. If anything the crowd has grown making this a wonderful start to the holidays at home.

Pumpkin sage and brown butter pierogi

Serves 6-8

Brown butter and sage add savory, nutty and rich notes to roast pumpkin purée, the perfect filling for a hand-shaped dumpling drizzled with a sweet-tart Apple cider butter sauce. Pierogi, like all dumplings, take a bit of handwork and are best made with friends. They freeze well and can be cooked right out of the freezer, so make extra!

Dough:

• 2 cups flour

• pinch salt

• 1 egg, lightly beaten

• 1/3 - 1/2 cup water

Filling:

• 2 tbs butter

• 2 tbs chopped sage

• 2 cups cooked pumpkin like Speckled Hound or Hubbard

• White pepper

• Apple cider vinegar

Sauce:

• 1 cup apple cider

• 1 tbs apple cider vinegar

• 4 tbs cold butter, cut into 4 pieces.

Directions:

• Make dough: Place the flour and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Form a well in the center, add the egg and 1/3 cup water, and mix until the dough comes together into a tacky, but not sticky, dough. As needed, add additional water by the tablespoonful. Knead the ball of dough until smooth, about 4-5 minutes. The dough should spring back slightly when you press your finger into it. Place the dough under a bowl to rest for minutes. You can make the dough a day ahead and rest it overnight in the refrigerator.

• Make the filling: Melt 2 tbs butter in a 10” skillet over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the milk solids turn light brown. Add sage and cook until wilted, 30 seconds. Add pumpkin and cook to dry out, about 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt, white pepper and a splash of apple cider vinegar.

• Assemble the pierogi: Take half of the dough and roll out to 1/8” thick. Cut into rounds with 4” biscuit cutter or drinking glass. Fill each round with 1 tbs filling. Close with your fingers, tightly pressing the edges together. Finally, seal the edge of the dough with the tines of a fork, being careful not to pierce the dumpling. Repeat with the second half of the dough and filling. Reserve assembled pierogi on a baking sheet under a tea towel. While making the sauce, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

• Make the sauce: Place cider in a 10” skillet and cook until reduced by half. Whisk in cider vinegar followed by cold butter. Whisk continuously emulsifying the cider reduction and butter. Season to taste with a pinch of salt and white pepper, and an additional splash of vinegar if desired.

• Cook pierogi: Cook pierogi in boiling water for 3-5 minutes until they float. If you would like to you can then fry them butter in a skillet over medium heat. Serve with sauce.

TIP: You can freeze pierogi uncooked or fully cooked and boil them straight from the freezer. However, if you’ve got the patience, blanch the pierogi intended for storage in a boiling water for 1 minute. Drain, cool and fully freeze, on a parchment-lined sheet pan, before transferring them to a freezer bag.