Gluten-free Pierogi with Potatoes and Cheese

Any tradition I was exposed to growing up was related to Polish culture.  My dad's parents were from Poland, so growing up around Polish food and customs was of course a heavy part of my dad's upbringing.  My dad shared a slice of his upbringing during my childhood -- most of which was food. Growing up, I always remember loving pierogi.  I had never seen it made from scratch, but as someone who wants to incorporate tradition into my family life I thought it would be fun to try and make pierogi from scratch for our nice Christmas Eve dinner.

I've attempted a lot of things in the kitchen.  One of my favorite things to do is to take a recipe and try to successfully make it gluten-free (from scratch).  And so when this one turned out wonderfully, I couldn't have been more proud.  I had never made dough let a lone gluten-free dough and I had never invested an entire afternoon into a dinner, but it was beyond worth it.  Here's the gluten-free recipe:

What you'll need:

For the filling:

5 medium potatoes
.8 oz goat cheese
1 whole onion
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 tablespoon oil
Salt and pepper to taste

For the dough:

3 cups Bob's Red Mill 1-1 All Purpose Flour
1/2 cup warm milk (I used almond milk)
1/2 to 3/4 cup warm water (depending how much the flour soaks)
1 tablespoon melted butter
Pinch of salt

For the toppings:

1 large onion, chopped
3 slabs bacon, chopped
1/2 sour cream (I used Greek yogurt)
2 tablespoons oil for frying

What to do: 

For the filling:

• Place potatoes in a pot, cover with water and cook until tender.
• In the meantime, heat up the oil in a frying pan, add chopped onions and cook until golden brown.
• Once potatoes are cooked, using a potato masher, mash potatoes until lumps are gone.
• Add goat cheese and mix together.
• Add onions, spices, salt and pepper and mix well.

For the dough:

• Pour the flour on a counter top.
• Add pinch of salt.
• Make a little hole in the middle and start adding milk and butter.
• Add a little water and work the dough until you can form a ball.  This will take about 10 - 15 minutes.
• Once done, cover with a big bowl and let it rest for about 20 - 30 minutes.
• Roll the dough until it's thin (like pasta) and use a cookie cutter or a large wine glass to cut out the circles.
• Place 1 teaspoon of filling in the circle of dough.
• Wet one half of the circle and then seal together.
• Boil a large pot of water and season with salt.
• Once the water is boiling, put 8 pierogi in at a time.
• Once they come to the surface, let them cook for 1 minute, remove, and set them on a plate.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan and fry them until golden brown.

For the toppings:

• Using a separate pan, add oil and chopped onions and fry until golden brown.  
• Brown bacon until crispy.
• Add onions and bacon on top of the pierogi and serve with Greek yogurt.  (They're also really good with apple sauce.)

Notes:

I recommend having someone around to help you.  If you're manning the assembly line by yourself, the dough can start to dry since the process is time consuming.