I bought a Christmas CD yesterday. It was the first CD I’ve purchased in legit 3 years. Of course it is filled with Christmas tunes from one of my favourite guilty pleasure TV shows, Nashville. With only a few weeks left until the holidays, I figured I should get into the spirit. Also, the most recent Christmas CD I had was Justin Bieber’s, so it was definitely time for an update.

As I’ve mentioned before on this blog, I love when we receive recipe requests. Especially for Ukrainian dishes. A few months ago, we posted Ukrainian Cabbage Buns and they were a huge hit. Ever since that post, we have received a ton of emails and comments asking for a meat-filled version. Well friends, here it is. The ultimate recipe for Ukrainian beef-filled buns, or ‘Pyrizhky’. I would also like to note that because there are so many different crossovers in food and culture between Ukraine, Poland and Russia, that these may be called by a different name depending on where you are from/grew up. In Russia and other places, these are sometimes referred to as ‘Pirozhki‘ or ‘Piroshki’. Regardless, they are beef-filled baked buns that are beyond amazing. The dough is flaky, buttery and soft. Perfect little bite-sized pieces of heaven if you ask me.

You can definitely make your own fillings as well to go with this dough recipe. You can incorporate mushrooms, ground pork, mashed potato…the options are endless. Not to mention, this recipe is super easy to make.

You will need:

1 cup full fat sour cream

2 egg yolks

2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/2 tsp. white sugar

1 lb. extra lean ground beef

1 white onion, finely diced

1-2 tbsp vegetable oil

Salt and pepper to taste

2 egg whites

In a medium bowl, mix together your egg yolks and sour cream.

Add in your melted butter.

Then add your flour.

Finally, add your sugar.

Mix together until all ingredients are incorporated.

Place dough onto counter and knead into a ball.

Knead with hands until the dough is soft and elastic, about 3-5 minutes.

Place dough in an airtight container and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.

Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Add your ground beef , chopped onion, salt and pepper.

Cook meat until browned and onions are soft and translucent.

Set aside to cool completely.

Once your meat filling is cooled, roll out your dough.

Place dough on a floured piece of parchment paper on the counter.

Your dough will be a little hard and sticky. That is good. It is easier to roll out this way.

Roll out your dough until it is 1/4 inch thick.

Should look like so.

Using a round cookie cutter or cylinder, cut out 2-inch wide circles.

You can make them larger, but we prefer them to be bite-sized in our family.

Stretch dough a little with your fingers and place in the palm of your hand.

Spoon a teaspoon amount of meat filling into the center of the dough.

Be careful not to have any touch the edges as they will not seal properly.

Fold dough over in half and pinch the edges.

You will have a bit of a crescent shape to start.

Round the edges into a oval shape.

Place dough buns onto a parchment lined baking sheet approximately 1 inch apart.

Brush tops of the buns with your unbeaten egg whites.

Bake in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for approximately 25 minutes, or until the buns are golden brown.

Allow to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

These beauties can also be baked and then frozen for a later date. All you need to do is heat them up!

If you are going to freeze them without baking, ensure you are freezing them in one layer on a plastic wrapped baking sheet.

These buns are so delicious. The dough is flaky and tender.

Perfect holiday comfort food in my books.

Enjoy!

Ukrainian Beef-Filled Pyrizhky 2014-11-25 07:42:58 Yields 40 Delicious Ukrainian beef-filled mini buns. The perfect dish for the holidays. Write a review Save Recipe Print Prep Time 8 hr Cook Time 25 min Total Time 8 hr 25 min Prep Time 8 hr Cook Time 25 min Total Time 8 hr 25 min Ingredients 1 cup full fat sour cream 2 eggs, separated into yolks and whites 2 cups all purpose flour 1/2 cup melted butter 1/2 tsp sugar 1 lb. extra lean ground beef 1 white onion, diced Salt and pepper, to taste 2 tbsp canola oil Instructions In a medium sized bowl mix together sour cream and egg yolks. Add in melted butter, then flour and sugar. Mix well. Spread dough on the counter and knead until soft and elastic, about 5 minutes. Form dough into a ball and place in an airtight container. Refrigerate for at least 8 hour or overnight. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add in ground beef and onions. Add salt and pepper. Brown beef until it is no longer pink and the onions are soft and translucent. Remove from heat and set aside to cool completely. Roll your dough out onto a well floured piece of parchment paper to 1/4-inch thickness. Dough will be a little hard and sticky. This is what you want as it's easier to roll out. Cut out 2-inch circles using a cookie cutter or cylinder. You can cut out larger circles but we prefer bite-sized buns. Spoon 1 teaspoon of the meat filling into the center of the dough circle. Be careful not to get any meat on the edges of the dough as it won't seal properly. Fold dough in half over the filling and pinch the edges to seal. You should have a crescent shape. Smooth edges over into an oval shape. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet approximately 1 inch apart. Brush tops of the dough buns with unbeaten egg whites. Bake in a 350 degree Fahrehneit oven for approximately 25 minutes, or until the buns are golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes or until ready to serve. Transfer to a wire rack to either cool completely if you are freezing for later. Notes These buns freeze very well. After baking and cooling, transfer to a freezer bag and place in the freezer. All you need to do in the future is heat them up in the oven or microwave. You can also freeze unbaked in a single layer on a baking sheet wrapped with plastic wrap. By Claudia's Cookbook Claudia's Cookbook http://www.claudiascookbook.com/