Kate Jacoby of Philadephia’s Vedge grew up making pierogi with her Polish-American grandmother and wanted to recreate the memory in a dessert that honored the fall harvest. Traditional potato dough becomes piecrust, while sweet potatoes sub in for white potatoes; she takes them “just into the sweet zone” with baking spices like vanilla, cinnamon, and allspice. True to pierogi tradition, Kate serves the flaky turnovers with kraut—a sweet take with brown sugar and Riesling—and sour cream.
Sweet Potato Turnovers with Sweet Kraut & Vegan Orange Sour Cream
Makes 6 servings
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons (28 grams) cold vegan butter
- 2 tablespoons (28 grams) cold all-vegetable shortening
- ¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons (28 grams) olive oil
- 1 teaspoon (3 grams) kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon (2 grams) ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- 4 to 6 tablespoons (60 to 90 grams) cold water
- Sweet Potato Filling (recipe below)
- Sweet Kraut (recipe below)
- Vegan Orange Sour Cream (recipe below)
Instructions
- In the work bowl of a food processor, place flour, cold vegan butter, and cold shortening; pulse until mixture is crumbly. Add sugar, oil, salt, cinnamon, and allspice; pulse until combined. With processor running, add cold water, 1 tablespoon (15 grams) at time, just until a loose dough ball forms. Wrap dough in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 10 minutes or up to 2 days.
- Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to ¼-inch thickness. Using a 4½-inch round cutter, cut dough into 6 rounds. Place 1 tablespoon Sweet Potato Filling in center of each round. Fold dough over filling, and pinch seams to seal. Use a fork to crimp edges. Place on prepared pan.
- Bake until golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool slightly. Serve with Sweet Kraut and Vegan Orange Sour Cream.
Notes
For a little extra sugar and spice, dust turnovers in cinnamon sugar right when they come out of the oven.
Sweet Potato Filling
Makes 1 cup
Ingredients
- 1 sweet potato (200 grams), peeled and chopped into 1-inch pieces
- ½ cup (110 grams) firmly packed light brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons (42 grams) vegan butter
- 1½ teaspoons (6 grams) pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon (1.5 grams) kosher salt
Instructions
- Bring a medium stockpot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add sweet potatoes, and boil until just tender, about 10 minutes.
- In the work bowl of a food processor, place sweet potatoes, brown sugar, vegan butter, vanilla, and salt; pulse until combined. Let cool completely.
Sweet Kraut
Makes about 1 cup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon (14 grams) olive oil
- 2 cups (200 grams) thinly sliced red cabbage (about ¼ head, outer leaves and stem removed)
- ¼ cup (55 grams) firmly packed light brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon (1 gram) ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 cup (240 grams) sweet Riesling
Instructions
- In a medium skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add cabbage; cook for 3 minutes. Stir in brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves; cook until sugar is dissolved, about 3 minutes. Add wine, and cook, stirring occasionally, until cabbage begins to wilt and turns a dark pink color, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat, and let cool completely.
Vegan Orange Sour Cream
Makes about ½ cup
Ingredients
- ½ cup (120 grams) vegan sour cream
- ½ teaspoon orange zest
- ½ tablespoon (7.5 grams) fresh orange juice
- ¼ teaspoon (1 gram) vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine all ingredients. Refrigerate until ready to use.
