Syrniki

About This Recipe

Syrniki are beloved Russian cottage cheese pancakes with a crispy golden exterior and a soft, creamy interior. Made by mixing tvorog (Russian farmer's cheese or cottage cheese) with egg, flour, and sugar, they are shaped into small patties and pan-fried in butter. Served for breakfast or as a sweet snack with sour cream, jam, or fresh berries, syrniki are pure Russian comfort food that every babushka knows how to make perfectly.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 500 gcottage cheese(drained well, or tvorog)
• 2 largeeggs
• 3 tbspsugar
• 5 tbspall-purpose flour(plus more for dusting)
• 1 tspvanilla extract
• 1 pinchsalt
• 3 tbspbutter(for frying)
• 150 gsour cream(for serving)
• 100 gberry jam(for serving)

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the dough

   Mix drained cottage cheese, eggs, sugar, flour, vanilla, and salt until combined. The dough should be soft but holdable.

2. 2

   Shape

   With floured hands, form the mixture into small patties about 2cm thick. Dust lightly with flour.

3. 3

   Fry

   Melt butter in a pan over medium heat. Fry syrniki for 3-4 minutes per side until golden brown.

4. 4

   Serve

   Serve warm topped with sour cream and berry jam.

Variations

• •

  Add raisins or lemon zest to the dough for extra flavor.

Storage

Best eaten fresh. Refrigerate leftovers for 1 day and reheat in a pan.