Lesya 
Ukrainian Cottage Cheese Pancakes (Syrnyky) were an inseparable part of our lives – they made a simple and nourishing breakfast and a delectable dessert when served with fruit or jam. Our moms and grandmas used to cook them for us with sour cream poured over the top. These pancakes were frequent guests on the menu in kindergartens and schools. Even in cafeterias, they served tender cottage cheese pancakes along with other desserts and coffee. The cottage cheese pancakes are probably so prevalent in Ukraine because cottage cheese (“syr” in Ukrainian) is such a popular and affordable product. As the main ingredient, it is also present in many Ukrainian recipes – varenyky (perogy), lazy varenyky, hand pies, nalysnyky, cakes… and, of course, in the recipe for pancakes.
In Canada, good quality cottage cheese is available only in some stores. We use homemade cottage cheese and will share how to make it with you later. In addition to the cottage cheese, you will need flour or semolina. You can also add raisins to the dough. As we try to cut on flour, where possible, we prefer this recipe with semolina. The texture of pancakes with semolina is very airy and tender. The semolina-based cottage cheese pancakes is a healthy and wonderful dessert that melts in your mouth!
Please note that we don’t use too much oil for frying – one or two tablespoons of vegetable oil will suffice. It is better to use the oil without strong scent, something neutral. In this recipe we roll the dough into a loaf, slice it and then fine-tune with hands. This way, all the cottage cheese pancakes become equal and almost perfect. Please watch our video on YouTube to understand how to do it!
We have added many pictures that illustrate the process. Hopefully, both the video and the pictures are helpful and will make your preparation of Ukrainian cottage cheese pancakes a super-easy experience that you will enjoy!
How to Make Ukrainian Cheese Pancakes
Equipment
- 1 Skillet
- 1 Chef's knife
Ingredients
- 400 g cottage cheese
- 2 tbsp semolina
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 15 g vanilla sugar
- 50 g raisins
- Salt to taste
- Flour for dusting
- Vegetable oil for frying
- 20 g unsalted butter
Instructions
- Combine cottage cheese, an egg, sugar, semolina, salt, and raisins in a bowl. Mix well with a fork. Don’t use a blender or food processor; the mixture will become too melty when you cook syrnyky.
- Leave the mixture to rest for 10 minutes until the semolina swells.
- Gently knead the dough with a hand.
- Dust a cutting board with flour. Place the dough on the board and roll it into a loaf of oblong shape.
- Cut the loaf into several slices of equal sizes.
- Fine-tune the form slightly with both hands, making the edges round and perfect.
- Preheat the skillet, reduce the heat to medium and add a tablespoon of vegetable oil. Place syrnyky in the skillet and leave them on one side for about a minute. With a spatula, flip syrnyky over and fry the other side for 30-45 seconds.
- Transfer the syrnyky onto a plate lined with a paper towel to absorb excess oil.
- To complete the process, place all the syrnyky back in the skillet, cover them with the lid, and let them sit over low heat for 5 minutes. (Clean the skillet, dry it so the surface is clean, and add some vegetable oil and butter). This step is essential to ensure that syrnyky are also ready from the inside. Alternatively, you can place syrnyky on a baking pan and bake them in the oven for 5-10 minutes.
- Place syrnyky on a plate and brush them with butter. Serve warm and refrigerate leftovers.
How to serve Ukrainian cottage cheese pancakes?
Traditionally, Ukrainian cottage cheese pancakes are served with sour cream. Top your pancakes with any fruit if you want to add some fruity overtones to your dish. Blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries will pair very well. Instead of sour cream, pour maple syrup overtop. We tried this combination too, and it is incredible. You may also want to serve cottage cheese pancakes with jam; however, with jam this dish will become too sweet. We still prefer the traditional sour cream as it balances the sweetness of the pancakes and makes this dish light and tender.
What kind of cheese to use for cottage cheese pancakes?
Use cottage cheese or homemade white soft cheese of low fat. We make cottage and soft white cheese from 3.25% cow’s milk. If the cottage cheese is too fatty, the pancakes will melt in the skillet, or you will need to add more flour or semolina. In this case, you will lose the original tenderness of the dish. Please follow this link to learn How to Make Homemade Cheese.
Conclusion:
Thank you for visiting our pages! Every time we add a new recipe, we think about making them easy to follow and interesting. The recipe for cottage cheese pancakes is not an exception, and we tried several methods before we decided to share with you the one that worked best for us. Hopefully, you will enjoy this recipe and share your thoughts with other readers and us. Thank you again. Stay healthy and happy!
