Note: This is an older recipe. We have since changed to a plant-based diet and love it. It’s better for our health, all living and the planet.
Growing up, my mom would make some kind of Cottage Cheese Pancakes. However, my mom made them differently, not as cheesy, so I actually forgot about them and never considered making them.
Until,
well, until a friend pinned the Syrniki (ะกััะฝะธะบะธ) recipe to her Pinterest board. They looked so good, I just had to try them. You know how it is with Pinterest pictures, don’t you? Not sure how I lived 40+ years without these yummy Syrniki. They are so good, specially served with my homemade sour-creme.
Syrniki look a bit like pancakes but actually do not taste like pancakes at all. There is simply not enough flour in them. The main ingredient is Dry Cottage Cheese, also known as farmer cheese or bakerโs cheese. It is the solid portion, or curds, that remain after milk has been cultured and slowly heated. If you are into cheese making, it is the same process as making quark cheese, just needs a bit more heat to get rid of moisture.
You want the cheese to be dry, but not hard. I did try to make them with my homemade quark, but the quark is too moist. I had better success with store bought Dry Cottage Cheese.
You want the cheese to be really soft, not wet, just smooth. To make the Dry Cottage cheese smooth we used the food processor or blender, and added a tablespoon of sour cream. It worked fine both waysย butย was just easier to get out of the food processor. Now, let’s get started with the recipe.
- 500 g (18 oz) Dry Cottage Cheese + a tablespoon of sour cream to get the perfect texture
- 1 egg
- 2 -3 tablespoons sugar (or honey / maple syrup)
- pinch of salt
- 1 cup all purpose flour not used at once, see description! (unbleached, preferably organic)
- oil to fry, I use coconut oil
- In a food processor or blender combine the dry cottage cheese, sour cream and the egg, and process till all smooth.
- Add sweetener and salt
- Add about half a cup flour to a clean work space. You need just as much flour to be able to work the dough, not more. Add the cottage cheese mixture ant work the dough till you can shape a roll.
- Cut the roll into pieces and form about egg sized balls
- Roll them in flour and form the pancakes
- Heat the pan on medium high with a table spoon of oil.
- Fry the syrniki on one side till golden brown
- Turn over and cover the pan with a lid. Turn the heat down to medium low and let fry for 3 minutes.
- Serve immediately with sour cream and/or fruit jam.
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Wow… This look really good and easy to make. I thought of trying it out but don’t have cottage cheese on hand. The only way I have eaten cottage cheese is in lasagna!
They are easy to make, just a bit sticky, that’s part of the fun. Great for kids, too.
If I can get a hold of some dry cottage cheese I’d love these. I am in the works of owning part of a milk cow, I hope, if that goes through then I want to make quark and dry cottage cheese and these. I wish we were neighbors so I could just be your shadow when you are making some of this yummy stuff!
That would be so fun to be neighbors with you Amanda! Row milk is ideal for making the right cheese for the Syrniki.
These look yummy! I’ve never heard of dry cottage cheese. I’ve only used the wet kind. ๐
The wet kind, if drained over night could work too.
I have never heard of dry cottage cheese but now I am going to be on the lookout for it. These sound quite yummy to me!
They are yummy. The dry cottage cheese might go by different names in different areas.
I will have to do some research. So glad you shared with us at Merry Monday. Hope to see you again at the next party.
Oh, these look and sound wonderful!!! We are going to be giving these a try. ๐
~Lorelai
Life With Lorelai
Hope you like them Lorelai! You are a great cook, so they might turn out even better than my ;).
Yum! I’m from WI so anything with cheese will be a favorite…lol
Oh yes, cheese is great! Glad to bring you a new favorite!
I grew up eating those in Russia, but here in US I couldn’t find the right cottage cheese to make them. It looks like your method gives the correct texture. Will be making ASAP! Thanks for sharing ๐
Please come back and share how you liked it. The the food processor makes the texture.
My grandmother who is Lithuanian would make pancakes for me when I would stay with her. This is about 50 years ago. She made with bakers dry cottage cheese and they were thick with cheese. She would fry in a heavy steel pan. I never was able to get the full recipe. She cooked with a little of this and that. I’m going to try these even though they might not be exactly the same.
I am using a farmer cheese with no salt from the Friendship company. We like to pour a condensed sweetened milk over them