While doing research on North Dakota, the same food kept popping up. Cheese Buttons. Cheese what?
Kase Knepfla. These cheese filled dumplings are similar to ravioli, but is rooted in German culture. Some people even think these delicious giant noodles should be the state food! And here is a super easy recipe to make your own.
Here’s How to Do it:
If you bought the kind of cottage cheese like I did, you’ll want to drain it a little. Just line a colander with some coffee filters, drop the cottage cheese in it and let it sit for about an hour.
Add some salt and pepper to the cottage cheese to your taste.
Beat the egg with 1 teaspoon of cold water until it’s frothy.
Lay out the wonton wrappers. Brush around the sides liberally with the egg wash.
Drop about 1 Tablespoon of the cheese in the center,
then top each wrapper with a second. Push and pinch the edges around the wonton wrapper and make sure the squares are sealed.
Heat water in a medium sauce pan. Add 3 Tablespoons of butter. This keeps the noodles from sticking.
Carefully lower the buttons, one at a time, into the hot water. Don’t over crowd. Just do three or four at a time.
They just take a minute or two. You’ll know they’re ready when they float to the top. Drain on paper towels.
Chop the onions –
Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a heavy skillet. Add the onions and cook, stirring often, until the onions are soft and fragrant and the butter is slightly browned.
Whisk the sour cream and the heavy cream with a pinch of salt.
Place the buttons in the pans with the onions and lightly coat with the butter.
Serve two or three buttons on a plate. Top with the buttery onions and a drizzle of the sour cream mixture. They are amazing! Thank you North Dakota!
© Copyright 2019 The Lazy Gastronome
Kase Knepfla. These cheese filled dumplings are similar to ravioli, but is rooted in German culture. Some people even think these delicious giant noodles should be the state food! And here is a super easy recipe to make your own.
- 24 wonton wrappers
- 1 cup cottage cheese
- 1 egg
- 2 medium onions, chopped
- 7 Tablespoons butter
- 1 Tablespoon sour cream
- 2 Tablespoon heavy cream
- salt and pepper to taste
-
If you bought the kind of cottage cheese like I did, you'll want to drain it a little. Just line a colander with some coffee filters, drop the cottage cheese in it and let it sit for about an hour.
-
Add some salt and pepper to the cottage cheese to your taste.
-
Beat the egg with 1 teaspoon of cold water until it's frothy.
-
Lay out the wonton wrappers. Brush around the sides liberally with the egg wash.
-
Drop about 1 Tablespoon of the cheese in the center, then top each wrapper with a second. Push and pinch the edges around the wonton wrapper and make sure the squares are sealed.
-
Heat water in a medium sauce pan. Add 3 Tablespoons of butter. This keeps the noodles from sticking.
-
Carefully lower the buttons, one at a time, into the hot water. Don't over crowd. Just do three or four at a time.
-
They just take a minute or two. You'll know they're ready when they float to the top. Drain on paper towels.
-
Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a heavy skillet. Add the onions and cook, stirring often, until the onions are soft and fragrant and the butter is slightly browned.
-
Place the buttons in the pans with the onions and lightly coat with the butter.
-
Whisk the sour cream and the heavy cream with a pinch of salt.
-
Serve two or three buttons on a plate. Top with the buttery onions and a drizzle of the sour cream mixture. They are amazing!
© Copyright 2019 The Lazy Gastronome
Here are some things that are perfect to use for this recipe!
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Wanton wrappers!!! No no. I make egg noodle dough, roll thin and cut in rectangles then proceed with recipe. On menu for tonight.
LOL – Now you know why I call myself the LAZY gastronome!! Let me know how they come out! Thanks for stopping by.
Kase Knepfla was a staple in my grandmother’s kitchen as we ate it every Sunday lunch after church. My grandparents were Germans from Russia, so yes Ukrainian cuisine was surely a source. We used egg flour dough, but I have to say your won ton dough looks like a timesaver – I spent hours making Kase knepfla for a recent family reunion.
I love shortcuts! That’s why I’m the LAZY gastronome! LOL – thanks for sharing your story!
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What a unique recipe, sounds wonderful!
They really were good! Every state seems to have some little gems unique to them. Thanks for stopping by!
Absolutely NOT North Dakota cheese buttons…..NOBODY in North Dakota makes these with wonton wrappers…..not even close
Hmmm – The recipe came from a friend who grew up there.
No!!! It’s so easy to make egg noodle dough. It’s literally flour, eggs, and water. Mix it. Roll it. Stuff it with the cottage cheese. Pretty please, for the sake of this German North Dakotan, try it with home made egg noodles!! You can also make a lazy cheese button recipe as follows:
1 box rigatoni noodles
5 eggs
1 qt whipping cream
1 stick butter
1 yellow onion chopped
Sharp cheddar/velveeta (yes velveeta)
Cook noodles until half done. Mix eggs, cream, butter, onions, and cheeses together. Add noodles. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes stirring every 15.
Thank you!! I love hearing from the folks that live these foods. I will most definitely try the noodles!
Wow, that’s interesting. Kase knepfla, what a name! Is it a recipe that Germans brought to Dakota or? I’m from Europe and lots of these German names are still in use even today; I guess that’s the legacy of the Austro Hungarian empire. But I’ve never heard of kase knepfla! And certainly I wouldn’t imagine finding that in Dakota. Absolutely saving this to try them out!
My father’s family were German and Czech – It’s amazing how much of the foods we eat in the US have roots in other countries. I love learning a dish’s history.
Kase means cheese and Knoefla is buttons-literally means cheese buttons. This came to the US with immigrants and has been passed down to all of us lucky bunch.
Thanks for the info!! My grandma and my step mother were German – and boy could they cook!!
I was born in South Dakota but grew up in central California. My parents were from South Dakota and Germans from Russia. Kase knepfla was a huge treat at our house and my mother always made it with home made egg noodle dough. Our traditional Sunday lunch after church meal was beef broth soup with noodles. My mother usually made the noodles on Saturday and let them dry overnight, but if she was pressed for time she would use store bought packaged noodles. The home made noodles were much better. Every once in a while instead of making the dough into noodles she would make it into pea sized balls and this was called Revel or Rivel soup. It would take hours to hand roll the hundreds of little dough balls but I and my siblings loved it and I didn’t mind helping my mom make the balls. My dad never got involved but he never did any indoor cooking.
I love this!! Thank you for sharing!