Pierogi, varenyky, knedle. If you haven't spent much time in Eastern European kitchens, these three probably read as one thing: dough, filling, boil. They're really not.
Pierogi
Lisa grew up on these. Grandma's recipe, which means it's the correct recipe and we don't take questions. Thin, stretchy dough - flour, water, egg - rolled out and pinched shut into a half-moon. Get the seal wrong and your filling goes swimming and you're left holding an empty pocket. Sweet or savory, this is the one you'll end up messing with most in-game.
Varenyky
People call them "Ukrainian pierogi" and then stop there, which is a shame, because the dough is noticeably thicker and that changes the whole bite. The edge isn't a flat pinch either. It's folded over into a ruffle, almost a little braid running down the seam, and it takes a few tries before yours stop looking like a crime scene. They're bigger, too. Six of these is dinner.
Knedle
Knedle don't get wrapped at all. Potato or yeast dough goes straight around a whole plum, sealed into a smooth ball, boiled, then rolled in buttered breadcrumbs and sugar until the outside goes slightly crunchy and the plum inside has turned to jam.
Different dough, different hands, same instinct: hide something good inside and feed it to someone.
Foxy Dumplings has 12 of these to work through, and every one of them comes from a kitchen that swears its version is the real one.
If your family makes something that belongs on this tree, drop it in the comments.