1. Mix and knead the dough ingredients (flour, egg, cottage cheese, butter and milk) until smooth, soft and elastic.
2. Break off small chunks to encase the fruit, making sure it’s fully sealed in the dough.
3. Drop dumplings in a large pot of boiling salted water and cook for about 8 minutes, until they begin to float.
4. Drain and serve with melted butter, ground nuts/seeds, and a sprinkling of sugar and cinnamon.
5. Enjoy!

Oma Spencer came to Canada from (the former) Czechoslovakia during the second world war. She documented her story through letters to her fiance back in Germany, which was made into a book and first published in 2004 by McGill Unversity press. Hanna's Diary, 1938-1941: Czechoslovakia to Canada can still be purchased on Amazon and found in the library to this day.  

Fruit dumplings were one of our absolute favourite things Oma would make with us in the kitchen. In fact, she made them with my (then) 1.5-year-old daughter Claire, in her London, Ontario kitchen, just four days before she died, at the age of 100. She modified the recipe from its traditional form (I don’t think the cottage cheese is a Czech tradition) but this is the way she taught us to make it. We hope you enjoy the dumplings as much as we do!