Fried Fruit Pies Recipes

FRIED FRUIT PIES

Steps:

• Mix together the flour and salt. Cut in the shortening with a pastry blender, fork, your hands, or whatever method works best for you, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
• Stir together the beaten egg with the water and sprinkle over flour mixture. Sprinkle in the vinegar, mixing lightly, until ingredients are well combined.
• Form the dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least one hour.
• In a nonreactive pan on very low heat, simmer the dried fruit in the water for 30 to 45 minutes, or until very tender. Add water if necessary to prevent scorching. Allow to cool; mash fruit slightly.
• Stir in the sugar and spices. This step of the preparation may be done in advance and refrigerated; however, warm up the fruit (microwave is fine) enough to take the chill off and make it workable before filling your pies.
• Remove the pastry from the refrigerator and cut it into four equal pieces. You can then cut each of the four pieces into three equal pieces, leaving you with 12 golf-ball-size dough balls.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll each ball into a 5- to 6-inch circle. Your circles don't have to be perfect, and ragged edges are okay.
• Put about 2 generous tablespoons of filling onto one side of the circle of dough. Seal the pie by wetting the inside edge of the dough with water (use your finger) and then fold over the dough, making the familiar half-moon shaped pie. Make sure the edges of the dough are even, and press and crimp to insure a good seal. You can use a fork to give you a bit of a decorative edge if you like. You can also correct the more ragged edges during this step because the dough is pliable. Just make sure the filling is sealed in and that any holes in the dough are crimped.
• Using a deep fryer set at 350, carefully lower the pies into the oil, one at a time. Cook until they turn a nice even golden brown in 3 or 4 minutes. You don't have to worry about cooking the filling -- it's already cooked. The frying process is merely cooking the dough.
• Drain on paper towels.

BUTTERMILK DOUGH FOR FRIED FRUIT PIES

Steps:

• Pulse flour, lard, sugar, and salt in a food processor until you have flour-covered pea-sized pieces, about 15 quick pulses. Add buttermilk all at once and process until the wet dough almost comes together.
• Generously flour work surface and scrape dough out onto it. Turn dough over to coat. Gather and fold dough over on itself a couple of times, then pat into a soft 4x6-inch block.
• Crisscross 2 long pieces of plastic wrap to form an X and lightly dust with flour. Place dough in the center and wrap tightly. Smooth wrapped surface with rolling pin; flip and repeat. Chill at least 4 hours or preferably overnight, or slip into a zip-top plastic freezer bag and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before using.

FRIED APPLE PIES

Steps:

• Sift flour and salt together. Cut in the shortening with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add cold water 1 tablespoon at a time and mix with fork. When the flour mixture is moistened, gather it into a ball, wrap it in plastic, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Peel and dice the apples and place them in a saucepan. Combine the sugar and cinnamon; pour over the apples and toss to coat. Cook, covered, in a saucepan on low heat. Cook until soft, then mash with fork to form a thick applesauce. Allow to cool.
• Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Roll the dough out to 1/8 inch thick and cut rounds with a large cookie cutter (4 inches in diameter).
• In each round, place 1 heaping tablespoon fruit. Moisten edges with cold water, fold in half, and press edge with a fork to seal. Repeat with the remaining pastry and filling.
• Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Fry the pies, a few at a time, 2 to 3 minutes on each side; cook until the crust is golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

FRIED FRUIT PIES

Steps:

• Take one individual biscuit and roll out flat on floured board into a circle.
• Spoon approximately 2 tablespoons of fruit on biscuit.
• Fold dough around fruit and pinch edges tight.
• Fry in hot vegetable oil turning over when golden brown.
• Drain on paper towel and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cool and serve.

MAMA'S FRIED PIES

Steps:

• Cook fruit in water until tender. Drain and mix with sugar and margarine. Mash well. Refrigerate overnight if possible. Roll out homemade piecrust dough and cut into saucer-sized circles.
• Spoon fruit onto circles and fold over into crescent shapes, then close the edges completely with a fork. Fry until golden brown. Place fried pies on paper towels to absorb excess oil.
• Variations: For baked pies, place crescents on a lightly-greased baking sheet in a 400 degree oven until golden brown.
• For apple pies, use dried apples and add apple pie spice (or nutmeg and cinnamon) and vanilla to taste.
• For prune pies, use dry, pitted prunes and add vanilla to taste.
• Place the flour and a dash of salt in a mixing bowl. Add the shortening and cut it in with a pastry blender or use your hands, as I do. Add the water, a teaspoon at a time, kneading until the dough is smooth.

FRIED FRUIT HAND PIES

Steps:

• For the dough: Sift the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Cut in shortening until well combined using a fork or pastry cutter. Whisk egg and milk together and mix until the dough comes together. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate one hour or until you are ready to make the pies.
• You may substitute pre-made filling or use this one: Combine apples, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt in a bowl and toss together. Add water and cornstarch to a pan and whisk together. Add apples and mix together. Place over medium- high heat. Cook, stirring often about 10 minutes. Pour into a bowl and set aside to cool.
• When you are ready to make the pies, divide the dough into 12 - 3ounce (approx.) balls. Roll dough out over a well floured surface. Add additional flour to the top of the dough if needed to make it easy to roll.
• Use a 4 - 5 inch circle (a small saucer or large cookie cutter) to cut pastry into circles.
• Add about 1 tablespoon of apple filling to the center of each circle. Fold over and pinch seams closed. Fold edges over and press edges with a fork. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
• Heat about 3 cups of oil in a deep skillet to 375 degrees. Cook 2 or 3 pies at a time, turning to brown both sides. Remove from oil to a paper towel lined rack to drain.
• Whisk powdered sugar and milk together until smooth in a medium sized bowl. Dip fried pies into icing and drain on a wire rack placed in a baking pan until icing is set, about 10 -15 minutes. Serve immediately.
• Pies are best the first day. Leftovers can be be placed in an airtight container and refrigerated up to 4 days. Bring to room temperature for serving or warm in microwave for a few seconds.

DRIED AND FRIED FRUIT PIES

Steps:

• In a small, heavy saucepan, combine the apricots with the water. Simmer over low heat until the fruit is plump and soft and most of the water has been absorbed, about 25 minutes. Add more water if needed.
• Drain the apricots and chop them. Mix the apricots in a small bowl with the jam or preserves, and the nuts or bread crumbs. Refrigerate the filling, if you wish, for as long as 24 hours.
• Roll the pie dough out 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Cut it into rounds with the top of a coffee can or with a large round biscuit or cookie cutter. Spread equal portions of filling on each round, moisten the dough edges lightly, and fold the rounds over into half moon shapes. Crimp the edges with a fork.
• In a heavy saucepan or Dutch oven, heat at least 4 inches of shortening to 350°F Fry the pies in batches, turning them over midway through the cooking, after they rise to the surface. Remove them when they are golden brown and crispy, about 3 minutes. Drain them, and sprinkle them with sugar. Let them cool for at least 5 minutes before eating. Makes 8 pies.
• Variations: The pies can be baked rather than fried. Place them on a greased baking sheet, brush them with a little beaten egg (1 egg is enough for this batch of pies), sprinkle them with sugar, and bake them at 375°F for about 20 minutes, or until they are lightly browned.
• Experiment with other dried fruit or jam fillings. Try dried peaches simmered in peach nectar with a touch of jalapeno jam, or dried apples with cider, a splash of applejack, and cinnamon.
• FOR THE PIE CRUST: Using a food processor, a bowl with a pastry blender, or your fingers, cut the lard, butter and vegetable shortening into the flour and salt. Whatever method you choose, be careful not to overwork the dough, which would reduce flakiness. Add the water a few tablespoons at a time, until the dough just holds together. Divide the dough into two mounds, wrap them in plastic, and refrigerate them at least 30 minutes (or wrap one mound for the freezer, if you don't plan to use it in the next couple of days).
• If the pie crust is to be baked, preheat the oven to 400°F
• On a floured board or pastry cloth, roll out the dough in a circle a couple of inches larger than the pie pan. To avoid stretching the dough excessively, roll it from the center outwards, lifting the rolling pin after each stroke rather than rolling back over the dough in the opposite direction. Loosen the dough, drape it around the rolling pin, and center the crust over the pan, dropping it gently into place.
• If you're making a one crust pie, crimp the edges decoratively. If your pie is to have two crusts, roll out the second mound of dough, too.
• For a single pre-baked crust, prick the dough in several spots. Cover the pie shell with foil, and weight the foil with dried beans or pie weights. Bake the crust for 10 minutes, and then lower the temperature to 350°F and bake for an additional 15 minutes, or follow the directions in your pie recipe.
• One cowboy commented that a chuck wagon cook "is a sort of human that was kicked in the head by a brindle cow or a cross-grained mule when very young...They're temperamental as wimmin too; an' like the bosses, don't need no sleep neither." -Quoted in Ramon Adams, Come and Get It.
• Texas Home Cooking.