» Southern Fried Pies

Southern Fried Pies

Posted by Tara on Sunday, February 7th, 2010

Both my Grandmothers were excellent fried pie makers. I remember the process seemed to be quite involved and the end result was a special treat for family gatherings or even for birthdays. I’ve never had a store bought fried pie that came close to matching the taste of those good old fashioned, home made pastries. Neither of my Grandmothers followed a recipe. I think they were born with “fried pie instinct.” If they had documented the whole process, I’m sure this recipe could have been THE ONE. These are terrific!

Dough:

2 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup organic vegetable shortening
1 egg, beaten
6 ½ oz can evaporated milk

Sift dry ingredients together in large bowl. Cut in shortening with pastry cutter. Mix egg with milk and add to dry mixture to make stiff dough. Chill for 24 hours (I have cheated and stuffed the dough in the freezer for an hour, or only refrigerated the dough a couple of hours, but hey, I’m an impatient rebel). Roll out to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into 4 inch circles. Place 2 Tablespoons of fruit off center of each circle. Fold over and press edges together with a fork. Prick both sides with fork to vent.

Fry in medium hot oil until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Sprinkle powder sugar over browned fried pies.

I use my heavy duty mixer to cut the shortening into the flour, and to continue mixing the dough. It’s EASY!

Filling:

1 cup dried fruit such as apples, peaches apricots, figs or prunes
2 cups water
Sugar to taste
Spices to taste: Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Cloves

Combine dried fruit with water in saucepan. Bring to boil and reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until fruit is tender and water is absorbed. Combine fruit with sugar and spices to taste. Mix well. Each dough circle needs about 2 Tablespoon of fruit mixture.

I have also used frozen peaches in place of the dried fruit. I simply defrost them in the microwave, and heat the mixture in a pan over medium heat. I stir frequently and cook until a lot of the moisture is absorbed (about 15 minutes). Then I add ½ cup sugar and any desired spices. Peach and Apple pies are my favorite.

I have also used 2 Tablespoons of Strawberry Jam, or 2 Tablespoons of Dicken’s Lemon Curd in our fried pies. The lemon ones are incredible.