Fried Pear Pies Food

PEAR HAND PIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350*F In a medium sized bowl, combine sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, and lemon zest. Mix well Add diced pears to sugar mixture and mix gently until well coated. Roll pie crust out. Using a bowl as a pattern that is approximately 4 - 5 inches in diameter, cut out round circles for your hand pies. Reroll excess dough to create more crusts. Place crusts onto a lined baking sheet. Place a small amount of pears in the center of one cut pie crust - leaving approximately 1/2 inch space around sides. Dot pear mixture with a small amount of butter. Sprinkle with few drops of lemon juice. In a small bowl beat egg with 1 tablespoon of water. Brush egg around the edge of the circle. This will act as a glue. Fold circle in half enclosing the pear filling. Crimp edges with a fork to ensure a good seal. Brush egg mixture on top of each hand pie. Slice slits on top and dust with course sugar if desired. Place on a lined cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden.

PEAR & BERRY PIE

Steps:

• To make the poached pears, put the sugar in a big saucepan with the lemon peel, cardamom pods, nutmeg, cinnamon and 1 litre water. Bring to a gentle simmer. Lower the pear halves into the liquid and place a circle of baking parchment on top, so they cook through properly. Leave over a medium heat, so that a few bubbles break the surface every now and then, and cook for 15 mins. Allow to cool in the liquid. Can be chilled overnight if making ahead.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Dust the work surface with a little plain flour. Roll out the pastry so it's big enough to line a 20-23cm frying pan, pie dish or shallow baking tin. Grate a little nutmeg over the surface, then gently roll again to help it stick. Lift over your dish, press into the corners, then trim the edges. You can give it a pretty crimped edge, if you like, then wrap the off-cuts in cling film and keep in the fridge until needed. Scrunch up a sheet of baking parchment, unfold, and lay it over the pastry. Fill with baking beans and bake for 15 mins. Remove the beans and parchment, brush with some of the beaten egg and return to the oven for another 5 mins.
• Meanwhile, make the filling. Cook the remaining pears and sugar in a small pan until the pears are soft enough to squash with the back of a spoon. Drain off 3 tbsp of the poaching liquid and mix this with the cornflour, then pour back into the pears and continue cooking and squashing for another minute or so, until the filling has thickened.
• Sprinkle the ground almonds over the pastry case, then add the squashed pear mixture and scatter over the berries. Remove the poached pears from their liquid and blot them on some kitchen paper. Arrange them face-up among the pear mixture and berries. Using a mini pastry cutter, cut little shapes from the leftover pastry, then arrange them on top. Brush the pastry pieces with beaten egg and sprinkle with the demerara sugar. Bake for 45-50 mins until the pastry is golden and berry juice is bubbling. Cool for 10-15 mins before serving with custard, cream or ice cream, if you like.

FRIED PEARS

Steps:

• 1. Mix together sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside.
• 2. Heat butter and oil in a medium skillet over medium heat (the oil helps to keep the butter from burning). Prepare the pears while heating the butter (this way they don't have time to turn dark). Add pears and saute until just tender.
• 3. Sprinkle with the sugar cinnamon mixture (As little or as much as you like). Stir gently to coat all of the slices. Turn off the heat.
• 4. Add nuts, stir gently to mix. Serve with whipped cream or over vanilla ice cream.

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.

FRIED PEAR PIES

Steps:

• Make the dough: Pulse the flours, sugar and salt in a food processor to combine. Add the butter and pulse again until the flour looks like cornmeal, then pulse in the egg until the mixture clumps together. Knead the dough a few times, press it into a disc and wrap loosely in plastic. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before rolling out.
• Make the filling: In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter with the sugar, cinnamon, vanilla seeds, honey and lemon zest. Stir constantly for 5 minutes. Add the pears and cook, stirring from time to time, until they start to soften, about 5 minutes. Let cool.
• Beat the egg with 1 tablespoon water. Line a baking sheet small enough to fit in your freezer with parchment or wax paper. On a floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/8 inch thick and cut into circles with a 4-inch cutter. Gather the unused dough into a ball and repeat until you have used all the dough. You should have 8 to 10 circles. Place on the baking sheet and refrigerate for about 15 minutes.
• Working quickly, make the pies: brush the outer 1/2 inch of a pastry circle with the egg wash, then spoon a heaping tablespoon of pears onto the circle, off center. Top the pears with as much of the liquid from the pan as will fit without spilling out, about 1/4 teaspoon. Lift the edge opposite the pears with a spatula and fold the pastry to cover the pears, making a half-moon shape. Crimp the edges with the tines of a fork to seal the pie. Transfer to the lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining pastry circles. (If the dough starts to tear, chill it.) Freeze for at least 3 hours.
• Shortly before serving the pies, in a large, heavy skillet set over high heat, add enough oil to rise 1/2 inch up the pan and heat until it reaches 350 degrees or a pinch of dough immediately bubbles and starts to brown. Fry 3 or 4 pies at a time, turning them once, until both sides are golden, 4 to 5 minutes. If they start to turn dark brown, lower the heat a little. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on brown paper bags. Repeat with the remaining pies. Serve warm, with ice cream.

FRIED PIES

Steps:

• To make the pastry, mix together the flour, granulated sugar and salt. Cut in 1 cup of the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add 1 of the eggs and the buttermilk and stir until it just comes together. Add a little more buttermilk if needed. Form it into a ball and refrigerate for at least an hour.
• To make the pies, roll the pastry out into a large square. Trim the edges to make a rectangle. Cut into 8 to 10 long rectangles, using a butter knife.
• Spoon a tablespoon or so of filling into the top half of one of the rectangles.
• Use the remaining beaten eggs to seal the edges by folding the bottom half of the rectangle over the top. Then crimp the edges shut with a fork. Repeat with the other pies, filling half with apple pie filling and half with cherry pie filling.
• Heat shortening in a medium, deep saucepan over medium-high heat to 350 degrees F. Fry the pies until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove and immediately drain on paper towels.
• Sprinkle with powdered sugar 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.

FRESH PEAR PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Place a baking sheet on the bottom oven rack.
• Combine sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, and lemon zest in mixing bowl. Roll out half the pastry and line a 9-inch pie pan.
• Arrange pear slices in layers in the pastry-lined pan, sprinkling the sugar mixture over each layer. Dot with butter and sprinkle with lemon juice.
• Roll out remaining dough for the top crust. Use your finger dipped in a small bowl of water to moisten the rim of the bottom crust. Place top crust over filling, and trim edge using kitchen shears or a sharp paring knife. Fold edge under bottom crust, pressing to seal. Flute edge. Cut slits in top crust to allow steam to escape.
• Bake in the preheated oven on the baking sheet for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and bake until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly, 35 to 40 minutes longer. Allow to cool several hours before serving.

FRIED APPLE PIES

Steps:

• Make pastry: Sift flour and salt together in a large bowl. Cut in shortening with 2 knives or a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with a fork, until flour mixture is moistened. Do not add more water than you need: when you squeeze a handful of moistened pastry mixture, it should form a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Make filling: Place apples in a saucepan. Combine sugar and cinnamon; pour over apples and toss to coat. Cook, covered, in a saucepan on low heat until soft; mash with a fork to make thick applesauce. Set aside to cool.
• Roll dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/8-inch thick; cut out eight 4-inch rounds with a large cookie cutter.
• Place 1 heaping tablespoon of applesauce in the center of each pastry round. Moisten edges with cold water, fold in half, and press the edge with a fork to seal. Repeat with remaining pastry and filling.
• Heat oil in a deep fryer or large saucepan to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Lower pies carefully into the hot oil in batches. Fry until golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Repeat with remaining pies.

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.

AIR-FRYER PEAR POT PIES

Steps:

• Grease bottoms and sides of four 8-oz. ramekins with 1 tablespoon butter (do not butter rims)., In a small bowl, mix sugar, cornflake crumbs, brown sugar and ginger. In a large bowl, toss pears with orange juice. Add crumb mixture and toss to combine. Divide mixture among ramekins; dot with remaining 1 tablespoon butter., Preheat air fryer to 325°. Unfold pastry; cut into 1/2-inch strips. Arrange over ramekins in a lattice pattern, trimming to fit. Gently press ends onto ramekin rims., Place ramekins in air fryer. Cook until filling is bubbly and pastry is golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream.

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.