Fried Pies Food

FRIED PIES

Steps:

• Cut butter into flour with pastry blender.
• Combine milk and egg yolk. Pour over flour mixture, stirring to mix well.
• Roll out small portions on floured surface.
• Place pie filling in center.
• Fold over and seal edges.
• Fry in deep fat until golden.
• Put sugars or coating in brown paper bag and shake (after frying) to coat.
• Enjoy.

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.

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 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.

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.