Honey Apple Cranberry Fried Pies Food

APPLE AND DRIED CRANBERRY PIE

Steps:

• *MEAN CHEF's pie crust recipe is one of the best I've ever run across, or use your favorite.
• Prepare pie dough and refrigerate at least 2 hours, while preparing and cooling filling; better yet, refrigerate dough overnight.
• To prepare filling, toss apple slices with dried cranberries or cherries in a microwave-safe bowl, and drizzle with lemon juice, melted butter, and honey, toss again, and sprinkle with sugar, spices, and cornstarch.
• Drizzle with brandy, and toss again.
• Cover, and microwave on HIGH for 8-10 minutes, tossing well and turning after 4-5 minutes.
• Toss again, cover, and allow to cool completely or refrigerate overnight, Roll out top and bottom crusts between pieces of lightly floured wax paper, and lay bottom crust into a 9" glass pie plate that has been lightly greased or coated with nonstick spray.
• Press crust gently into bottom of pie pan, and trim about 1" larger than pan.
• Brush edge of crust with water, stir and add filling, and top with small pieces of butter.
• Lay on top crust, trim to same size as the bottom crust, and gently press the edges together.
• Fold edge under, and crimp decoratively as desired.
• Cut several small steam vents in crust, brush lightly with cream, milk, or egg wash, and sprinkle lightly with sugar.
• Place pie on a baking sheet to catch any spills, and place in a preheated 425 degree F oven.
• Bake for 20 minutes, reduce heat to 375 degrees F, and bake for another 20 minutes.
• Check pie, and if browning too fast, cover loosely with aluminum foil.
• Continue to bake for another 20 minutes or until crust is crisp and nicely browned.
• Remove from oven, and place pie pan on a wire rack to cool.
• Serve warm or at room temperature, with a big chunk of sharp cheddar cheese or a scoop of vanilla ice cream if desired.

HONEY APPLE-CRANBERRY FRIED PIES

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, add the apples, cranberries, 1/2 cup sugar, honey, salt, and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon.
• Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Reduce heat to medium-low and cook 20 minutes or until apples are tender, stirring frequently.
• Cool completely and drain.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll pie dough to 12-inch circles; cut 9 (4-inch) circles from pie dough.
• Spoon 1 tablespoon filling onto half of each pastry circle.
• Moisten the edges of the pastry with water; fold pastry over the filling, press edges to seal.
• Crimp edges with a fork dipped in flour.
• Pour oil to a the depth of 1/2 inch in a heavy skillet or electric fry pan; heat to 350 degrees.
• Fry pies, 3-4 at a time, for 2 minutes on each side.
• Mix together 1 tablespoon sugar and remaining 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon.
• Sprinkle over hot pies.
• Note--You can also bake these pies instead of frying; put them on a greased baking sheet and bake at 425° for 12 minutes or until golden.

HONEY CRAN-RASPBERRY PIE

Steps:

• In a small bowl, whisk egg, 3 tablespoons ice water and vinegar until blended. In a large bowl, mix flour and salt; cut in shortening and lard until crumbly. Gradually add egg mixture, tossing with a fork, until dough holds together when pressed. If mixture is too dry, slowly add more ice water, a teaspoon at a time, just until mixture comes together., Divide dough in half. Shape each into a disk; wrap and refrigerate 1 hour or overnight., On a lightly floured surface, roll 1 portion of dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle; transfer to a 9-in. deep-dish pie plate. Trim crust even with rim. Refrigerate 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425°. In a large bowl, mix 1-1/4 cups sugar and tapioca. Add cranberries, raspberries, honey and almond extract; toss to coat evenly. Let stand 15 minutes., Pour filling into pie plate. Roll remaining dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle. Place over filling. Trim, seal and flute edge. Cut slits in top. Combine cinnamon and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar; sprinkle over top. Place pie on a baking sheet; bake 10 minutes., Reduce oven setting to 350°. Bake until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly, 35-40 minutes. Cool pie on a wire rack. If desired, serve with ice cream.

APPLE CRANBERRY SLAB PIE

Steps:

• Divide pastry dough into 2 portions so that 1 is slightly larger than the other; wrap and refrigerate 1 hour or overnight., In a Dutch oven, mix sugar and flour; stir in fruit, orange zest, orange juice and spices. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 10-12 minutes or until apples are tender and juices are thickened, stirring occasionally. Cool slightly., Preheat oven to 375°. Roll out larger portion of dough between 2 pieces of waxed paper into a 16x12-in. rectangle. Remove top sheet of waxed paper; place a 13x9-in. baking pan upside down over crust. Lifting with waxed paper, carefully invert crust into pan. Remove waxed paper; press crust onto bottom and up sides of pan. Add filling., On a well-floured surface, roll remaining dough into a 14x10-in. rectangle; cut into 3/4-in.-wide strips. Arrange strips over filling, sealing ends to bottom crust. If desired, brush crust with additional orange juice; sprinkle with additional sugar., Bake 40-50 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool on a wire rack.

APPLE CRANBERRY SLAB PIE

Steps:

• Make the crust: In a food processor, briefly pulse together flour and salt. Add butter and pulse until mixture forms chickpea-size pieces. Add ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse until mixture is just moist enough to hold together. Form dough into two balls, one about 2/3 of dough and the other the remaining 1/3 of dough. Wrap each with plastic and flatten into disks. Refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 2 days before rolling out and baking.
• Lightly flour a work surface and remove the plastic wrap from the larger dough ball. Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out the dough ball to a 12-by-16-inch rectangle, dusting with flour if dough sticks. (Leave smaller dough ball in the fridge.) Transfer rolled-out dough to a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Carefully line the pan with dough, pressing it into bottom of pan and completely up the sides. Crimp the top edges. Chill dough in fridge until ready to fill.
• Roll out remaining dough ball to a 10-by-13-inch rectangle, dusting with flour if dough is sticking. Using a decorative cookie cutter (like apples, leaves or hearts), cut out dough shapes. Reroll scraps if necessary to use up as much dough as possible. Transfer cutouts to a small baking sheet. Return baking pan and sheet to refrigerator to chill while you prepare filling.
• Heat oven to 425 degrees. Arrange a wire rack in the lowest position in the oven. Place a large rimmed baking sheet on the floor of the oven to preheat.
• Make the filling: In a large bowl, combine apples, sugar, maple syrup, cranberries, tapioca, rum, lemon zest and juice, ginger, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Let mixture stand 10 minutes. Pour filling into bottom pie crust and dot with 2 tablespoons diced butter. Arrange dough cutouts on top of apple mixture, overlapping it slightly and making sure several cutout edges touch sides of pan. Whisk together egg and cream. Brush over crust; sprinkle with Demerara sugar.
• Move rimmed baking sheet from oven floor to lowest rack. Place pie pan on baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees. Continue baking until crust is golden brown and juices are bubbling thickly, 40 to 60 minutes longer. Loosely tent top of pie with foil if crust browns before filling is ready. Transfer pie to a wire rack to cool completely before serving.

APPLE CRANBERRY RAISIN PIE

Steps:

• On a lightly-floured surface, roll out half of the pastry and line a 9" pie plate.
• In a saucepan, combine the cranberries, sugar, 2 tablespoons of the water, cinnamon and salt.
• Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes or until the cranberries pop.
• Stir in the apple slices and raisins.
• Combine the corn starch and remaining water and blend into the cranberry mixture.
• Cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes or until thickened slightly.
• Spoon the filling into the pastry-lined pie plate.
• Roll out the remaining pastry and place on top of the pie, leaving a 1" overhang.
• Trim the edges.
• Tuck the overhang under the bottom crust and press together to form a rim.
• Flute the rim.
• Cut steam vents in the top of the pie and bake in a 400 degree F oven for about 35 minutes or until the crust is golden.