Our Family Fried Pies Food

OUR FAMILY FRIED PIES

Steps:

• Wash and dice dried apricots, then place in a sauce pan and cover with water (about 1 inch above fruit).
• Cook slowly until tender.
• Do NOT pour off water.
• Add spices to taste and lemon juice.
• Thicken with a corn starch slurry.
• **Be careful of scorching after cornstarch is added.
• Roll out a ball of pastry about the size of a golf ball.
• Spoon 1 heaping tablespoon of fruit filling on 1/2 of pastry circle leaving about a half inch edge.
• Fold over and seal with a fork.
• ***Pies may be frozen at this point.
• Fry frozen or thawed pies in a skillet of hot oil(preferred Crisco at 375 degrees in cast iron skillet) until golden brown.
• Remove to a paper towel lined plate.
• Can be eaten as is (preferred)or sprinkle with powdered sugar, lightly.
• Enjoy! ;).

TRADITIONAL FRIED PIE PASTRY

Steps:

• Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
• Cut in shortening (suggested to cut in half then add in the other half because it makes the pastry both tender and flaky)until it resembles coarse meal.
• Mix water and vinegar together,set aside.
• Add in water mixture, stirring with a fork until dry ingredients are moistened.
• Add a little more water if dough seems too dry; shape dough into a ball and chill at least 1 hour, until ready to use.
• Preferred filling Our Family's Fried Pies.
• Roll out a ball of pastry about the size of a golf ball.
• Spoon 1 heaping tablespoon of fruit filling on 1/2 of pastry circle leaving about a half inch edge.
• Fold over and seal with a fork.
• ***Pies may be frozen at this point.
• Fry frozen or thawed pies in a skillet of hot oil(preferred Crisco at 375 degrees in cast iron skillet) until golden brown.
• Remove to a paper towel lined plate.
• Can be eaten as is (preferred)or sprinkle with powdered sugar, lightly.
• Enjoy! ;).

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.

MUMMY HAND PIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Add the pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and a pinch of salt to a medium bowl and stir to combine.
• Roll out 1 pie crust on a lightly floured surface with a rolling pin to form a rectangle about 9 inches by 12 inches. Square off the crust with a knife, reserving the scraps for decorating. Cut the pie crust into 6 equal rectangles, each about 3 inches by 6 inches. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
• Roll out the other pie crust to the same thickness as the first. Cut into thin strips about 1/4 inch wide and 7 inches long. Repeat with the reserved dough scraps. Transfer the strips to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
• Add 1 heaping tablespoon of the filling to the center of each rectangular crust. Use the back of a spoon to spread out the filling, leaving about a 1/2-inch border around the edges.
• Lightly beat the egg with 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl. Use a pastry brush to brush the edges of the pies with the egg wash. Layer the strips of dough, varying the angle of each strip to create a "mummy" look. Seal the edges with a fork and use a paring knife to trim the overhang. Lightly brush the tops of the hand pies with the egg wash. Add 2 raisins to each hand pie for the eyes.
• Bake, rotating the pan halfway through for even color, until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool on a baking rack slightly, about 5 minutes.
• Serve as is or decorate with a simple icing. Combine the confectioners' sugar in a small bowl with 1/2 teaspoon water. Stir until smooth and glossy. Transfer the icing to a resealable plastic bag and snip off the corner. Pipe the icing onto the hand pies using the stripes of pie crust as a guide. Serve.

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.

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.