Fried (or Baked) Pies

Project Pastry Queen has officially commenced with week two of recipe posting! This recipe was my first pick for our little project; I’ve had my eye on this recipe forever. I’d love to make actual fried pies but I’ve never fried anything at home so I opted for the baked version. Not such a bad “alternative” since pies are traditionally baked anyway

Rebecca Rather calls these 4th of July pies since the original recipe calls for blueberry, white peach and cherry fillings (catch that? red, white & blue). I contemplated making red, white & blue fillings but finally decided on peach (since its still peach season) and a a brown sugar & pecan fillings since pecan pie is my favorite and hubby has this thing against cooked fruit, I knew he probably wouldn’t touch the peach pies. (Although, I did get him to taste them and he declared them not bad).

I’m sure the fried variety are better than the baked, after all there are probably very few things that aren’t better fried But having not attempted the fried version personally, we thought these were rather good especially topped with some homemade vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!

4th of July Fried Pies
Yields: ~ 12 pies

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup ice water
Vegetable oil, for frying
1 egg (optional, if baking)

Peach Filling:
2 large peaches, pitted & chopped into 1/2-inch dice
2-3 Tbsp peach preserves

Pecan Filling:
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup chopped pecans
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Glaze:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375°F if baking the pies. Heat 3 inches of oil in a frying pan or dutch oven if frying pies.

Prepare fillings: Combine chopped peaches & preserves in a small bowl. Set aside. In a separate bowl, combine the brown sugar, chopped pecans, melted butter and vanilla extract. Set aside.

Make the dough: Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Cut the butter into 1/2-inch cubes. Work the butter into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter or your fingers until the mixture resembles cornmeal. Add the ice water and gently form the dough into a ball. Divide the dough into two halves. Lightly flour a smooth surface, and roll out each half to 1/16-inch thick (just thicker than a tortilla) and cut into ~5-inch rounds. Re-roll the scraps and cut additional rounds. Fill each round with 1 heaping Tablespoon of filling. Fold the dough into a half-circle; wet your fingers and press to seal the edges with water. Crimp the edges with the tines of a fork to seal the pies.

To bake the pies: Brush tops of prepared pies with an egg wash (1 egg whisked with 1 Tbsp water). Bake on parchment lined baking sheets in the top 1/3 of the oven for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown. Best served warmed and eaten the same day, but can be reheated at 325°F for 5-10 minutes.

To fry the pies: Gently fry the pies in the hot oil, 2-3 minutes per side, until golden brown. Drain fried pies on paper towels.

For the glaze: Whisk the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla together and brush over the warm pies. Serve immediately.

Source: Adapted from The Pastry Queen

Tagged as: Nuts, peaches, Sweets