Fried Apple Hand Pies

This is as close as I can get to my grandmother's fried apple hand pies.

 

Ingredients

5 apples, dehydrated and cut (I used a mix of granny smith and fuji apples)

3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 cups self-rising flour
1/3 cup crisco shortening
1/8 cup unsalted butter
1.5 cups of ice water
1 tbsp cornstarch (mixed in 1/4 cup of cold water)
For frying:
1 cup crisco
1/2 cup butter

 

Cooking Directions

To dehydrate the apples, I used 6 apples that I cut and sliced and used the dehydrate feature of my foodi air-fryer.  For each apple, I added 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, 1 teaspoon of sugar, and 1 tablespoon of cinnamon. That took me a couple of days to do because I only have capacity to do 2 apples at a time.


Put the apples in a large pot, fill up with enough water to barely cover them. Add in the white and brown sugar.  Bring to a boil on high heat, then reduce to a simmer.  Stir occasionally and use a wooden spoon to break apart the apples. About 30 minutes.

Once most of the liquid is gone, add the cornstarch slurry (mix cornstarch with water), then let cook on medium heat for another 5 minutes, stirring to keep the apples from burning.  Place the apples in a separate bowl to cool (you want them cool before doing the dough.

In a mixing bowl, place 2 cups of self-rising flour, a little more than 1/3 cup of crisco shortening, and 1/8 cup of butter.  Mix with your hand until the butter and shortening are fully combined into the flour.  Then start adding the ice water, a little at a time while kneading the dough by hand until all of the dough comes together into a ball and is not sticky (and there is no more flour in the bowl).

Pinch the balls of dough into slightly bigger than a ping pong ball.  Then using a roller, roll out the dough until it is flat, probably about 6-8 inches long and 4-5 inches wide. (Use flour on the rolling pin and your surface to help with rolling). 

Place a tablespoon of the apple mixture in the middle (you'll have to use best guess based on how big your pies are).  Then fold over the pie and use your hands to pinch the edges shut.  I used a pizza cutter to get rid of excess dough and then used a fork to try to clamp down the edges. 

After you have all the pies ready, put crisco and butter into a flat skillet.  When the temperature gets up to around 375F, add 3 pies. They should brown in about 1 minute and a half - its fairly easy to see the browning on the edges.   Then flip and brown the opposite side. 

Let them rest on a cooling rack.

 

Dehydrated apples in a pot - water almost covering them.

Dehydrated apples in a pot - water almost covering them.

 

They will start to rehydrate. Bring to a boil and then simmer. Break them apart with wooden spoon.

They will start to rehydrate. Bring to a boil and then simmer. Break them apart with wooden spoon.

 

When the water is almost gone, add the cornstarch slurry, and cook down a few more minutes.

When the water is almost gone, add the cornstarch slurry, and cook down a few more minutes.

 

Transfer to another bowl to start cooling (and to start cleaning the pot before it's too hard)

Transfer to another bowl to start cooling (and to start cleaning the pot before it's too hard)

 

Here is the flour, crisco, and butter rolled together after adding the water.

Here is the flour, crisco, and butter rolled together after adding the water.

 

Roll out a ball of dough flat.

Roll out a ball of dough flat.

 

Add apples to the center.  This may be too much - it takes a couple of tries to get it right.

Add apples to the center. This may be too much - it takes a couple of tries to get it right.

 

Fold it over.  You can trim the edges with a pizza cutter. Then use a fork to pinch closed.

Fold it over. You can trim the edges with a pizza cutter. Then use a fork to pinch closed.

 

Set aside.

Set aside.

 

Melt butter and crisco in skillet.

Melt butter and crisco in skillet.

 

Place in the skillet.  About 1 and a half minutes on each side.

Place in the skillet. About 1 and a half minutes on each side.

 

Getting browned. My

Getting browned. My "crimping" didn't really keep them shut, but it was ok.

 

Cool on a rack.

Cool on a rack.

 

Serve.  Don't really need a plate.

Serve. Don't really need a plate.

 
 

All Recipes and pictures Copyright ©2005 - 2024 by Gregory Motes; All Rights Reserved