Homemade Fried Apple Pies

These fried apple pies, with a golden, crispy crust and warm, sweet apple filling, come from a treasured family recipe that has delighted dessert lovers for generations. Millions of readers can’t be wrong–this recipe has been a constant in the top ten for more than a decade! Find out why Michele says, “This is the best-illustrated recipe I have ever used! Sometimes, you just need a picture to make sure the dough is the consistency It should be.”

You’ll find it easy to follow our step-by-step instructions to master the art of making these delicious fried apple pies. Sometimes, old recipes are the best, and this one brings back warm memories of Granny’s kitchen.

For such a simple food, fried pies can be challenging to make and often end up soggy, greasy, or with a weird ratio of dough to apples. That’s why this recipe is special to so many people, especially lifelong Southerners.

We don’t deep fry the pies, and we don’t add any ingredients that you’ll have to drive two counties over to find. All you need are dried apples, sugar, flour, shortening, and water. Of course, a little butter helps, too!

This fried apple pie recipe is different from the fried pies you buy at the truck stop, in a restaurant, or even those found at apple orchards in the fall. Unlike the McDonald’s fried apple pie, this is an old-fashioned recipe, with a filling from dried apples and a crust crisp around the edges and slightly softer in the middle.

If your grandmother made fried apple pies when you were growing up, this is the recipe you’ve been searching for! You can make these delicious fried apple pies for special occasions or surprise your family on a Saturday afternoon. And once you’ve made them a few times, you’ll be ready to experiment with different fruits and fillings.

Looking for an easier recipe for baked apple hand pies? Try these French apple turnovers!

Granny’s fried apple pies

Granny would make these pies for no particular reason other than to have something sweet in the house. They never lasted more than a day or so, and although best when hot from the skillet, they are also delicious at room temperature.

A few years ago, I decided to make Granny’s fried apple pies, and when I called her to find out how, she said, “Just mix up your dough and stew your apples with a little sugar, then roll out each ball of dough and put a spoonful of apples inside and then fry it.”

Uh, ok. Could you be a little more specific, please?

I thought lessons were in order, so when Granny came to visit, we had Fried Apple Pies Day. Those turned out perfectly because she did most of the work. After she left, I tried them on my own and realized I hadn’t written anything down. So I had to have another Fried Apple Pies Day with Granny, in which I did the work and remembered to write things down.

Since then, my grandmother has passed away, and I’ve made these fried pies many times. I’ve never changed a thing because they are perfect, just the way she made them. And I get emails from readers all the time, saying this recipe is exactly the way their own grandmother made fried apple pies. 

Ingredients for fried apple pies

Scroll down for printable recipe with full ingredient amounts and detailed instructions.

You’ll need a good skillet to fry the pies in, plus a rolling pin and if you choose, a pastry cutter, although I never use one of those.

• Dried apples – I use these from Amazon if I can’t get to an apple farm.
• Sugar – just use regular granulated sugar.
• Self-rising flour – always White Lily.
• Shortening or Lard – I like Crisco best.
• Butter – always unsalted Land O’ Lakes brand.
• Cold water – use ice and then strain it.

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Fried apple pies recipe substitutions and variations

• Substitute dried peaches for the dried apples.
• You can use refrigerated pie biscuit dough if you’re in a hurry.
• You can use store-bought pie crust in a pinch, but we highly recommend giving the homemade pie crust a chance! You can do it!

How to make homemade fried apple pies

We’ve broken down the steps for this recipe, giving you a good tutorial. While it looks like a lot, once you get going it’s pretty easy! Please read through all the steps before starting.

Step 1. For this fried apple pie recipe, start with 3 or 4 bags of dried apples and put them in a pot with enough water to just cover the apples.

Step 2. Add about 2 cups of sugar. Turn heat to high and bring to a boil, then turn it down to a simmer and cook down until the apples are tender and juicy. This will require quite a bit of tasting since that’s the only way to know when they’re perfect.

You’ll need to take your spoon and sort of chop at the apples to help break them up. Or you can use a tool like a ground beef masher. And you’ll probably need to add additional water. Stir frequently so the apples don’t stick to the bottom of the pot, where they will scorch, and then you’ll have fried apple pies that taste very bad.

Scorched apples = bad fried apple pies.

After about an hour, your apples should be the consistency of a chunky applesauce. Taste them again and make sure they’re sweet enough and softened enough.

Step 3. Remove the apples from the heat and let them cool while you prepare the fried pie dough.

Recipe Tip: Place some of the apples in another dish or spread out on a baking sheet to help them cool faster.

Making the dough for fried apple pies

Step 1. For the fried pie dough, start with four heaping cups of self-rising flour and add shortening and butter. Mix the shortening and butter into the flour with a fork or pastry blender, or do what I do and dig your fingers in there.

Recipe Tip: I recommend White Lily flour because it’s lower in protein and gives you a more tender, flaky crust.

Mix well until the flour crumbles and has chunks a little smaller than peas. Make sure to incorporate all the shortening and butter into the flour. This is what’s going to make your fried pie dough tender.

The dough should get crumbly like this.

Step 2. Stir ice water into the flour mixture with a fork, scraping underneath the dough to mix in all the dry flour. Mix until the dough is sticky and there is no way to pick it up.

Step 3. Dip both hands in flour, then sprinkle a little flour on top of the fried pie dough, lift it, and sprinkle a bit more flour along the sides. Again, you want to get the dough where you can easily lift and turn and begin to knead the dough.

Once you can pick up the dough, turn it onto whatever lightly floured surface you will use to roll it out. Sprinkle on additional flour so the dough doesn’t stick to your hands, and knead it well until you have a smooth, non-sticky dough for your fried apple pies.

Assembling fried apple pies

You have the dough and the apple filling, so let’s talk about how to make fried apple pies—time to put it all together!

Step 1. First, pinch off small pieces of fried pie dough and roll into balls. The balls should be slightly smaller than a ping pong ball. I usually get about 30.

Step 2. Take each dough ball and roll out until it’s thin, then put a heaping spoonful or two of apple filling on one side, leaving an edge for sealing. It usually takes one or two pies to be able to judge precisely how much filling to spoon on. If you put too much, the apples will break through the dough in places and ooze out once you start frying.

You want just enough to make a nice pocket when you fold over the dough. For me, that’s usually about a tablespoon and 1/2.

Step 3. Dip your finger in water, rub the edge around the apples, then carefully fold the dough and press down. The water acts as a sealant and will keep the dough from separating. Then take a fork and crimp the edges together even more.

Recipe Tip: Sealing the pies with a dab of water is essential. If you miss this step, the pies can seep open during frying, leaking out filling and making a real mess in your skillet. 

Step 4. Lay each pie on a large cookie sheet and continue until they are all ready.

Recipe Tip: You want to have this part fully completed before you start frying because they will only take a minute or two per side to fry.

How to fry homemade fried apple pies

Once you have all the fried pie dough rolled out and all the pies made, add about 3/4 cup of shortening and a couple of tablespoons butter (depending on the pan size) to a large skillet and turn to medium-high heat to melt.

Keep the shortening nearby because you will be adding more. The melted shortening should come up to not quite an inch in the pan, so it doesn’t cover the pies but comes about halfway up the sides.

Keep the temperature of the hot oil at medium-high, and when it sizzles, if you drop in water, it’s ready to go. Carefully lay two or three pies in the skillet, only two if your skillet is small, as you don’t want to overcrowd them.

To make this process foolproof, use a thermometer and keep the oil at 375°F. Cook the pies for 01:15 on each side. They will turn out perfectly every time!

After about a minute, peek underneath one of the fried apple pies, and if it’s golden brown, then go ahead and turn them. The dough is thin, and the apples are already cooked, so it only takes about three minutes to cook the pies.

You must watch them the entire time so they don’t burn because it can happen quickly. After a few batches, you’ll probably need to add more shortening and butter to the skillet, so let it heat before you add more pies.

Recipe Tip: You may need to clean out the skillet and start over with fresh oil if the oil starts burning.

Lay the fried apple pies on a large platter lined with paper towels or parchment paper lined wire rack. Cover the platter with tin foil if not serving immediately until you’re ready to serve.

Or sit the platter out on the counter, and the fried apple pies will mysteriously disappear. Of course, these homemade fried apple pies are best eaten within two days, which is usually not a problem.

Recipe for fried apple pies FAQS