Fried Apple Pies
Fried apple pies, with their crispy crust and sweet apple filling, have delighted dessert lovers for generations.
Servings: 30 servings
Calories: 273kcal
Ingredients
- 4 (6 oz.) bags dried apples
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 cups self-rising flour, heaping
- ¾ cup Crisco shortening
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 1 ½ -2 cups ice water
- Additional flour for mixing dough
- 2 cups Crisco shortening
- 4 tablespoons butter
Instructions
For apples:
- Put apples in a large pot or Dutch oven and add enough water to almost cover. Stir in two cups sugar.
- Turn heat to medium-high and bring to a boil.
- Turn heat down just a little so apples continue to simmer, breaking up apples with spoon as they cook. Cook until apples are tender and juicy, stirring frequently. You may need to add more water as they cook. Do not allow the apples to get dry. Remove apples from heat and allow to cool.
For dough:
- Start with 4 heaping cups of self-rising flour and cut in 3/4 cup Crisco shortening and 1/4 cup butter with a fork or your fingers. Mix well until shortening/butter is incorporated into the flour.
- Add 1 1/2 cups of ice water to flour, and add additional ice water as needed to get all the dry flour mixed in. Mix with a fork until dough is sticky.
- Dip hands in flour and sprinkle additional flour onto dough so that you can knead it. Use additional flour as needed to be able to knead the dough until smooth and non-sticky.
- Pinch off pieces of dough to make balls slightly smaller than ping pong balls. You should get about 30 balls.
- Roll each ball out until thin.
- Add a spoonful or two of apples to one side of rolled dough. After the first couple, you will learn exactly how much apples to place on the dough. If you put too much, the dough will not cover without tearing.
- Dip your finger in water and rub around the edges of the dough where the apples are. This will help seal the pies.
- Carefully fold the dough over and press the edges together lightly to seal. Using a fork, crimp the edges to fully seal.
- Once all the pies are ready, add about 1/2 cup Crisco shortening and 2 tablespoons butter to a large skillet and heat on medium-high or 375°F.
- Once the grease is hot enough to sizzle from a drop of water, carefully lay two or three pies in the skillet.
- Cook about a minute to a minute and half on each side until they are golden brown. (Set a timer for 01:15.)
- Lay pies on a large platter lined with paper towels and serve immediately.
Notes
Tips for the Filling for Fried Pies
- If you can't find dried apples in your grocery store—and don't buy the commercial ones in the aisle with all the dried fruit because they take forever to cook down and they are expensive—try these that I found online.
- As the apples are cooking, you'll need to take a wooden spoon and break them up a bit.
- Watch the apples carefully and add additional water if the water starts cooking down too much.
- Stir frequently so the apples don't stick to the bottom of the pot and scorch.
- Once the apples have cooked completely, you can place some of the apples in another dish to help them cool faster.
Tips for the Dough
- Sprinkle on additional flour to the ball of dough 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.
- You want to make sure all the shortening and butter is incorporated into the flour.
Tips for Frying the Pies
- The oil needs to stay hot. Pies will cook quickly and also burn quickly.
- While frying the pies, you may need to clean out the skillet and start over with fresh oil if the oil starts burning.
- Remove cooked pies to a paper-towel-lined platter.
Tips for Storing Fried Pies
- These fried pies do not need to be refrigerated. They will keep for a few days in an airtight container but are best eaten within two days.
