Make Old Fashioned Fried Apple Pies

Use a firm and tart apple, such as the Granny Smith, in fried pies.

Old fashioned fried apple pies are little pillows of fried goodness made from scratch in the Southern states. The main ingredient of fried apple pies is dried apples. Drying apples was a preferred method of storing fresh apples for Southerners prior to refrigeration. Baking too many of these delectable pies is usually not a problem. However, you can freeze leftover pies and reheat them for a breakfast on the go, or eat them as a sweet treat along with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Instructions

Prepare the Filling

1. Add 3 cups of water to a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Add 1 qt. of dried tart apple rings. Cover and cook on medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until the apples are soft, which should take approximately 15 minutes.

2. Add 1/2 cup of unsalted butter, 1 tbsp. lemon juice and 1 cup of sugar to the apples. Cook on medium heat, stirring, until the butter melts.

3. Add 1 tsp. of cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. of nutmeg and 1 tbsp. of dark brown sugar to the apples. Stir gently and remove the apples from the heat.

4. Allow the apples to cool completely while you prepare the crusts.

Make the Pie Dough

5. Add 2 cups of all-purpose flour to a medium bowl. Measure out 1/2 cup of lard and add to the flour; you can use vegetable shortening if you prefer, but old fashioned pies called for lard.

6. Mix the flour and lard with your dry fingers to break the lard into small pebble-like pieces; do this quickly so the heat of your fingers does not melt the shortening. Pour water, 1 tsp. at a time, to the flour mixture as you continue mixing it with your hands until you have added enough liquid to form a ball of dough. Chill the bowl of dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

7. Sprinkle flour over a dry surface. Place the ball of dough on the dusted surface and lightly dust a rolling pin. Roll the dough out into 1/4-inch thickness.

8. Use a bowl with a 7-inch-wide rim to cut out circles from the dough; you should be able to make approximately 12 circles. Roll the remaining scraps of dough and cut out additional circles.

Fry the Pies

9. Add lard, or vegetable shortening, to a large cast iron skillet. Heat the grease over medium-high heat until it is melted. Add more oil as needed as you should have 2 inches of oil in the pan.

10. Spoon 1 tbsp. of the cooled apple filling into the center of one of the dough circles. Fold the circle over to form a semi-circle so that the edges are lined up. Press a fork 1/4 of an inch from the edges to seal the two sides of dough together -- this is important to keep the filling from leaking out while the pies are frying.

11. Line a plate with paper towels and set aside.

12. Place a crimped pie into the hot oil. Fry each side of the pies for approximately 5 minutes or until the crust turns golden brown. Remove the pies and drain on the paper-towel lined plate.

13. Form and fry the remaining pies. Allow the pies to cool before serving.

Tags: approximately minutes, ball dough, fried apple, fried apple pies, heat stirring