An old fashioned, made from scratch, fried pie has no equal. In the fried pie world, I have two favorites: Peach and Chocolate. For an amazing peach pie like my great grandmother made, you have to start with dried peaches. Fresh or canned just can’t pack the wallup of flavor that dried ones do. Click here for my recipe and if you want to watch me make them with Al Roker – just for kicks.
And for fried chocolate pies like I grew up with, you have to make your own chocolate paste out of sugar, butter, and cocoa powder, like my Aunt Sue does and you have to use the recipe that I put in my first cookbook, like I’m sharing with you here.
Note: You can make these with canned biscuit dough but they won’t be the same. They will still be good in a pinch though. You can also make these simply by sticking a mini chocolate bar inside each one – but it won’t be the same, either. They will still be good in a pinch, though! Just do what you have time to do and put your heart into it. The most important step in cooking isn’t the ingredients you use or how intricate the preparation, it’s the process of making something yummy for someone because you love them. That makes everything taste better.
Now let’s make some fried pies…
For the crust you’ll need: Shortening (like Crisco, I’m using generic), milk, salt, and all purpose flour.
For the chocolate paste filling you’ll need: Sugar, butter, and cocoa powder.
Most of my family’s old recipes don’t use baking chocolate and such, but cocoa powder instead because it was so much more affordable.
Place flour, salt, and shortening in a bowl. Stir together really well and then cut the shortening into the flour with a long tined fork.
Or a pastry cutter if you’re feeling fancy.
Like this. See? I’m using my own cookbook for this recipe. That is one of the benefits of being a highly unorganized person who happens to have a food blog and a few published books – If it weren’t for these things I’d never be able to find any of my recipes.
Oh yeah, this is my photo of my shortening after it was cut into my flour.
Pour milk into flour mixture.
Stir it up really well.
You may need to add more milk, and that is perfectly okay. Add a tablespoon or so at a time until it forms a ball of dough.
Divide that up into ten ball shaped portions.
Look at the photo and see that Christy has only nine portions. Life is just like that sometimes.
In a medium mixing bowl, place melted butter, sugar, and cocoa powder.
Let your chocolate loving daughter come in for a good sniff…
Then let her stir it up really well.
It will form a paste. Note: This is a gritty chocolate paste and it is utterly delicious.
It’s like folks did in the old days and keep in mind folks were, by and large, an awful lot happier in the old days in most cases. Perhaps chocolate paste fried up inside homemade pies had something to do with this. It certainly couldn’t hurt.
Alright now we need to take each of those dough balls and make them into a 6 inch (or so) circle.
I usually roll mine out but I noticed here that my circles are a lot more like circles when I just pat the out.
See? This circle was rolled out but that previous perfect looking one was patted out.
Now place about 2 tablespoons of filling in the center of each.
THEN, dip your fingertips in water and run them around the edges to help them stick together.
Fold over and crimp edges lightly with a fork.
Preheat about 1/4 inch of oil in a large skillet on medium high for about five minutes, then turn it down to medium and carefully add your pies a few at a time, careful not to overcrowd.
Let them cook until browned on one side, then flip and cook until browned on the other as well. This will just take a few minutes.
Remove to paper towel lined platter.
Let cool slightly before eating.
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Chocolate Fried Pies (Pie Day Friday!)
Ingredients
- 2 Cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 1/2 cup milk, more if needed
- vegetable oil (for frying)
- 2 cups sugar
- 6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted
filling
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour and salt. Cut in the shortening with a long tined fork. Add the milk and stir until the dough sticks together.
- Divide the dough into ten ball shaped portions.
- In a separate bowl, stir together melted butter, cocoa powder, and sugar until it forms a paste.
- Pour oil to a depth of 1/4 inch in a large skillet and place over medium high heat to preheat while you assemble pies.
- On a floured surface, roll or pat each dough ball into a 6 inch circle. Place 2 tablespoons of chocolate paste in center of each. Dip fingertips in water and run around outside edges of crust. Fold over and crimp with fork to seal.
- After oil has heated for at least five minutes, reduce heat to medium. Carefully add a few pies at a time to hot oil and cook until browned on one side, flip and brown on the other.
- Remove to paper towel lined plates and repeat until all pies are cooked.
Cool slightly before serving.
Store leftover pies at room temp for up to three days.
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http://www.southernplate.com/2013/06/chocolate-fried-pies-pie-day-friday.html
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