Little Hand Pies Filled with Fresh Peaches
Little fried pies are a thing in Texas. They can be found at sporting events, county fairs and even some food trucks. They are easy to make and can be filled with just about any pie filling.
Peaches were in season when I filmed the video so peach fried pies are on the menu. This recipe is an adaptation of a recipe by Lisa Fain in her book, The Homesick Texan. Lisa made them with apples and I made them with peaches.
Make the Crust
Start by making the crust. Stir the salt and flour together and then blend in the lard using a pastry cutter. At this stage, it will never come together and look like dough. Instead, it will look like clumps of flour. When it gets to that stage, start adding the ice cold water a little at a time until it is moist enough to hold together. Kneed the dough by hand, form it into a ball, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for an hour. The dough must be cold to actually make the peach fried pies.
Prepare the Filling
Peel, skin and pit the peaches. Oh sure, I suppose you could cut corners and buy a can of peach pie filling, but this wasn't that hard. Buy extra peaches because there is a bit a waste as you remove the pits. Add all of the filling ingredients to a cast iron skillet and sauté until the peaches have softened, about 5 minutes. Remove it from the heat and let it cool. Do not try to make the peach fried pies with hot filling, it will just ruin the dough and make a big mess.
Make the Pies
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and flatten it with a few good thumps from your fist. Then roll it out to a thickness of about ⅛". Use a biscuit cutter to cut out circles 4 to 6" in diameter. A 4" pie is little. That is what I made in the video. I suggest 5" or 6".
Moisten the edge of each circle with a little bit of water. Brush it around the outer ½" then place 1-2 teaspoons of filling to the center of each dough circle. Fold it in half, press down along the edge to seal, then press the tines of a fork down along the entire seal. It's OK if a little filling leaks out. Just use a little less in the next pie.
Heat the oil in a cast iron skillet to 350˚F. Carefully drop each pie into the hot oil, just don't crowd them. It's better to do multiple batches than crowd them and have them stick together. Cook for 1 minute, turn them over and cook for another minute. Remove with a spider and drain on paper towels.
Dust them with powdered sugar and serve.
Try These Other Great Desserts
- Smoked Blueberry Crisp
- Dark Chocolate Bread Pudding with Salted Caramel Sauce
- Bacon Apple Crisp
- Smoked Chocolate Chip Cookies
Click this link to watch the video on YouTube
📖 Recipe
Peach Fried Pies Recipe
Ingredients
Crust
- 2 cups flour all purpose
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup lard chilled
- ¼ cup water ice cold
Filling
- 4 tbs unsalted butter
- 2 cups peaches fresh, pealed and pitted
- 1 tbs flour all purpose
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Frying
- 4 cups canola oil
Instructions
Crust
- Mix the flour and salt together. Add the lard using a pastry cutter. When clumps have formed, add the cold water a tablespoon at a time until the dough is moist enough to hold together. Form the dough into a ball, wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.
Fried Pies
- Mix all of the filling ingredients together in a large skillet. Heat over low heat until the peaches are soft, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
- Flatten the chilled crust then roll it with a rolling pin to a thickness of ⅛". Cut out 4-5" diameter circles. Gather the leftover scraps and roll them out to 1/*" and cut more circles.
- Moisten the edge of a dough circle with a little water on your finger.
- Add 1-2 teaspoon of filling to the center of the circle. Fold it over and press gently to seal. Then use a fork to seal around the edge again.
- Heat 1" of canola oil in a cast iron skillet to 350˚F. Use a slotted spoon to gently lower each pie into the hot oil. Cook for 1 minute then turn over and cook the other side for another minute. Remove the pies from the hot oil with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels for few minutes.
- Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.
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