Fried Pie...YUMMM

Fried pie will be a popular lunch box treat this year. It is a travel friendly treat plus portion control is a SUPER simple. Easy enough to make. Fried pie can be made in any shape with your favorite pie dough recipe or the store bought version. Talk about FUN for lunch!

Another plus? So many tasty ways to enjoy a fried pie. Savory. Sweet. Hearty. Decadent. The perfect main course, appetizer or dessert! It's also fabulous at party's, picnics, and large gatherings!

Some of my favorite pie fillings:

• cookie dough
• ham, cream cheese, and sharp cheddar
• tomatoes and cream cheese
• fruit and jam
• marinara, mozarella, and pepperoni
• shredded meat with gravy
• shredded chicken with taco or enchilada sauce and cream cheese
• pot pie filling with mixed veggies
• candy bar chunks
• marshmallow and chocolate chunks
• peanut butter and chocolate
• peanut butter and jelly or jam
• bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, and cheese
• baked beans with crumbled bacon
  

Yummm-MMMM! The list goes on and on! Here's my recipe:

• Heat vegetable oil to 375 degrees. (I use a deep fryer)
• Mix 1 cup all purpose flour, 4 tbsp shortening, and enough cold water to form a ball of dough.
• Roll it out on a lightly floured surface to about 1/8" inch thick.
• Use a biscuit cutter or a large glass to cut rounds.
• Place filling on one side of the round, wet the outer edge with water, fold over and pinch closed. Pinch the edges several times to ensure a solid seal.
• Fry till light golden brown-around 4 minutes.
• Drain on a cooling rack placed inside a baking pan.
• Roll sweet fried pies in granulated sugar or top hearty pies with shredded cheese, garlic salt or other spice combo.
• Store in air tight containers in refrigerator or freezer. Reheat in microwave or oven (oven method maintains crisp flaky pie texture).

Dough Tips: Lots of people use butter instead of shortening in their pie dough. The trick with butter is to work with it quickly so it stays cold. I don't have a food processor making it difficult to work with the cold butter quickly enough to get a good pie crust. Butter flavored shortening will give you the buttery taste without the hassle of working with pie dough.

Recipe Tips: I find half moon shapes are simpler and work better in the fryer than a whole circle shape. Half moons flip easier in the fryer and cook more evenly. If you are really good with frying pies, then go for more fun shapes like hearts, stars, etc. *You don't need a deep fryer to fry pies. You can use vegetable oil in a skillet or pot just make sure it's heated to approximately 375. Get the oil too hot-the pie cooks too fast, temp too low and it gets soggy instead of crisp and flaky.

*If for some reason you don't want fried pie, simply prepare as above, scoring the top of the pie dough and bake at 350 till golden brown. I'm southern so I like 'em fried!