Fried Chocolate Cherry Hand Pies Recipes

HAND PIES RECIPE

Steps:

• Place flour, salt, and cold butter pieces into the bowl of your stand mixer and blend on low until mixture resembles coarse sand.
• Add in your egg and just enough water to bring the mixture together
• Press into a disk and wrap with plastic wrap. Chill for one hour.
• Prepare your fresh fruit by chopping into small cubes (if needed) or use frozen fruit. No need to defrost.
• Place your fruit and butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until the butter is melted and bubbling.
• Add in your water (or juice), sugar, lemon juice, and salt and mix until combined. Bring to a simmer.
• Combine your ClearGel with your water and whisk to make a slurry. Pour into your simmering mixture and mix for 1-2 minutes to cook the gel. If you're using cornstarch, you only need to cook until it's clear.
• Remove from the heat and let the mixture cool.
• Preheat your oven to 400ºF and line a large sheet pan with parchment paper
• Let your dough stand at room temperature for 15 minutes to let it soften a bit
• Dust your surface with flour. Begin by pressing your dough with your rolling pin to start flattening it.
• Roll your dough out to 1/8 thick or about the thickness of a cake board. Thinner than you think. Thinner dough results in a crisper, crunchier crust for your hand pies.
• Cut your dough into 6" circles. I used a 6" cake board as a template or you can use a 5" circle cutter if you want smaller hand pies.
• Fill your 6" hand pie with 3 tablespoons of fruit filling (5" circles take 1 heaping Tablespoon). Do not overfill.
• Brush the outside edge with egg wash (one egg whisked with 1 tablespoon of cold water)
• Fold the hand pie over and crimp with a fork to seal well
• Use a knife or fork to make some vents on top
• Brush the hand pies with more egg wash and place them onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Chill for 20 minutes.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes. They should be golden brown and the filling will just be starting to bubble.
• Let your hand pies cool for 10 minutes.
• While your hand pies are cooling, make your glaze. Just whisk the powdered sugar and lemon juice together until smooth.
• Use a pastry brush to brush the thin glaze over the hand pies and enjoy!
• These hand pies taste best the day they are baked but will last for three days in an airtight container in the fridge or frozen for up to 2 months.

CHERRY HAND PIES

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, whisk 4 tablespoons water, sugar, brandy, cornstarch, lemon juice, tapioca, lemon zest and salt until combined. Add cherries. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until thickened, 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat. Set aside to cool., Preheat oven to 400°. On a lightly floured surface, roll half the dough to a 14x9-in. rectangle. Cut out eight 3-1/2 x 4-1/2-in. rectangles. Repeat with remaining dough. , Transfer 8 rectangles to parchment-lined baking sheets; spoon about 3 tablespoons cherry mixture in center of each. Whisk egg and remaining 2 tablespoons water. Brush edges of crust with egg wash. Top with remaining 8 rectangles; press edges with a fork to seal. Brush tops with egg wash; cut slits in tops., Bake until crust is golden brown and slightly puffed, 25-30 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool. Combine confectioners' sugar, hot water, melted butter, extracts and salt; drizzle over pies. Garnish with freeze-dried strawberries if desired. Let stand until set.

DEEP-FRIED CHERRY PIES

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in water just until moistened. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead 8-10 times. , Divide dough into four portions; roll each into an 8-in. circle. Place 1/4 cup of pie filling in the center of each circle. Fold dough over filling; secure with toothpicks. , In an electric skillet or deep fat-fryer, heat 1 in. of oil to 375°. Fry pies, folded side down, in oil for 2-3 minutes or until lightly browned. Turn and fry 2-3 minutes longer. Drain on paper towels. Remove toothpicks. Serve with syrup and whipped topping.

FRIED CHOCOLATE-CHERRY HAND PIES

Steps:

• For the pie dough: Pulse the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder and salt in a food processor until combined. Add the butter and shortening and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Drizzle in 6 tablespoons ice water and pulse until the dough starts coming together, adding 1 tablespoon of ice water if needed.
• Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap and lightly knead to bring together. The dough might be a little crumbly, but it will hydrate as it chills and comes together. Form into a disk, wrap in the plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 1 1/2 hours. It should feel like very firm modeling clay.
• For the filling: Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the cherries and sprinkle with the sugar, cornstarch and salt and stir to combine. Cook, stirring constantly, until some of the cherries begin to break down and a jelly-like film begins to form at the bottom of the pan, 4 to 5 minutes. Use the back of a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to smash half of the cherries against the side of the pan. Remove from the heat and stir in the sour cherry jam and almond extract, if using. Transfer the filling to a medium bowl and let cool at room temperature for 15 minutes. Then transfer to the refrigerator until fully chilled, about 1 hour. Fold in the chocolate chips once chilled.
• To assemble and fry: Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide into 8 even pieces, then roll each piece into a ball. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out each ball into a 6 1/2-inch round. If the dough starts to crack in places as you roll it out, pinch and press it together with your fingers and re-roll until the dough is smooth again. Stack the rounds between pieces of parchment paper and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let sit for 5 minutes. Beat the egg in a small bowl with 1 tablespoon of water.
• Heat 1 inch of vegetable oil in a Dutch oven or deep high-sided skillet until a deep-fry thermometer registers 375 degrees F.
• Scoop about 3 tablespoons of the cherry filling into the center of each dough round. Brush the edge on one side of the dough round with some egg wash and fold the dough over to make a half-moon shape. Press out the air and seal the edges with your fingers. Use a knife to trim any of the rough edges away, leaving 1/2 inch of the dough around the filling. Crimp the edges with a fork. Keep the formed hand pies on their individual pieces of parchment as you form them to make them easier to handle when adding to the hot oil.
• One at a time, peel away the parchment paper and add 4 of the pies to the hot oil, turning once, until the dough is bubbling in spots and crispy, about 4 minutes. Transfer the pies to a wire rack set over a baking sheet and immediately sprinkle generously on all sides with sugar.
• Repeat with the remaining pies. Allow the pies to cool for 10 minutes, then serve warm.