Amish Fried Pie Recipe: A Step-by-Step Guide to Homemade Delight - The How-To Home (2024)

Amish fried pies are a wonderful tradition withinAmish communities. These hand-held desserts are made with ahomemade doughand afruit filling. The dough is fried untilgolden brown, resulting in a pie with a crispy exterior and a warm, soft interior. They're pretty much a pocket of heaven!

Amishfried pieis typically made from scratch with ingredients like flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and shortening resulting in a tastyflaky pie crust. Once thedeep fryprocess is completed theselittle piesare often finished with apowdered sugar glazethat adds a layer of sweetness to the pastry. You can also sprinkle them with powdered sugar alone. Sometimes, I prefer the sprinkle rather than the glaze. It makes me feel as though I'm not being quite so decadent...which is totally not true.

Thesedelicious Amish fry piesexemplify comfort food and without being too obvious they are so much better thancommercial fry pies. You know the ones sold in boxes at convenience stores.....I can't even look at those anymore when I know how much more delicious these littleAmish countrypeach piesare.

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My Favorite Little Peach Pies

Peach pies are one of my favorite fruit pies. I've made them in the past - always a traditional type of peach pie - but this time I decided to try something different - peach hand pies. These are theperfect size for a treat or dessert, they're fun and so easy to make and they taste just as good the next day!

If peaches are your thing, you may like this 3 ingredient Cake Mix Peach Cobbler or these delicious Grilled Peaches with Fresh Berry Sauce!

I Stink at Making Pie Crust

My oldest son helped me with the dough and this is a great way to get your kids in the kitchen. He enjoyed the process and we loved the end result plus, he saw me struggling, I stink at making homemade pie crust, and I was thankful for his help but do NOT be intimidated. You can easily substitute Pillsbury Pie Crust or any ready-made pie crust to save time and frustration!

I made these a few weeks ago for a Sunday after-dinner dessert and my family wants them again. I think with fall coming I'll try these with an apple pie filling and maybe even pumpkin pie filling.

Preparing the Dough

The dough is the foundation of any pie and it's essential to achieve a balance between flakiness and sturdiness to support the filling.

Ingredients:

• all-purpose flour
• table salt
• cold shortening
• egg
• ice water
• white vinegar

Food Processor Method:

Combine flour and salt in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a food processor. Next, add the shortening and pulse until a crumbly texture is achieved. Combine the egg, 4 tablespoons ice water and vinegar and add this mixture to the food processor and process until the dough forms into a ball and pulls away from the sides of your container. Add more water if necessary.

Remove dough from the processor and shape into a disk or dough ball. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator at least one hour. I made mine a day ahead to save time and it was perfect.

Manual Method - Mixing Dry Ingredients

Begin by sieving together the coreFlour Mixture— typically all-purpose flour and salt in alarge bowl. This not only combines these ingredients uniformly but also helps to aerate the flour, which contributes to the flakiness of the dough.

Incorporating Fat

Use apastry cutter to cut cold shortening into the dry flour-salt mixture until pea-sized crumbles form. This method ensures that the shortening is evenly distributed throughout the flour, a critical step for a tenderpie dough.

Adding Liquids

Separately,whisk the egg with the ice water and vinegar. This liquid is gradually introduced to the flour and shortening mixture, mixing to ensure the dough comes together without overworking.

FormingDough Balls

Once the dough reaches a crumbly yet cohesive texture, it's turned onto a surface and shaped into a disc or a dough ball. The dough should be wrapped in Saran Wrap or placed in a plastic bagand allowed to chill in the refrigerator, which makes the fat solidify, leading to a flakier crust when baked or fried. After chilling for at least one hour the dough disc or ball is then rolled out, ready to be filled with either your own pie filling or your favorite store bought. My favorite is Lucky Leaf pie filling. I buy mine at Walmart but they probably carry it at your local grocery store.

Peach Pie Filling:

• peeled and chopped fresh peach (approximately 1 medium peach)
• granulated sugar
• brown sugar
• cornstarch
• butter
• lemon juice
• ground cinnamon
• Vegetable oil for frying
• Powdered sugar

See recipe card for quantities.

Stir together the chopped fresh peach, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cornstarch, butter, lemon juice and ground cinnamon in a medium saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil stirring constantly and boil (still stirring) for one minute or until thickened.

Remove from heat and allow to cool completely before moving on to the next step.

Shaping Small Pies

To begin shaping the smallhand pies, dust arolling pinand flat surface with flour to prevent sticking. The dough needs to be rolled out to an even thickness, between ⅛ to ¼ inch thickness, before cutting out rounds using asmall bowlas a guide.

• Roll dough to even thickness with arolling pin
• Cut out rounds with asmall bowl or cookie cutter
• Fold intoAmish half-moon pies

Once you have your mini pies cut spoon 1 tablespoon of the cooled peach mixture into the center of each pastry circle. Moisten edges with water, fold pastry in half and use a fork dipped in flour to seal the edges.

Heating Oil toMedium Heat

Pour enough oil(usually about 2 - 3 inches deep) into afrying panor Dutch oven and heat to 375° (medium heat).

Deep Frying toGolden Brown

Once the oil has reached the correct temperature, carefully place the pies into thefrying panusing aslotted spoon. They should be cooked in batches to avoid overcrowding and ensure even cooking. Fry each pie until they achieve agolden browncoloration, which typically takes 3 to 4 minutes per side.

• Use aslotted spoonto carefully place pies in oil
• Fry until pies aregolden brown, a few minutes per side

Draining onPaper Towel

After frying, the pies need to be immediately removed from the oil and drained on paper towels. This step is crucial to remove excess oil and maintain the pies' desired crispness. For best results, the pies can then be transferred towire racksto cool completely without becoming soggy.

• Remove pies withslotted spoon
• Drain excess oil onpaper towel
• Optional: Cool onwire racksfor crispness

Finishing Touches

Once theAmish fried pieshave been cooked to perfection, it’s crucial to give them the final enhancements that elevate their taste and ensure proper preservation. Thesweet glazeadds a luscious shine and flavor, while proper cooling and storing maintain the pies' texture and extend their lifespan.

If you would prefer, you can simply sprinkle powdered sugar atop the cooled pies.

ApplyingSweet Glaze

To bestow the pies with a signature sweetness, aSweet Vanilla-Flavored Glazeis essential. This glaze is typically a mixture of confectioners' sugar, milk, andvanilla extract. After the pies are slightly cooled and just warm to the touch, one utilizes aPastry Brushto apply evenCoats of Glaze. Ensuring the pies aren't too hot is key, as the glaze could melt away or become too thin.

• Ingredients for Glaze:
  • 1 cup confectioners' sugar
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • ½ teaspoonvanilla extract
• Method:
  1. Whisk together the confectioners' sugar, milk, andvanilla extractin a bowl until smooth.
  2. Brush the glaze over the warm pies, coating them evenly.

Cooling and Storing

After glazing, the pies should be transferred to aCooling Rackto allow air to circulate, which helps prevent sogginess on the bottom. They need to rest until completely cool to touch before storing to ensure theSweet Glazesets properly, creating a delightful texture contrast to the flaky crust.

For storing:

• Place the pies in anAirtight Container.
• Separate layers with parchment paper to retain the coating and shape.

If stored atroom temperature, consume within 1-2 days. For longer preservation, refrigerate for up to one week.

📖 Recipe

Peach Pie Filling - Part Two of Peach Pie Pocket Recipe

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