Showing posts with label apple fried pies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label apple fried pies. Show all posts

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Fried Apple Pies with Salted Caramel Glaze on Design Sponge!

Nothing in the House on Design Sponge

Last month Elizabeth and I were *thrilled* to have an illustrated recipe featured on Design Sponge! The recipe, for Fried Apple Pies with Salted Caramel Glaze is the also the October recipe in our PIE. A Hand Drawn Almanac (Still available on Etsy and in various DC shops!). Elizabeth did these awesome additional illustrations specifically for the piece. They detail the recipe, and can be embiggened by clicking on them. You can also follow the written recipe below for these treats, which is a decadent amalgamation of the Nothing-in-the-House Apple Pie with Salted Caramel Glaze and Apple Fried Pies.

Fried Apple Pies with Salted Caramel Glaze on Design Sponge Illustrated by Elizabeth Graeber
Fried Apple Pies with Salted Caramel Glaze on Design Sponge | Nothing in the House
 Fried Apple Pies with Salted Caramel Glaze on Design Sponge | Nothing in the House

Fried Apple Pies with Salted Caramel Glaze
Ingredients
For crust:
2 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 Tblsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
3/4 c. cold vegetable shortening, cut into pieces
1 egg, beaten
6-8 Tblsp. cold water

For filling:
5 c. tart baking apples, peeled, cored and cut into small chunks
2 Tblsp. fresh lemon juice
1/2 c. white sugar
1/4 c. light brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 c. cornstarch
For salty caramel glaze:
1/2 c. sugar
1/8 c. water
1/8 c. light corn syrup
1/2 c. heavy cream
2 Tblsp. unsalted butter
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
About 2 c. canola oil for frying 

Directions
For crust:
1. Add flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to mix. Add the shortening and cut into the flour mixture by pulsing the food processor until  mixture becomes the consistency of cornmeal and peas. 
2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together egg and 6 Tblsp. of cold water. Slowly drizzle half of the liquid mixture into the food processor, pulsing to combine with flour. Slowly drizzle in the rest of the liquid, stopping when the dough starts to form large clumps. 
3. Once the dough is able to come together, form into a ball and remove from the food processor. Wrap in plastic wrap and let it chill in the fridge for at least one hour.

For filling:
1. In a large bowl, mix the apples and lemon juice and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients and add to the apples. Mix together with a wooden spoon until the apples are well-coated.

To assemble and fry:
1. Here you make make the glaze (directions below), or chose to make it after the pies are fried. Remove pie dough from the fridge and roll out onto a lightly flour-dusted surface about 1/4 inch thick. Using a 5-5 1/2 in circle cutter (I used the top of a large jar), cut circles out of the dough. 

2. Before completely assembling all the pies, pour at least 2 cups of canola oil (or 4 inches deep) into a deep and heavy saucepan. Insert a candy thermometer into the oil. Slowly heat on medium-low until the temperature reads 350 degrees F.

3. Place about 2 Tblsp. of the apple filling in the center of each circle (It is better to under-stuff than over-stuff). Moisten the edge of the pastry circle with your finger, then fold over the dough to form a half moon shape. Press the edges together and flute with a fork to seal completely.

4. At this point your oil should be hot enough to fry. When the oil temperature reaches 350 degrees, gently lower one pie at a time into the heated oil and cook until golden brown (about 2 minutes per side).  Using a slotted spatula, transfer to a paper-towel lined plate. Repeat with the remaining pies.

5. When all pies are fried, let them cool slightly while you make the glaze (You could also chose to do this before you start frying the pies). 

For salty caramel glaze:
1. In a small pot, bring cream, butter, and sea salt to a simmer over low heat, making sure to not let it boil. Once it begins to simmer, remove from heat and set aside.

2. In a medium saucepan, mix water, corn syrup and sugar. Place over medium heat and stir until sugar has dissolved. Then without stirring, bring the mixture to a boil until it is golden brown in color. Make sure to keep an eye on it as this transition can happen quickly.

3. When the mixture is done, remove from heat and carefully add the cream mixture (it will bubble up so pour it slowly). Stir in the vanilla.

4. Return the saucepan to the stove and cook over medium heat until it reaches a temperature of 248 degrees (you’ll need a candy thermometer for this), approximately 10 minutes. Once it reaches 248, remove from heat and let cool just slightly.

5. When your pies are fried„ use a spoon to drizzle caramel glaze over one side. Let cool until the caramel begins to harden and serve while pies are warm.

Related recipes:
Apple Pie with Salted Caramel Glaze
Floriole's Milk Chocolate & Salted Caramel Hazelnut Tart
Salted Butter Apple Galette

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Apple Fried Pies

It's been a few years since my first fried pie making experience. I've eaten fried pies since then--most recently I had a DELICIOUS one filled with bacon, apple, gruyere and walnut, made by my friend Dale in Knoxville. But despite their relative ease in assembly paired with a whole lotta tastiness in a little portable pocket, I haven't dipped any fruit-filled pastry into hot oil since that 2009 Baltimore winter cook-out. 


I knew it was time, though, when Tarts by Tarts was preparing a Southern-inspired menu for our table at the DC Square Dance. Fried pies are iconically Southern, with Texas and Georgia being cited as epicenters in several of the recipes I consulted. They are also a self-contained individual serving (you could share, but I'd want my own), portable (slip it in your pocket and snack when you're not swingin'!), and impressively scrumptious. I mean you take already one of the best desserts in the world and then FRY it?! Wowee.

This time I combined recipes from Ken Haedrich's Pie: 300 Tried and True Recipes for Delicious Homemade Pie and Nancie McDermott's Southern Pies. Both called for a vegetable shortening-based crust, as did many of the other recipes I saw on the interwebs. Homesick Texan calls for lard, which I'm sure is just perfect, but I didn't have any on hand and was baking for customers, so wanted to keep the pies vegetarian. I cringe a little at the use of vegetable shortening in crust, but I was worried about a butter crust holding up and being able to withstand frying temperatures. I have since seen some fried pie recipes that use a butter crust, so I'd like to try that next time.

I also used dried fruit, which many fried pie recipes call for, because it packs a lot of flavor into a small area. This worked well with the apples, and I didn't miss using fresh ones, though I will definitely be making these Homesick Texan fried pies with fresh blueberries come summer.


Apple Fried Pies

Ingredients
For crust:
2 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 Tblsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
3/4 c. cold vegetable shortening, cut into pieces
1 egg, beaten
6-8 Tblsp. cold water

For filling:
10 ounces (about 3 cups) dried apple rings
1/2 c. orange juice
3/4 c. granulated sugar
1 Tblsp. fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg

About 2 c. canola oil for frying 

Directions
For crust:
1. Add flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to mix. Add the shortening and cut into the flour mixture by pulsing the food processor until  mixture becomes the consistency of cornmeal and peas. 
2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together egg and 6 Tblsp. of cold water. Slowly drizzle half of the liquid mixture into the food processor, pulsing to combine with flour. Slowly drizzle in the rest of the liquid, stopping when the dough starts to form large clumps. 
3. Once the dough is able to come together, form into a ball and remove from the food processor. Wrap in plastic wrap and let it chill in the fridge for at least one hour.

For filling:
1. Place dried apples in a large bowl. Add 6 cups of cold water. Cover and set aside at room temperature for 4 hours or overnight to allow apples to rehydrate. (I let them sit overnight).
2. Put the soaked apples and water into a large stock pot. Add orange juice, sugar, lemon, cinnamon and nutmeg and stir until combined. Over high heat, bring mixture to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low to maintain a simmer. Stir occasionally so the mixture does not burn on the bottom. Cook until the mixture becomes a thick syrup and the apples have slightly broken down (this takes about 45 minutes). Remove from heat and mash with a potato masher for a soft and syrupy but still chunky filling. Let cool.

To assemble and fry:
1. Remove pie dough from the fridge and roll out onto a lightly flour-dusted surface about 1/4 inch thick. Using a 5-5 1/2 in circle cutter (I used the top of a large jar), cut circles out of the dough. 
2. Before completely assembling the pies, pour at least 2 cups of canola oil (or 4 inches deep) into a deep and heavy saucepan. Insert a candy thermometer into the oil. Slowly heat on medium-low until the temperature reads 350 degrees F.
3. Place about 2 Tblsp. of the apple filling in the center of each circle (It is better to under-stuff than over-stuff). Moisten the edge of the pastry circle with your finger, then fold over the dough to form a half moon shape. Press the edges together and flute with a fork to seal completely.
4. At this point your oil should be hot enough to fry. When the oil temperature reaches 350 degrees, gently lower one pie at a time into the heated oil and cook until golden brown (about 2 minutes per side).  Using a slotted spatula, transfer to a paper-towel lined plate. Repeat with the remaining pies.
5. When all pies are fried, dust them with powdered sugar. Serving them hot and fresh is preferable, but they also taste great at room temperature and will keep for a day or two. 


There's something so good and so classic about these pies that it makes them hard to write about as the pertinent adjectives feel trite or overwrought. I'd also say that unlike other fried foods, these pies still taste great after a day or two, at room temperature or re-heated in the oven. I also ended up using the leftover filling with some leftover pie crust and baking a few extra hand pies a few days later. I still have some filling a-chilling in the fridge and was thinking of stuffing them into doughnuts...?

And don't be intimidated by the frying process (I definitely was at first!)--these pies are quite forgiving, and as long as you use a thermometer to keep your oil around 350 degrees F, you should be just fine. 

Tuesday, March 06, 2012

Swing Your Tartner!

I love square dancing. I actually grew up doing more contra dancing (which I also enjoy) --my parents would take my brother and I to them when we were little, and once we even had one in my dad's studio behind our house. I remember sneaking up to my bedroom to put on a dress so I could "twirl" like the big girls. I have since contra danced in Michigan and Maine, Maryland and Vermont, but when I moved to North Carolina a couple of years ago, I veered more toward square dancing than contra, and when I moved back to DC in June, I was super excited to find a burgeoning square dance here, organized by the DC Square Dance Collective. One year after the first event, the dance has now has turned into quite a phenomenon, as the largest square dance in the country, and a huge all-ages party on a Saturday night.


I can't remember who approached who, but somehow with the organizers we arranged for Tarts by Tarts to sell at the March dance, which happened this past Saturday at St. Stephen's church. And what a dance to pick! It was a completely packed hall, with the Horse Flies playing, Nils Fredland calling, the first anniversary of the DC dance, and 435 people who came out to swing and do-si-do and do (as my friend Jamie calls it) that grand ol' right and left! 


For the occasion, Kari and I decided to dish up some Southern-inspired treats for all the ladies and gents. Here's our March square dance menu:

buttermilk cake doughnuts with cinnamon & sugar
sweet potato doughnuts with molasses glaze
assorted doughnut holes
chocolate chip cookies
salted oat cookies with white chocolate
caramel corn
popcorn with sea-salt, dill, and nutritional yeast (vegan)
apple fried pies
pecan-bourbon pie by the slice with whipped cream
almond flour coconut layer cake by the slice (gluten-free)



I'll be tellin' y'all more about the fried apple pies in a separate post, but I'd like to share the recipe for the pecan-bourbon pies, as it is corn-syrup free but still tastes "traditional"! Once again this comes from Nancie McDermott's Southern Pies. I'm going to have to take a break from her recipes soon or she might think I am stalking her! In any case, here it is...

Pecan-Bourbon Pie

Makes one 9-inch pie

Ingredients:
1 lb. (2 c.) dark brown sugar
3 Tblsp. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 c. milk
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. bourbon, optional (I used Bulleit)
1 1/2 c. pecan halves

Directions:
1. Prepare Nothing-in-the-house pie crust recipe as per the instructions. After chilling in the fridge, roll out crust and fit in a 9-inch greased and floured pie pan. Flute edges. 

2. In a medium saucepan, mix sugar and flour well. Cut butter into 4 chunks and add to the saucepan. Place over medium heat and stir constantly to combine butter with the sugar and flour mixture. Once butter is melted and all is well combined, remove from hear and set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, mix milk, eggs, vanilla and bourbon, if using. Stir well with a whisk until evenly combined. While stirring, slowly pour the warm sugar mixture into the milk-liquid mixture. Stir until well combined. Pour the filling into the pie crust and sprinkle the pecans evenly over the top.

4. Place the pie on the bottom rack of the oven and bake 40-50 minutes until the filling puffs (mine puffed quite a bit!) and center is firm and only slightly wiggles when nudged. It should be nicely browned and may develop "cracks". Once done, remove from oven and let cool on a cooling rack for at least 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature with a healthy dollop of whipped cream.



We had such fun meeting all the happy dancers...the only drawback was that it was so hard to just watch and not join in on the swingin'! I did manage to sneak out for a dance or two, while Kari graciously woman-ed the table. Thanks to all who came out and snagged some of our cookies & doughnuts, pies & cake, entertained us with stories of wild parties and the salty days in the Coast Guard (you know who you are, dance ranger!), helped us move the table to the front of the hall at the end of the night, and to organizer Bradley Kennedy for helping us set-up the whole occasion! Belles of the ball, all of y'all.

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