Fried Peach Pie

5 from 3 votes

Homemade fried peach pies bring all of the flavor and nostalgia to your home kitchen. Fresh peaches doused in warm spices get folded into flaky pie crust, deep fried, and covered in a cinnamon glaze. They're the peach hand pies of dreams and will leave you going back for bite after bite!

Prep Time30

Cook Time15

Cool time30

Total Time1 15

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: American

Servings: pies

Calories: 916kcal

Author: Callan Wenner

Equipment

Food processor or pastry cutter
Rolling Pin
Paring knife
Bowl or lid to cut out dough rounds
Oil thermometer
Wire rack
Paper towels
Spider, slotted spoon, slotted spatula metal

Ingredients

Pie Dough

3¼ cups all-purpose flour 390g
1 cup + 6 tablespoons unsalted butter cold (311g)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
⅔ cup ice water 5.3 fl oz

Peach Pie Filling

5 peaches peeled and diced into 1cm pieces
½ cup light brown sugar 100g
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cardamom optional
2 tablespoons cornstarch
½ cup water 4 fl oz
2 teaspoons vanilla paste or extract

Frying & Glaze

48 fl oz vegetable oil
2 cups powdered sugar 240g
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼-½ cup water

Instructions

Pie Crust

Cut the cold butter into ½” cubes and place in the freezer for about 15 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients.
In a bowl, add about a cup of water and a handful of ice cubes and set aside. Add the flour and salt to a food processor and pulse once to incorporate the salt.
Disperse the cold butter cubes around the flour in the food processor, then pulse the mixture until the butter reaches pea-sized pieces and looks slightly textured, almost like wet sand.
Measure out ⅔ cup ice cold water (sans ice cubes) and drizzle about half of it around the bowl. Continue pulsing until the dough just starts to form crumbles, adding more water as needed.
The dough will easily press together in between your fingers, but should not feel wet. Remove the dough, separate into two even pieces, then wrap separately in plastic wrap and flatten into a 1” thick disc.
Place in the fridge for 1-2 hours until firm and hydrated. Freeze the other disc of dough if not using (after the chill time).

Peach Pie Filling

Peel, pit, and dice the peaches into 1 cm pieces. Then, add them to a large pan with the sugar, cinnamon, and cardamom. Cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves and the peach juices being to release.
Mix together the cornstarch and cold water, then add to the peaches and stir immediately, continuing stirring until thickened. Add the vanilla at the end. A rubber spatula dragged across the pan will leave a clean streak.
Remove the peaches from the pan and cool completely at room temperature or in the fridge.

Assembly

Lightly flour your rolling pin and work surface, then roll out the dough, turning a quarter turn every few rolls to keep it round and even. Roll the dough until it’s about ⅛” thick.
Use a 6" bowl and the tip of a paring knife to cut out as many rounds as possible. Stack the scraps on top of each other, then roll out the dough again and repeat until there are 6 rounds of dough.
Scoop out ⅓-½ cup of peach pie filling and add to the center of each piece of dough.
Pull the sides up, then lift the entire pie so the filling is toward the bottom and press the edges together at the top into a half moon. Remove as much air as possible.
Place the half moon on the counter and use your fingers to firmly press the dough together. Use the tines of a fork to press the dough together for a second time all around the edges.
Add the hand pies to a sheet pan with parchment paper and refrigerate while you prepare the oil and frying station.

Frying & Glazing

Add the oil to a large heavy bottomed pot and place it over medium heat until it reaches a steady 350-375℉.
Carefully lower 1-3 hand pies into the hot oil and fry for 6-9 minutes until deeply golden brown. Use a spider or metal slotted spoon to remove the pies to paper towels.
Transfer the pies to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cool, mix together the powdered sugar, cinnamon, and water until a relatively runny glaze forms. Start with the lowest amount of water and add more as needed.
Add a hand pie to the glaze, turn it over, and use two forks to lift it and allow the glaze to fall. Place back on to the wire rack.
Once the glaze has set and hardened, bite in and enjoy!

Notes

Store the hand pies at room temperature for 2-3 days. Enjoy at room temperature.

Reheating: only reheat unglazed hand pies. Add them to a preheated 350℉ oven for 5-10 minutes until hot and crispy, then cool and glaze.

Freezing: flash freeze un-fried hand pies on a sheet pan for 30 minutes, then transfer to a zip-top bag or airtight container and freeze for up to three months. Fry directly from frozen. Note that you may need to increase fry time.

Alternatively, freeze the fried hand pies (prior to adding glaze) in a zip-top bag for two to three months. Reheat in a preheated 350℉ oven for 10 minutes until hot and crispy, then cool and glaze.

Tips:

Prepare the dough and peach filling a day in advance, or at least 2 hours prior to assembly.
Remove as much air as possible from the hand pies when folding them together.
Trim off the tiniest bit of edges after crimping for clean-looking half moons.
check the oil temperature during frying, and especially between batches to ensure the correct temperature. Keep it between 350-375℉ at all times, adjusting the heat as necessary.
Allow the hand pies to cool completely at room temperature before glazing for best results. About 30 minutes.

Nutrition