Follow our complete, step-by-step, instructions to learn how easy it is to make these old fashioned Southern Peach Hand Pies. Just like Mama and Grandma use to make.
Old fashioned Fried Peach Hand Pies, just like Mama and Grandma use to make.
I know I’m in a genuine old country store when I see Fried Hand Pies next to the register. Most of the time, they are Fried Apple Hand Pies, but during certain times of the year, you might also be lucky enough to find a good Fried Peach Pie.
They’re usually wrapped in clear plastic, and more than likely, someone made them at their home. At least the really good ones are made at home.
Nearby, you’ll probably also find a small piece of Hoop Cheese also wrapped in clear plastic, with a pack of saltine crackers right beside of them. The drink box filled with cold soda’s is right around the corner as well.
There have been very few times that I’ve seen one or the other of these fried hand pies and not purchased it. They just bring back so many great memories for me that I about have to purchase one. I can’t seem to help it. Smile.
Growing up, my Daddy made Applejacks – Fried Apple Hand Pies. I always enjoyed watching him fry them in the big cast iron skillet and loved it when he said they were cool enough that I could have one. He made them bigger than most folks, but boy were they ever good.
After I posted the recipe for the apple hand pies, I had numerous folks ask me about doing one for peaches. The process is pretty much the same, but I’m happy to do it again – just for the peach lovers amongst us.
Dried peaches are pretty much available in the grocery stores these days. Large dehydrators are used in this day and time to dry them. In the old days, you’d find slices of peaches placed out on a tin roof with some cheesecloth over the top to keep the bugs away. The peaches were dried directly in the sunlight back then. It was a way to preserve them for use throughout the winter after fresh one’s were long gone.
Do you have any memories of Fried Peach Hand Pies? I’d love to hear about them in the Comment section below.
And, if you’re ready to give our recipe a try, let’s head on out to the kitchen, and… Let’s Get Cooking!
Southern Fried Peach Hand Pies – You’ll need these ingredients.
You’ll also need some oil for frying.
These are my dried peaches. I’m only using about half of the package that I had. It said it was 14 ounces, but you will only need about 6-8 ounces to make about 8 hand pies.
Dried peaches can be found in your grocery store, probably around where you’d find the raisins and other dried fruit.
Place the dried peaches in a bowl and cover them with cold water.
I like to let them set out overnight so they can re-hydrate.
This was what they looked like the next morning. You can compare the photos to see how much they have swollen back up.
I used a slotted spoon to transfer the peaches to this medium sized sauce pot. Then, I added cold water just to where it about covered them again.
Place this over Medium heat on your stove top. Bring to a boil, REDUCE heat and simmer for about 20-25 minutes.
While the peaches are cooking, let’s get started on making the dough.
Sift 3 cups of Self-Rising Flour into a large mixing bowl.
This is my Mama’s old sifter. I love it and still use it often. I placed that yellow bag in the photo so you could see it as well. The bag is from a T-shirt shop that my wife and I had back in the early 80’s. Our store colors were bright yellow and green. I keep my sifter in this plastic bag when it’s not in use. This old bag is about 37 years old. Smile.
Add about 1/3rd cup of Lard or shortening. I prefer Lard, but use what you have.
Use your hand to mix the lard into the flour. I pick up small bits of the lard and rub it between my fingers until I have it all mixed into the flour. Your hand helps you to know when the lard is in fine pieces so never be afraid to get your hands a bit dirty while you’re cooking. They’re your best tools.
Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the flour mixture. Give it another quick stir to mix the salt in well.
Make a small well in the center of the bowl. Add about 1/2 cup of the milk.
For the record: A small can of Evaporated Milk is all I had on hand. You can use regular milk if you have that, preferably whole milk and not skim milk.
The can I had was about 2/3rds of a cup. I poured it in my measuring cup and added enough water to bring it up to one full cup of milk.
Add the milk gradually. You may not need a full cup, and you may need a bit more.
Grab a fork and start in the very middle of the milk. Stir the milk around and gradually pull flour in from the sides of the bowl as you go. Keep adding milk as needed until you end up with a slightly tacky dough.
Let the dough tell you how much flour it needs as you mix it. You may need to add a bit more milk to work all of the flour into the dough ball. Set this aside for now.
I used the side of my large spoon to chop up the peaches while they cooked. I would stir them about every 5 minutes while they cooked and chopped them into small pieces. They were so tender it was easy to do.
Drain off as much of the liquid as you can, then place the cooked peaches in a medium size mixing bowl.
Add about 3 Tablespoons of Butter.
Add 1/2 cup of Granulated Sugar.
Add 1/2 teaspoon of Cinnamon.
Add 1 teaspoon of Lemon Juice. I use the bottled juice most of the time. Fresh lemons are kind of expensive in my neck of the woods. Smile.
Stir the peach mixture well, then taste it to see if you think it needs more sugar or cinnamon. Adjust it to your personal taste.
I added about another Tablespoon of sugar to mine. I didn’t want to over power the peaches with too much sugar or cinnamon, but then, that’s just me. Set this aside and let it cool a bit while we continue with the dough.
Generously flour your counter top or board. Then, turn the ball of dough out onto the board. Sprinkle a bit of flour on top of the dough ball.
Fold and work the dough a couple of times, adding a bit more flour as needed, until it’s nice and smooth. Don’t overwork it. This should only take a few turns, then shape it into a log like this.
Cut the log in half, then cut each half again. Cut those pieces one more time so that you end up with 8 pieces of dough. Each piece will be larger than a golf ball, but not as big as a tennis ball by any means.
I rolled each piece of dough in between the palms of my hands to make a small round ball of dough. Then, I flattened the ball like I would do making biscuits.
Place the ball of dough on your floured board or counter top, then roll it out until it’s about 1/8th to 1/4 of an inch thick. Roll the dough in one direction with your rolling pin, turn it, and roll it out the other way until it’s in an oval type shape.
Place a Tablespoon or a bit more of the peach filling on the rolled out ball of dough. Place it just to one side of the center line of your dough instead of right in the middle.
Lift up the end of the dough and gently fold it over the top of the filling. Try not to press down on it so you don’t squeeze the filling out.
Use your fingers to press the edges of the dough together to seal the edges. Then, take the back side of a fork and press it into the edges of the dough all around the outer edge. Press it good so you seal the filling inside.
Repeat the process until you have all of the hand pies completed. No two will look alike, but hey, that just says they are homemade, right? Naturally the bigger your dough ball, the bigger your hand pie will be. Experiment with it until you find what works best for you.
Now, let’s get ready to fry them.
Place a skillet over Medium heat on your stove top. When the pan gets hot, add oil to about 1/2 inch in depth in the pan. Let this come up to about 350F degrees before you add the hand pie.
When the oil is hot, gently place a couple of hand pies into the hot oil. Let them cook until you start to see the bottom edge beginning to turn brown.
These were cooking fast, and I almost burned them before I could get my camera and tripod into position to take the photo.
Carefully flip the pie over and let the other side brown for a minute or so. Watch them carefully. The filling is cooked of course so we’re just trying to fry the dough. Since they are touching the bottom of the skillet instead of just floating in oil, you can expect to see some darker spots. Just don’t’ let them burn while you fry them.
When both sides are done, use a spatula and remove the pies from the hot oil. Place them on a wire rack to cool.
If desired, you could sprinkle them with some granulated sugar when they come out of the pan. Or, you can sprinkle them with confectioners sugar once they cool. It’s not needed, but your option. Make them your own. Smile.
The self-rising flour will puff up or rise a bit as they cook. Just saying.
Enjoy!
You can serve them warm, or cold. Your choice.
