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Southern fried pies are a delicious treat. Filled with fruit and a crispy crust, this heirloom fried pies recipe is a treasure.
It was always a special day when Grandmother Verdie made her southern fried pies. She’d have them filled with apples or peaches and sometimes pears cooked to the perfect balance of sweet and tartness.
She knew they were one of my very favorite things she made and would call our house to let us know she was about to make fresh pies and to see if my sister and I wanted to come help her. And of course we did. Helping Grandmother to make her pies meant we were the first people to get to test them to make sure they were right. She would place a hot fried pie on a plate, cut it in half, give us a glass of milk each and ask us to let her know if it tasted alright. They always did.
When I married, Grandmother gave me a notebook filled with her recipes that she’d written down for me. I could tell by the writing how it must have pained her to write them with her arthritis, but never the less, she’d included all of my favorites.
My mother stayed with us some over the holidays and we spent a little bit of time in the kitchen together – cooking, talking, and laughing. We made Grandmother’s fried pies and just couldn’t wait to try that first one to be sure it was just right. I was immediately taken back to Grandmother’s kitchen and my childhood, surprisingly, not too far gone.
Here’s how Grandmother made her southern fried pies.
You’ll need your favorite pie dough. I recommend a soft, sturdy dough for these pies. You can also used canned biscuits.
Grandmother always preferred to use dried fruit for her pies, but you could use fresh fruit if you needed to.
Add water and sugar to your fruit and simmer for about 20 minutes.
Roll out your dough on a lightly floured surface.
Cut out a large circle of dough. I like to use the largest biscuit cutter I have for this.
Now, roll out that piece of dough even thinner. Not too thin that you can see through it and that it would tear, but fairly thin.
Spoon some of your fruit filling into your dough. Don’t get skimpy here. This is the best part.
Fold one half of the dough over the other.
Press edges of pie closed with the tines of a fork.
Now prick the top of your pie a few times with your fork to allow heat to escape while your pie is cooking.
Fry your pies in a cast iron skillet over low to medium heat with about a tablespoon of butter per pie. Cook your pie about 2-3 minutes on one side, until crispy, and then flip and cook the other side of the pie.
About half-way through cooking all of your fried pies, you’ll need to wipe the browned butter out of your skillet to prevent your pies from tasting burnt on the crust. Whenever you see your skillet with too much browned butter, just take a quick break, wipe your skillet down with a paper towel, and start back cooking.
And be ready to enjoy the best southern delicacy you’ve ever put in your mouth.
Here’s Grandmother’s Fried Pies recipe. It is a family treasure!
Southern Fried Pies
Ingredients
- double crust pie dough your favorite
- 4 cups dried fruit or fresh fruit
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- water enough to cover fruit
- flour for rolling dough
- 12 tablespoons butter
Instructions
- Cook your fruit with water and sugar in a medium saucepan for about 20 minutes.
- Dust surface lightly with flour and roll out dough.
- Cut out large circles of dough and roll out again.
- Spoon fruit filling onto the center of dough.
- Fold pie closed and press seams closed with tines of a fork.
- Melt one tablespoon of butter per pie in a large skillet.
- Place pie into skillet and cook until crispy, about 3 minutes.
- Turn the pie and cook on the other side.
- Remove from skillet and drain on paper towels.
Serve plain or with a sprinkle of powdered sugar and cinnamon or a scoop of ice cream.
Enjoy!
This is a beautiful and very special post, Robyn. Not only do these little pies look totally scrumptious, but I love that you’ve shared their context, origin, and your fond memories of them (and your grandmother) with us.
These are the cutest, sweetest litlle pies I ever did see!
Thank you Miss Robyn! 🙂
P.S meant to say “little”…(I’m commenting without being fully caffeinated).
I need to make these…….yes NEED! thanks Robyn!
Robyn, these sound so good. I’m a newcomer to your blog, but have just spent some time browsing through your earlier entries. I love the food and recipes that you share with your readers. I’ll be back often. I hope the new year brings you health and happiness. Have a great day. Blessings…Mary
What a awesome grandma you have… that recipe is just divine! 🙂
One table spoon is enough in pan.
Aurelene, I’m sorry but one tablespoon of butter would not be enough for all these pies. We always like our pies to have that butter flavor and the crust to be crispy.
Ummm, yes. May I have two, please?
These pies definitely bring back memories of my grandma. I got to help my grandma make them also and it was so much fun. I sure do miss my grandma and I need to make these with my kids and tell them the story!
Fried pies are one of my most favorite treats, but I’ve never made them myself!!
Your post was so touching, I’d give anything to be given such a notebook. You are so blessed, and I bet your grandma was a wonderful woman.
When I decide to give fried pies a go, I’ll try this recipe for sure 😉
Two over here, please! They sound perfect for breakfast. =)
Thanks for the great memories!!!
My grandmother made the BEST apricot fried pies and we lined up for them.
She would also use her little pieces of leftover pie crust dough to make little cinnamon sugar mini pies…great memories!!
Thank you!
Oh my – do these ever look good! How sweet that your grandmother wrote down all of her recipes for you. I’m sure you will treasure that forever.
My grandmother never made pies like this but my neighbor did when I lived in NC. She called them ‘hand’ pies and she was always so sweet to share one with me when she made them for her family. I love remembering those pies and those days in the south.
I just started a section on my blog where I’m making family recipes. Sadly we don’t have any written down by my Grandma who was a terrific cook but between her many grandchildren I’m excited to see some coming to me that I can made and include on my blog; there are the most special of them all because of the memories they hold, aren’t they?
oh dear lord, those look waaaayyyyy to easy to put together . . . kinda dangerous in this house . . . what with it being pie month and all . . . oh dear
Holy buckets of goodness! YUM, Robyn!
These are so yummy. I had peaches that I froze in a sugar syrup so I just threw them in a pot and cooked them up for 20 minutes and they turned out great.
Robyn, you have so many great pie recipes!
Good luck!
Nestle Kitchens
Thanks so much for this recipe. It sounds exactly like the apple tarts that my great-grandmother used to make.
I am looking forward to trying these! Tell everyone about your wonderful pie dough recipe. Have tried it and found the pie dough recipe the best I have ever eaten. It was super easy and turned out perfect! Can’t wait to try it with the fried pies! Thank you!!!!
Marilyn
Grandmaw always use lard or crisco. I still do – sometimes I add butter and won’t burn as bad if you have it mixed with crisco. Best pies I’ve ever had. Better cold – my brother and me tore a cabinet up to get to them once! lol that was 60 years ago.
Love this story, Jack! I LOVED my grandmother’s fried pies too….sooo good! Thanks so much for sharing this! 🙂
Is there a way to kinda make them dibaetic friendly ? I know I couldn’t eat just 1
Hi Delois,
I’ve never made this one another way. I do hope you enjoy them! xo
Use Splenda when softening and cooking dried fruit, or fresh or canned in its own juice. If recipe calls for 1/2 c. sugar, use 1/2 c. splenda instead.
Use Stevie all natural. No after tast.
I never thought I would find this recipe on line. I bought a bag of dried apricots yesterday with these in mind. Its been 50 or 60 years since Ive had one, but Ive never forgotten them. One of my grandmothers worked at a roadside fruit and candy store called Drew’s Ranch in the Paso Robles CA area. We always received elaborate trays of dried fruits, nuts, pralines & fruit cake at this time of year. My mother was from OK & my grandpa from TX so fried pies were a holiday treat for us. But my other grandma made peach and apricot fried pies all summer when the entire Marysville CA area was peaches everywhere. Thanks for confirming how to make these little gems. Now if i can find cherry jello divinity recipe Im in holiday mode for sure.
Aww, I’m so glad you found this too, Gail! My grandmother made these often and I have such great memories too!
I don’t have a cherry divinity recipe, but I do have a delicious Divinity recipe. Thanks! xo
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Thanks so much! I hope you enjoy the recipes – I’m happy to have you here!
My mother passed 25 years ago, but I still have wonderful memories of her dried apple fried pies. I’m going to try a batch right now. Wish me luck (and some wonderful, warm thoughts of my mom.
Hi Becky,
I love how these family favorite recipes give us such wonderful memories of our mothers and grandmothers. Wishing you such sweet memories of your mother as you make these pies!
Can they be cooked in the oven instead if frying?
Yes, Alice, you can bake these in the oven. I would bake at 375º F for between 20 to 35 minutes, according to how thick you have filled the crust.
Great recipe!
Thank you very much for thes old favorites (recipes) that my mother
& both of my grandmothers made.
I am 76 years old & you don’t see these recipes any more, especially since they’ve all passed away.
Thank you, Donald. I’m glad you appreciate these recipes. I love these old family recipes of my grandmother’s and mother’s.
I tried this and it was great!
The best fruit for fried pies are dried or fresh apricots – LEGENDARY
You could use dried apricots for these pies, Allan.
I would probably try in Crisco shortening.
And I would try a little cinnamon cooked in with the filling.
Lili, you can definitely ad cinnamon to this recipe and user Crisco shortening instead of the butterr. My family just does not like the cinnamon added to the apples. Hope you enjoy!