Amish Heritage

Amish Fry Pies

What are Amish fry pies? I am glad that you asked. Because I would like to introduce you to an amazing Amish dessert, namely a personal hand-held fried pie. That’s simply what it is. A small little half-moon-shaped pie that is filled with pie filling, then fried, and drizzled with glaze. Fry pies are similar to turnovers but are made with pie crust instead of puff pastry.

There is so much to love about this Amish fried pies recipe. They have everything going for them. First of all, it’s “Pie”. I love pie! And I have tried many different kinds of pie in my lifetime. I don’t remember ever eating a pie that I did not like. Second, they are “Fried”. Let’s be honest, fried food tastes amazing! It may not be the healthiest food around, but it sure tastes good! Third, it’s a “hand-held” pie. So fun to eat, and easy to grab to eat on the run. And to top it off, they have a sweet crackly glaze on the top. Let’s just say that Amish fried pies are irresistibly good!

Fried or Baked Amish Fry Pie Recipe

This fry pie recipe is obviously suggesting that you would fry your little pies. But sadly, we have a lot of people in our world today that have to watch their cholesterol levels and cannot eat too much fried food. But don’t worry, you can still eat these Amish fry pies even if you can’t eat fried food. The good news is that you can bake them instead, and they will still taste amazing! To be quite honest with you, I like them just as well baked as fried. And it’s a lot less messy to bake them.

To bake the fry pies instead of frying them, preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Arrange the pies on a greased cookie sheet, cut a small slit in the top crust to create a vent, and bake them for 15 – 20 minutes or until nicely browned.

Amish Fried Apple Pies

You can make these Amish fry pies with any kind of pie filling that you desire. And if you buy the fruit filling, you will need about 3 cans of pie filling to make this whole batch of fry pies.

I like to make my own apple pie filling, and it’s really not hard to make. You can use the apple pie filling recipe that I use in my Dutch Apple Pie Recipe (find the recipe here). Although you will want to cook the apple slices along with the water/sugar mixture for about 20 minutes to soften them before adding the clear jel.

Amish women also sometimes make these with Schnitz pie filling. (Find that recipe here).

Recipe for Fried Pie Dough

I believe that you could probably use any pie dough recipe to make Amish fried pies. But for this recipe, mix the dry ingredients. Crumble in the butter, lard, or shortening of choice. (I use 1 cup lard and 1/2 cup butter.) Mix the beaten egg and milk and gently mix it into the crumbles until it comes together in a ball. Do not overmix.

Take about a 2 or 2 1/2″ ball of dough, place onto a floured surface, and roll it out into a 6 1/2″ circle. To make a perfect circle you can use a lid or any 6″ round object to cut a neat circle. I was lucky enough to find a fry-pie-making gadget for $.25 at a yard sale. I guess technically you can use these kitchen gadgets for making dumplings, empanadas, etc. But I have the 6″ one which is perfect for fry pies.

Fry Pie Maker

I am adding an affiliate link in case you are interested in buying one of these sets. If you plan to make fry pies very often it will be well worth your time to invest in one of these gadgets. They make it super easy to shape and make perfect fry pies.

Place a generous 1/4 cup of filling on one half of the circle and moisten the edges with wet fingertips to create a better seal. Fold over and use a fork to press the edges together. Place the pies onto a parchment paper-lined tray. And if you are planning to fry your pies, I would suggest refrigerating them until you have them all ready to fry.

Making Amish fry pies can be a little time-consuming, but trust me, they are worth every minute spent in the kitchen. And if you don’t feel like taking the time to fry them, bake them in the oven instead.

Sweet Amish Desserts

Some people like very sweet desserts. And the Amish seem to be known for their sweet desserts. Although some Amish people do try to eat a more healthy diet.

I have been trying to cut back on the amounts of sugar that we eat, and whenever I bake or make any desserts I try to reduce the amount of sugar in the recipe. Because let’s face it, many recipes taste great without as much added sugar. And I believe that you can reset your palate to develop a new baseline for sweet and salty flavors by cutting back on the amount you use.

So because I always use less sugar in my recipes, my kids do not like their desserts too sweet. And I am saying all of this to explain why I do not cover my fry pies in the glaze. Some people will dip their fry pies in a glaze to cover them completely. I prefer mine with a bit of glaze drizzled on the top. It adds a bit of extra sweet flavor but does not make it too sweet.

It is up to you if you want to cover your fry pies in glaze or drizzle a bit on the top. But you will need to double the glaze recipe if you want to cover them.

How to store Fry Pies

It’s fine to store fry pies at room temperature for a day or two, but you will want to refrigerate them if you have them around for too much longer than that (because of the fruit filling). Store them loosely covered. I drape a tea towel over mine. The crust will get soggy sooner if you have them tightly covered.

(Find my Amish Apple Dumplings Recipe here)

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