Apricot Hand Pies

Fried apricot hand pies are an easy treat to celebrate Pi Day, take to a BBQ, or to snack on any day of the week.

Growing up I remember when my Grandma used to make apricot hand pies. They were always so delicious. Crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside with a sweet, warm fruity center. I would eat however many she would let me get my hands on.

While I haven’t had those delicious hand pies in years, my mom and I were craving them so we called up Grandma for the recipe. I thought it was going to be some top secret grandma type of recipe. Turns out there’s only one secret ingredient. Bisquick.

Before you do anything else, you want to start cooking down your fruit. In this case we used dried apricots, but you can use whatever type of fruit you prefer. You don’t even have to cook down your own fruit. If you want to save a set you can start with canned pie filling.

Apricot Hand Pies

Prep time: 30 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 40 mins

Serves: 10

Fried apricot hand pies are a delicious treat just like Grandma used to make.

Ingredients

1/3 lb dried apricots
1/4 cup sugar (see notes)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
3 cups Bisquick
3/4 cup milk
Flour for rolling
Crisco
Paper grocery sack

Instructions

Put dried apricots in a pot with enough water to mostly cover* them and bring to boil. Stirring occasionally, cook apricots until they are soft enough to mash**. You may need to add more water, so keep an eye on the pot.
When fruit is soft, mash with a potato masher until all the big pieces have been broken up. Add sugar and cinnamon to apricots. Mix throughly and continue to cook over low heat until a desired thickness*** is reached. Remove from heat.
Cut open paper grocery sack and place it on a pan.
Mix milk and Bisquick in a bowl until it forms a dough.
Flour your surface and roll out dough about 1/8″ thick. Cut circles 7″ in diameter from the rolled dough. Mix extra dough back together and repeat until you have as many circles as your dough will make. Reserve any leftovers.
Take your pie crusts and spoon 2-3 tablespoons of fruit on one side of the circle, leaving enough room around the edges to seal the crust closed.
Wet pie crust edge with water from the outside edge to about 1/2 inch in. Fold crust in half and using a fork, gently but firmly press edges together to seal.
In a deep cast iron pan melt enough Crisco to make oil about 1 1/2″ deep for frying. Heat Crisco to 350 degrees.
Using a piece of reserved dough, test oil to make sure it is hot enough to fry the dough.
Fry 1-2 pies at a time, careful not to overcrowd the pan. It only takes a minute or two per side. Pies are done when the outside is a nice golden brown.
Once the pie is cooked, remove from oil and place on the paper grocery sack to cool. Pies are ready when they are cool enough to handle.
The amount of sugar may vary depending on the sweetness of your fruit. Start with less and add more until it reaches a desired sweetness.

Notes

*The fruit doesn’t have to remain covered with water through out the process, that is just a good amount to start with.[br][br]**Cook times vary depending on the dryness of your fruit. It could take 15-45 minutes.[br][br]***Fruit will continue to thicken as it cools, so I cook it until it is almost a jam consistency.

Paper grocery sacks work perfectly to cool the pies. The paper absorbs the excess oil without sticking to the pie crust. I can’t wait to make more pies and try out some different flavors. What flavor do you want in a hand pie?

Did you know that today is epic pi day? Pi day is March 14th or 3.14. But today is March 14, 2015 or 3.1415 with are the first 5 numbers of pi! To celebrate I have joined some fellow bloggers for a little Pi Day blog hop with some delicious pie inspired recipes for your viewing pleasure. Check them out!