Fried Apple Pies

I had a large number of apples that were past their prime.  You know that point where they are not crisp enough to eat as they are, but they are still good for cooking?  I decided to make applesauce but remembered these fantastic fried apple pies my grandmother makes.  Not sure what she used for her crust, I called her.  Turns out it's biscuit dough!  I made my own, but you could easily use the canned variety for a quick and super easy way to use up those "aged" apples.  Enjoy!

Fried Apple Pies



Filling

8 small apples, mixed variety or whatever you have on hand

3 Tbsp. butter

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

2 tsp. maple syrup

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

Directions

Peel, core and slice your apples.

Melt butter in a skillet, and allow to brown slightly.  DO NOT BURN IT!

Add apples, stir and cook for a few minutes, until they begin to release their juices.

Throw on the lid and cook, stirring occasionally until the apples are soft and falling apart.  Add remaining ingredients and stir to combine, breaking apples up with the spoon.  Bam!  Applesauce or filling is done!

Crust

6 Tbsp. salted butter + 1 Tbsp. melted for brushing

2 c. all purpose flour

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 c. milk

1 tsp. sugar

Directions

Cut butter into 1/2 dice and place in freezer.

Put flour, baking powder and salt in food processor and pulse to combine.

Using an adorable chubby baby hand, add the chilled butter to the flour mixture and pulse until it looks like coarse crumbs.

Dump into a bowl, pour in the milk and using a pressing motion, fold into dough.  Add additional teaspoons of milk if needed.  Roll dough out on a floured surface and cut into rectangles or desired shapes (my rectangles are approximately 6"x7"), reshape dough as little as possible in this process.  Overworked dough is tough dough.

Standing over the dough to create a shadow (Sundown snuck up on me), spoon about 1/2 cup filling into the center of dough.

Fold over dough and crimp edges with a fork to seal, dipping fork in flour if needed to prevent sticking.

Brush pies with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar. (Alternatively, you could leave them as they are and make a simple frosting of powdered sugar and water to spread over the top after they cool...)  Either way, they can be baked at 425 degrees for 15-18 minutes OR you can do as my grandma does and pan fry them in a small amount of vegetable oil.  Either way is delicious!