Fried Apple Pie (Alabama)
Fried apple pie is one of the best foods to come out of Alabama, and it has been popularized all over the world by McDonald's. This delicious snack was invented by bakers as a way to use up scraps left over after baking traditional pies, but fried apple pies have surpassed the original in terms of world consumption. We love Alabama for making pie portable!
2 tsp. cornstarch
½ tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 tsp. brandy (optional)
¾ cup granulated sugar, divided
pinch sea salt
1¼ lbs Granny Smith apples, peeled and diced
1 Tbsp. butter
3 cups vegetable oil
2 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
1 pkg (2) pie dough
Unroll pie dough on a lightly floured surface and roll to 14-inches in diameter. Using a round 4 ¼-inch cookie cutter cut dough into 8 circles. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Whisk cornstarch, vanilla, and optional brandy in 1/3 cup of water; set aside. Mix ¼ cup of sugar and the sea salt; toss with apples. Heat butter in a medium (10-inch) skillet over medium-high heat until pale nutty brown. Add apple mixture; cover and cook until soft and juices release, about 7 minutes.
Uncover and continue to cook until juices thicken to light syrup consistency, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Stir in cornstarch mixture; continue to cook until it thickens, less than a minute. Transfer apples to a rimmed baking sheet; refrigerate or set aside until room temperature.
When ready to serve, Mix remaining ½ cup of sugar with ground cinnamon. Working eight at a time, spoon a heaping Tbsp. of the filling onto the lower center of each dough circle. Then, working one at time, brush around the edge of the lower half with water. Fold upper half of dough over filling to make a turnover, and pressing on edges to seal. Repeat with remaining, to make 16 turnovers.
Heat oil to 375°F in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Working in 3 batches, drop 5 or 6 pies into the hot oil. Fry until crisp and golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes turning as needed. Transfer to a wire rack, sprinkling each turnover with spiced sugar.
Makes 16 pies.