fried apple hand pie

For the dough, mix flour and 1 tsp of salt in a large mixing bowl. With a pastry cutter, cut the shortening in until it resembles gravel. Add 1 Tbsp of ice water at a time. Mix until a dough forms.

Remove dough from the bowl. Knead a few times and form a disc. Wrap the dough and place it in the refrigerator while making the filling.

For the apple filling, peel, core, and small dice the apples.

In a medium-sized skillet, melt the butter. Toss in the apples, sugar, and spices. Continue to cook until the apples are soft.

Once the apples are soft, mix 4 Tbsp of water and 1 Tbsp of corn starch. Add it to the apples.

Cook until thickened.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator. On a floured surface, roll the dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut dough into 5-inch circles.

If you do not have a 5-inch cutter, use the largest circle cutter and gently roll to make a 5-inch circle.

Place a heaping tablespoon of apple pie filling on one side of the circle.

Fold the dough in half. Crimp the edges with a fork.

Continue to make all the hand pies.

For the glaze, combine powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract. Heat a deep skillet of oil to 375 degrees F.

Carefully lower the pies into the hot oil for frying. In small batches, fry pies for 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Use a cooking thermometer to maintain a constant temperature.

Once fried, remove the pies from the oil. Place on a paper towel.

Once drained, place the hand pies on a wire rack. With a pastry brush, brush the glaze on one side of each hand pie.