Chocolate Fried Pies
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Old-fashioned, made from scratch, chocolate fried pies have no equal. Each fried pie includes a soft flaky outside and the most scrumptious chocolate filling inside.
In the fried pie world, I have two favorites: fried peach pies and old-fashioned chocolate fried pies. For an amazing peach pie like my great-grandmother made, you have to start with dried peaches. Fresh or canned just can’t pack the wallop of flavor that dried ones do. And for fried chocolate pies like I grew up with, you have to make your own chocolate paste out of sugar, butter, and cocoa powder. This is what my Aunt Sue does and you have to use the recipe that I put in my first cookbook like I’m sharing with you here.
My chocolate fried pie recipe is pretty simple to follow, but the results are mouthwateringly good. I mean, can anyone really say no to a rich and decadent chocolate filling wrapped in a flaky pie crust and dusted with sugar? I think not! I’ve heard people say they’re like chocolate pop tarts but better.
The first step is to make the pie dough, using shortening, milk, salt, and all-purpose flour. Then we make the pie filling I mentioned above. Next, pop the paste into the dough to make your pies, and then we fry them! In a few minutes, you’ll have perfectly crisp and flavorful chocolate fried pies. I can’t wait for you to give them a go! They’re irresistible yet so easy to make, which is a win-win situation when it comes to dessert, right?
Now let’s make some chocolate hand pies!
Recipe Ingredients
Crust
- Shortening (like Crisco or coconut oil, I’m using generic)
- Milk
- Salt
- All-purpose flour
Filling
- Sugar
- Unsalted butter
- Unsweetened cocoa powder
Helpful Kitchen Tools
How to Make Chocolate Fried Pies
Place flour, salt, and shortening in a medium bowl. Stir together really well and then cut the shortening into the flour with a long-tined fork.
Or a pastry cutter if you’re feeling fancy.
Pour milk into the flour mixture.
Stir it up really well.
You may need to add more milk, and that is perfectly okay. Add a tablespoon or so at a time until it forms a ball of dough.
Divide that up into 10 ball-shaped portions.
In a separate medium bowl, place melted butter, sugar, and cocoa powder.
Stir it up really well. It will form a paste.
Note: This is a gritty chocolate paste and it is utterly delicious.
Alright, now we need to take each of those dough balls and make them into a 6-inch (or so) circle.
Now place about 2 tablespoons of filling in the center of each.
THEN, dip your fingertips in water and run them around the edges to help them stick together.
Fold over and crimp edges lightly with a fork.
Preheat about 1/4 inch of oil in a large skillet on medium-high for about five minutes.
Then turn it down to medium and carefully add your pies a few at a time, careful not to overcrowd.
Let them cook until golden brown on one side, then flip and cook until browned on the other as well.
This will just take a few minutes.
Remove to a paper towel-lined plate.
Let cool slightly before eating.
Or add some powdered sugar over the top before you enjoy it. Or not, do whatever cranks your tractor!
Share with your friends!
Storage
Store leftover pies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days. I like to quickly reheat them either in the air fryer or oven so they’re nice and crispy once more.
Recipe Notes
- For a buttermilk crust, substitute the milk for buttermilk.
- For extra chocolate flavor, add 1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder to the pie dough.
Recipe FAQs
Can I use canned biscuit dough?
You can make these with canned biscuit dough but they won’t be the same. will still be good in a pinch though. You can also make these simply by sticking a mini chocolate bar inside each one – but it won’t be the same, either. They will still be good in a pinch, though! Just do what you have time to do and put your heart into it. The most important step in cooking isn’t the ingredients you use or how intricate the preparation is, it’s the process of making something yummy for someone because you love them. That makes everything taste better.
How do you serve chocolate hand pies?
If you want to be extra decadent (I mean, who doesn’t?) chocolate fried pies taste delicious with a drizzle of chocolate syrup or caramel sauce. Or why not serve a with a dollop of or a scoop of vanilla ? YUM.
Check out these other tasty chocolate treats:
Recipe For Easy Chocolate Fudge
Ingredients
Crust
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 1/2 cup milk more if needed
- vegetable oil for frying
Filling
- 2 cups sugar
- 6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter or margarine, melted 1 stick
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour and salt. Cut in the shortening with a long-tined fork. Add the milk and stir until the dough sticks together.2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 cup shortening, 1/2 cup milk
- Divide the dough into ten ball-shaped portions.
- In a separate bowl, stir together melted butter, cocoa powder, and sugar until it forms a paste.6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, 1/2 cup unsalted butter or margarine, melted, 2 cups sugar
- Pour oil to a depth of 1/4 inch in a large skillet and place over medium-high heat to preheat while you assemble pies.vegetable oil for frying
- On a floured surface, roll or pat each dough ball into a 6-inch circle. Place 2 tablespoons of chocolate filling in the center of each. Dip fingertips in water and run around the outside edges of the crust. Fold over and crimp with a fork to seal.
- After oil has heated for at least five minutes, reduce heat to medium. Carefully add a few pies at a time to hot oil and cook until golden brown on one side, then flip and brown on the other.
- Remove to paper towel-lined plates and repeat until all pies are cooked. Cool slightly before serving and add a dusting of powdered sugar, if desired.
Nutrition
Previous Pie Day Friday Posts
- May 31th – Frozen Turtle Pie
- June 7th – Strawberry Cream Pie
- June 13th – Triple Chocolate Brownie Pie
- June 21st – Frozen Oreo Pie
“Everyone has gifts, they just open them on different occasions.”
~Author unknown. Submitted by Jenny. Click here to submit your own.
Thank you darling girl for posting this recipe! This is just how I remember my Grandma making these back in the day. Well, almost-She used lard for her dough. Funny how those old folks ate tons of lard and fatback and all kinds of fried foods and lived long enough to see great-grandchildren. She’d also make them with dried apricots.
Now, to all those folks who complained that these were gritty. I’d just like to say that back in the day, people cooked with whatever they had on hand, especially during the Depression (and it was pretty much ALWAYS the Depression in rural Arkansas). Any kind of sweet treat was welcome during those days and I bet my parents and my aunts and uncles wouldn’t have made a peep about a few sugar granules, they were just tickled to have a yummy treat. Let’s all be like that-enjoy the sweet and forget about the grit. It’s ALL GOOD!
Amen Lynn! Let’s all be like that! I like the way you think sweet friend!
Thanks Lynn for your comment. I appreciate your reminiscing as this is how they tasted for us back in the day. Have a glorious day!
This was such a throwback! My grandma use to make the best fried pies and this was exactly like her “gritty” chocolate filling. She would even make a chocolate cake icing that was a little gritty. (Would you happen to have a recipe for something like that???) I do agree that this may be a regional thing. We are from Georgia and every ol time Baker I knew/know had a “gritty” chocolate filling/frosting. I did use my own pie crust (not that I dont think this one would of been delicious I’m just partial to Granny’s lol) and I actually baked them instead of frying. (350 for about 25 minutes or so just checked them every little bit) then when they were pretty much done gave them a egg wash brush. Absolutely perfect!!
Can these be baked in the oven as opposed to frying??? If so what temperature. Thank you so much!
Hey! I don’t recommend it but you can certainly experiment. You might want to try my Chocolate chess Pie recipe: https://www.southernplate.com/chocolate-chess-pie/
I was a little skeptical about the gritty filling. Then we ate them and I’m pretty sure there’s no going back!
Try using super fine bakers sugar it’s the answer to your gritty filling problem
I was looking specifically for this “gritty” cocoa filling. My grandma used to make these all the time. I plan to cheat and use pre-made pie crust and bake them instead of frying.
Did you bake them? How did they turn out? What temp and for how long? I want to bake also rather than fry.
I baked mine but I actually used my own pie crust crust recipe ( just a preference over any other pie crust lol) I baked them at 350 for around 25 minutes (I just checked them every so often to keep an eye on them. Once they were pretty much done i gave them a few swipes with an egg wash and it was perfect!
I’m so glad to find this, my mother used to make these and they were my son’s favorite. She has since passed on and my son just returned after 8 years of teaching in Japan, and I wasn’t sure I remembered how my mother made them. Watching you I know that’s exactly the recipe she used along with cooked peaches as well. Thank you for sharing so that I can help my son and I share some sweet memories of his grandmother.
What a blessing to have your son home for Thanksgiving!! I hope you and he enjoy the holiday, have blessings beyond measure and enjoy the memories that Chocolate Fried Pies bring!!