Each holiday season, the amazing folks at the Betty Crocker Kitchen select a list of culinary trends they feel will be hot in the coming year. Betty Crocker’s Red Hot Holiday Trends is a fun way to see what kinds of things are popular across the nation. This year, they asked the Betty Bloggers to get in on the game by assigning each of us one of the 10 hot trends to use in developing a recipe.
I was thrilled to find out that I had been assigned the “All American Pastries” trend because us Southerners know some pastries. And when it comes to classic Southern pastries – pies top the list. There’s not another Southern pie quite like the pecan pie. But I knew I couldn’t just produce a plain old pecan pie – I had to kick it up a notch. So I turned them into hand-pies and deep fried them. Now, this is true decadence…
In a medium-sized saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, eggs, butter and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, reduce the heat to a simmer and stir in the pecans. Simmer for about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
Bring the crusts to room temperature. Unroll one on a lightly floured surface and cut circles using a 4-inch circle cutter. Re-roll the dough and repeat until all of the dough has been used. You should end up with about 24 circles.
Place a heaping tablespoon of the pecan filling mixture in the center of a pie crust circle.
Lightly moisten the edges of the crust with water, then fold the crust over.
Crimp the edges together with a dinner fork. Repeat the process until all of the pie crusts have been used.
Recipe Card
Deep Fried Pecan Pies
Ingredients
- 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup light corn syrup
- 2 large eggs
- 5 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups chopped pecans
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 (14.1-ounce) packages Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts
- vegetable oil for frying
- powdered sugar
Instructions
- In a medium-sized saucepan, combine the brown sugar, corn syrup, eggs, butter and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, reduce the heat to a simmer and stir in the pecans. Simmer for about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
- Bring the crusts to room temperature. Unroll one on a lightly floured surface and cut circles using a 4-inch circle cutter. Re-roll the dough and repeat until all of the dough has been used. You should end up with about 24 circles.
- Place a heaping tablespoon of the pecan filling mixture in the center of a pie crust circle. Lightly moisten the edges of the crust with water, then fold the crust over, crimping the edges with a dinner fork. Repeat the process until all of the pie crusts have been used.
- In a large dutch oven, heat about 1 inch oil in the bottom to 350° F. Fry the pies in batches for about 1 to 2 minutes on each side - or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels then lightly dust with powdered sugar. Serve warm.
