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Stacey Mei Yan Fong's Fried Fruit Hand Pies Are an Oklahoma Treat

It's one of 50 recipes representing the American states!

By Georgia GoodePublished: Jul 19, 2023

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cookbook club 50 pies 50 states fried hand pies recipe

Alanna Hale

Welcome to The Pioneer Woman Cookbook Club! This month, we're featuring pie baker Stacey Mei Yan Fong's premier cookbook 50 Pies, 50 States: An Immigrant's Love Letter to the United States Through Pie. Read on to learn more about Stacey's roadtrip across her new chosen homeland through America's favorite dessert, plus try her Oklahoma-inspired recipe for golden fried fruit hand pies that you can (and will want to!) make year-round.

Just how does a handbag designer suddenly wake up one day with an obsession for pie recipes? For Stacey Mei Yan Fong, it was a journey to discover what she loved about the country that she was about to make her permanent home.

Born in Singapore, raised in Hong Kong, and now, after attending design school in Savannah, Georgia, and building a home away from home in Brooklyn, Stacey was firmly planting her feet on American soil. It was 2016 and she was in the midst of applying for her green card when she picked up a cookbook her best friend had given her: The Four & Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book. It held some of the famed Brooklyn-based pie shop's best recipes and Stacey took it on "Julie and Julia style," she says, baking her way through it. But her baking project soon transformed into something more. If she was going to call this place home, shouldn't she learn something about it first? That's when Stacey set out on a journey to get to know America. Her metaphorical text book of choice? Pie, of course!

In her tiny Brooklyn apartment, Stacey baked by drawing on regional cuisine to create a special pie recipe for each and every state. Think: a robust green chile stew pie with a blue cornmeal crust dedicated to New Mexico; a silky coconut cream pie with a pineapple upside-down-style topping for Hawaii; a batch of sugar-dusted strawberry and blueberry hand pies fried in Crisco, the recipe shared here, in honor of Oklahoma.

Those golden Oklahoma pies were inspired by Arbuckle Mountain Fried Pies made in small-town Davis and dedicated to her Uncle Bob and Aunt Reta who were the first people she ever met from the Sooner State. In fact, every single pie in the book is dedicated to people Stacey has met along her journey. When she was developing each recipe, Stacey even gifted the pies to people she knew from that state. "I thought I would do this to tell everyone I've met along the way, all of my friends who are now family, how much I love them, through pies," Stacey says.

Stacey's first-ever cookbook is a culmination of her seven-year project learning America through pie. In alphabetical order, she shares the recipes—some sweet, some savory, and all incredibly imaginative, proving pie is, in fact, the limit. "I’m not saying this is the end-all, be-all pie for that state," she says. "This is my interpretation, seeing the state with a clean slate, a set of fresh eyes." Stacey says it best in the book's title: 50 Pies, 50 States is her love letter to America. From fruit pies to custard pies to pot pies, let this book be your tour guide on a delicious roadtrip across the country. The crisp fried fruit hand pies will have you enjoying a taste of Ree Drummond's resident state right at home!

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Yields:: 24
Total Time:: 2 hrs

Ingredients

For the All-Butter Crusts:

2 1/2 c.
unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp.
kosher salt
1 tbsp.
granulated sugar
1 c.
(2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 c.
cold water
1/4 c.
cider vinegar
1/2 c.
ice

For the Hand Pies:

1
whole large egg
1
egg yolk
2 tbsp.
milk or water (whichever you have on hand)
1
12-oz. can blueberry pie filling
1
12-oz. can strawberry pie filling
1
48-oz. can Crisco shortening for frying
1 c.
confectioners' sugar for dusting

Nutrition Information

Calories16692 Fat1559 gSaturated fat489 gTrans fat0 gCholesterol836 mgSodium2112 mgCarbohydrates650 gFiber26 gSugar390 gProtein47 gVitamin D2 mcgCalcium384 mgIron22 mgPotassium1346 mg

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Directions

For the All-Butter Crusts:
1. Step 1Stir the flour, salt, and sugar together in a large bowl with a flat bottom. Add the butter pieces on top of the dry ingredients. Using your fingers, toss the butter in the dry mixture so each cube is coated. Use a pastry blender or your fingers to cut or rub the butter into the mixture until it is in pieces a bit larger than peas (a few larger pieces are okay; be careful not to over-blend). You want to be able to have big butter chunks in your crust: It helps create a flaky effect, as well as adding delicious buttery hits of flavor!
2. Step 2In a separate large measuring cup or small bowl, combine the water, cider vinegar, and ice. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the ice water mixture over the flour mixture; do not add the ice, which is just there to keep your water cold. Using your hands in a circular motion, bring the mixture together until all the liquid is incorporated. Continue adding the ice water mixture, 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time. Carefully mix until the dough comes together in a ball, with some dry bits remaining. Turn the dough out on to a lightly floured surface and knead gently until it comes into one mass; you don't want to overwork it. Separate the dough into two equal portions, shape each into a flat disc, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight before using. Wrapped tightly, the dough can be refrigerated for 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw frozen dough overnight in the fridge.
For the Hand Pies:
1. Step 1Make the egg wash: Combine the egg, yolk, and milk or water in a quart container and blend with an immersion blender or whisk until smooth.
2. Step 2Roll out the dough: Roll the dough into sheets that are 1/8-inch thick. Using either a 2-by-2-inch square scalloped cookie cutter or pizza cutter, cut the dough into 48 2-by-2-inch squares.
3. Step 3Assemble the hand pies: Place a heaping tablespoon of pie filling into the center of a square of dough. Brush the edges of the dough with egg wash and then place another square of dough on top, pressing the edges to seal the pocket. Place on a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough and fillings to make 24 hand pies. Refrigerate until ready to fry.
4. Step 4Fry the hand pies: In a large heavy-bottom pot over medium-high heat, melt the Crisco and bring up to 350°F. Fry the hand pies in batches of 2 or 3, flipping each over halfway through, until both sides are golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain on paper towels to soak up excess oil and sprinkle with sifted confectioners' sugar.

Tip: Best eaten piping hot while making the good open-mouth steam release face and with a black cup of coffee!

50 Pies, 50 States: An Immigrant's Love Letter to the United States Through Pie

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$20 at Amazon

Excerpted from 50 PIES, 50 STATES by Stacey Mei Yan Fong. Copyright © 2023 by Stacey Mei Yan Fong. Photography by Alanna Hale. Food styling by Caitlin Haught Brown. Used with permission of Voracious, an imprint of Little, Brown and Company.