Fried Cheese Pies
Photo by Mark Weinberg
MAKES
One 9 inch / 23 cm pie
TAKES
Prep time: 45 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Total: 1 hour 15 minutes
✻ ABOUT THIS RECIPE
The stuff of food truck dreams, these fried cheese hand pies are one part gooey cream cheese and one part satisfying cheese-pull thanks to fresh mozzarella cheese, all encased in a golden brown pastry crust. Dip them in marinara sauce or something herby like chimichurri or salsa verde - that is, if you don’t just gobble them up plain straight from the fryer.
INGREDIENTS
113 g / 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
28 g / ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
65 g / 4 medium scallions, ends trimmed, thinly sliced
2 g / ¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2x recipe (650 g / 1 pound 7 ounces) Extra Flaky All Buttah Pie Dough, formed into two disks and chilled well
226 g / 8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into eight 28 g / 1 ounce pieces
egg wash (see Note)
neutral oil, as needed for frying (such as canola, vegetable, or safflower)
Make the Flakiest Crust Ever:
METHOD
1. In a medium bowl, stir the cream cheese, Parmesan, scallions, and pepper together to combine.
2. Divide the dough into two even portions—wrap one piece in plastic wrap and refrigerate while you work with the first piece.
3. On a lightly floured surface, roll out portion of the dough to ¼ inch / 6 mm thick into a square slightly larger than 16 x 16 inches / 41 x 41 cm. Trim the ends of the dough with a paring knife or pastry wheel so the edges are straight.
4. Cut the dough into 16 even squares: First, cut the dough horizontally into four 4 inch / 10 cm strips, then vertically into four 4 inch / 10 cm strips to end up with 16 even squares.
5. Scoop about 20 g / 1 heaping tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture into the center of the dough of 8 of the squares. Roughly tear one of the pieces of mozzarella into 2 or 3 smaller pieces and press them into the cream cheese. Egg-wash the outer edge of the dough, and gently place another square of dough on top of it. Use a fork to crimp the outside edge all the way around. Transfer to a parchment-covered baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate while you shape the remaining pies.
6. Repeat steps 3 through 5 with the second portion of dough and the remaining filling, transferring the finished pies to a second parchment-lined baking sheet and covering them with plastic wrap. Refrigerate all the pies while you heat the oil.
7. Pour 3-4 inches / 8-10 cm of oil in a medium pot and begin to warm over medium heat. When the oil reaches 350°F / 175°C, you’re ready to fry (you can also test the temperature with a scrap piece of dough—it should immediately rise to the surface and slowly begin to brown). Line a baking sheet with a few layers of absorbent paper towels (or a clean kitchen towel you don’t mind getting oily).
8. Remove the pies from the refrigerator, uncover, and fry 1 or 2 pies at a time until evenly golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Watch the temperature of the oil—you may need to adjust the heat as you work. When the hand pies are evenly browned, use a spider or slotted spoon to remove the pies from the oil and transfer to the towel-lined baking sheet to drain.
9. Repeat with the remaining pies. Serve immediately, warm.
NOTES
You may have noticed the cinnamon sugar coated, rounder pies in the photo that look different than the square cheese pies! Those are my Fried Apple Pies - snag the recipe here!
To make egg wash, whisk 56 g / 1 large egg, 15 g / 1 tablespoon water, and a pinch of salt together to combine.
✻ HAVE YOU BAKED IT?
Tag @emcdowell on Instagram or use #happybaking. I’d love to see your bakes!
