Categories: Desserts
Ingredients
- For the Dough:
- 2 cups flour
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 2 tbsp vegetable shortening
- Vegetable oil, for frying
- Confectioner's sugar, for dusting
- For the Filling:
- 3 cups pitted cherries, roughly chopped
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- pinch of salt
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Directions
-
Make the dough: Pulse the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a food processor. Add the butter and shortening and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Drizzle in 6 tbsp ice water and pulse until the dough starts coming together.
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Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap and lightly knead to bring together. Form into a disk, wrap in the plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
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Meanwhile, make the filling. Combine the cherries, sugar, cinnamon and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until the cherries are juicy and the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring, 5 more minutes. Spoon about 2 tbsp of the juice into a small bowl; stir in the cornstarch until dissolved. Pour the cornstarch mixture into the saucepan and continue to simmer, stirring, until very thick, 6-8 more minutes. Transfer to bowl, stir in the lemon juice and let cool.
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Divide the dough into 8 pieces and roll each into a ball. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out each ball into a 6 1/2-inch round, using as little flour as possible. Stack the rounds between pieces of parchment paper and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
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Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let stand 5 minutes. Place 2 tbsp cherry filling in the center of each round, then fold in half to enclose and crimp the edges to seal.
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Heat 1 inch of vegetable oil in a deep skillet until a deep-fry thermometer reaches 360. Fry the pies in 2 batches, turning once, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool. Dust with confectioners’ sugar.