A native of Birmingham, Alabama, Meemaw lived on Shades Mountain with a large, extended family. Her closely knit family consisted of parents, older siblings with spouses, and numerous nephews and nieces. Food was an important priority for survival of this group, especially during lean times. Although cooking was a necessity, fun was had by all members of her family. The fried pie was born from one of those fun times.
The original recipe of this sweet treat included fresh peaches and apricots (peeled, cored and sliced) combined with sugar and cooked on low heat until the mixture thickened. The next step was to make biscuits from scratch; then roll the raw biscuit flat and fill with the cooked fruit. Fold the biscuit in half and fry in hot oil. Finally, remove the pie from the oil and dust with sugar. This special treat was usually created with many helping hands and enjoyed by all during the fall and winter.
My family and I lived with Meemaw for the first two years of my life. She would care for me while my parents worked. She taught me how to count using a deck of cards and taught me letter recognition and simple words. She always played games with me. Although my brother came along after I turned one year old and interrupted my dominance of Meemaw’s attention, she never played favorites. My family was quite large with parents, a brother, uncles, aunts and cousins. When various family members visited, additional plates were set at the table. Laughter would echo through Meemaw’s home. There would always be a card or board game in progress; someone would be sewing or knitting; others would be watching television, working on a car or playing outside. While we played card games, Meemaw would make fried pies. Everyone enjoyed the fried pies. Aunt Kay would beg Meemaw to make extra so she could take some home with her. While eating pies, my mom and her brothers would reminisce about going to Alabama for family vacations. They always stayed with Aunt Cil (Meemaw’s sister). Meemaw and Aunt Cil would make fried pies and they would play dominoes. Meemaw’s family would come see her at Aunt Cil’s home. Everyone laughed about the good old days and just enjoyed the time they shared with each other (and the fried pies).
As a small child (after moving from Meemaw’s home), I remember Meemaw making this treat just for my family. If I were very lucky, she would let me take some pies home. No matter what time of the day we arrived (we lived just down the street), Meemaw would always fix us something to eat and would play games with us. She knew I loved her fried pies; so she would take out the fixings and fry up a few pies. I enjoyed the feelings of closeness and warmth in her home and always felt welcome and loved.
Meemaw had the amazing ability to make you feel welcome and apart of the family. It didn’t matter if he just met you or if she had known you for years. She loved to make new friends. Church was a big part of her life. On Sundays, she taught the Sunshine Class for women over seventy (she called it the end of the road, and she was the youngest member). I was probably the only kid in the neighborhood that had so many grandmothers. They automatically accepted me because I belonged to Meemaw. She often told me that my mom never met a stranger; however, I knew from whom my Mom had inherited that trait. Although Meemaw gave unconditional love, she did not pull any punches. If you asked her for advice, she would give it (whether you liked it or not). It was up to you to apply her advice. Meemaw’s form of welcome always involved food (the Southern way). She would always have something on hand: a cake, brownies, fried pies. The fried pies were by far my favorite.
The fried pie recipe has evolved over the years due to modern conveniences. The filling now consists of cooked dried peaches and apricots and the dough is now from canned biscuits. The family has grown in size. Now there are spouses for the cousins and my uncles and aunts are grandparents. During our recent family reunion, my mom and I made fried pies. Those fried pies brought back so many memories of Meemaw. We reminisced about Meemaw and how she had influenced our many decisions throughout our lives as well as about our childhood antics. We were able to share the many stories of Meemaw to those new to the family since Meemaw passed away.
Just like fried pies are unusual, Meemaw was a one of a kind lady. You couldn’t fail with her in your corner. Although Meemaw is no longer living, her memory is still alive and well through those delicious fried pies. So if you want to add warmth and love to your home, make some fried pies. They’re easy to fix and absolutely delicious. You can’t fail as host/hostess with this pastry on your table. The recipe is below.
For the filling, take 1 bag of dried peaches and 1 bag of dried apricots; place in pot; cover fruit with water and add 1 cup of sugar. Bring mixture to boil, then turn down on low; simmer for approximately 1 hour until the fruit is very soft. Mash the fruit until it resembles jelly.
For the pie, use 4 cans of biscuits (preferably Butter Me Not). Roll each biscuit flat, until it is very thin.
Then place a tablespoon of fruit mixture in the center. Fold biscuit in half, pressing down on the edges.
Deep fry the pie in hot oil, turning the pie over until it's lightly browned on each side. Place pie on paper towel to absorb the excess oil.
Dust pie with sugar.
Image "Fried Pies" Photograph. (n.d.) From southernplate.com. http://www.southernplate.com/2009/07/easy-fried-pies.html (accessed September 3, 2009)
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