Fried Pies

Ingredients

• sun-dried peaches
• water
• cinnamon
• nutmeg
• lemon peel, grated
• cloves
• ginger
• short paste
• fat
• sugar

Instructions

1. Wash dried fruit in three waters, then soak overnight. Place a plate over the fruit to keep it submerged. Simmer for five hours in the soaking water. Mash the cooked fruit while hot and sweeten to taste. Add spices according to fruit type: for apples use cinnamon, nutmeg, and grated lemon peel; for peaches or apricots use only a bare zest of cloves and ginger.
2. Roll out short paste into rounds about the size of a small plate. Cover one half of each round with the fruit filling, fold over the empty half, and pinch the edges together firmly all around.
3. Heat deep fat until blazing hot. Fry the pies until they achieve a rich quick brown on both sides. Drain on paper napkins and sprinkle lightly with sugar.
4. Serve hot or cold.