Chocolate or Sugar Fried Pies

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The epitome of decadence. Of artery-hardening gooey goodness. Of diet-inducing (tomorrow) guilt.

Oh, MAN, these are good!!!

Chocolate Filling:

3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
evaporated milk

Mix the sugar, cocoa, and salt together. Add the vanilla and just enough of the milk to just moisten. It needs to be very thick, and will still be grainy.

Sugar Filling: Same as above, but leave out the cocoa.

To make the pies, roll out pie crust dough to just over 1/8 inch thick. Don't roll too thin, or the filling will seep out during frying. Cut into approximately 5-inch circles or squares (squares are easier if you don't have a large round cutter.) As a rough guide, I needed approximately the same amount of pie dough as for 4 regular pies, using both types of filling.

Put about a tablespoonful of either filling into the center, and brush the edges with a beaten egg yolk. Fold the crust over the filling, then carefully and completely seal the edges with a fork.

These can be deep-fried at about 375 degrees, or pan-fried two at a time in about a quarter inch of oil. Either way, fry until brown, turning once. If I'm making both kinds, I find it better to cook the sugar ones first, in case some of the filling leaks out.

(Note: these can really be messy if the filling leaks out. Make sure the oil is hot enough, the crust is thick enough, and the edges are sealed. I fried mine in a cast-iron skillet, and some of the filling leaked out. It crystallized around the side of the skillet, but I got it out after I emptied the oil, ran hot water into the skillet, let it sit for about 10 minutes, then wiped it off with a paper towel.)