Chocolate Fried Pies

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Old-fashioned, made from scratch, chocolate fried pies have no equal. Each fried pie includes a soft flaky outside and the most scrumptious chocolate filling inside.

chocolate fried pies with powdered sugar

In the fried pie world, I have two favorites: fried peach pies and old-fashioned chocolate fried pies. For an amazing peach pie like my great-grandmother made, you have to start with dried peaches. Fresh or canned just can’t pack the wallop of flavor that dried ones do. And for fried chocolate pies like I grew up with, you have to make your own chocolate paste out of sugar, butter, and cocoa powder. This is what my Aunt Sue does and you have to use the recipe that I put in my first cookbook like I’m sharing with you here.

My chocolate fried pie recipe is pretty simple to follow, but the results are mouthwateringly good. I mean, can anyone really say no to a rich and decadent chocolate filling wrapped in a flaky pie crust and dusted with sugar? I think not! I’ve heard people say they’re like chocolate pop tarts but better.

The first step is to make the pie dough, using shortening, milk, salt, and all-purpose flour. Then we make the pie filling I mentioned above. Next, pop the paste into the dough to make your pies, and then we fry them! In a few minutes, you’ll have perfectly crisp and flavorful chocolate fried pies. I can’t wait for you to give them a go! They’re irresistible yet so easy to make, which is a win-win situation when it comes to dessert, right?

Now let’s make some chocolate hand pies!

chocolate fried pies ingredients

Recipe Ingredients

Crust

  • Shortening (like Crisco or coconut oil, I’m using generic)
  • Milk
  • Salt
  • All-purpose flour

Filling

  • Sugar
  • Unsalted butter
  • Unsweetened cocoa powder

Helpful Kitchen Tools

How to Make Chocolate Fried Pies

Cut together flour, salt, and shortening in a medium bowl.

Place flour, salt, and shortening in a medium bowl. Stir together really well and then cut the shortening into the flour with a long-tined fork.

Or a pastry cutter if you’re feeling fancy.

Pour milk into the flour mixture.

Pour milk into the flour mixture.

Mix ingredients together.

Stir it up really well.

You may need to add more milk, and that is perfectly okay. Add a tablespoon or so at a time until it forms a ball of dough.

Divide dough up into 10 ball-shaped portions.

Divide that up into 10 ball-shaped portions.

In a separate medium bowl, place melted butter, sugar, and cocoa powder.

In a separate medium bowl, place melted butter, sugar, and cocoa powder.

Mix ingredients together.

Stir it up really well. It will form a paste.

Note: This is a gritty chocolate paste and it is utterly delicious.

Roll dough into 6-inch circles.

Alright, now we need to take each of those dough balls and make them into a 6-inch (or so) circle.

Add filling to crust and then fold together.

Now place about 2 tablespoons of filling in the center of each.

THEN, dip your fingertips in water and run them around the edges to help them stick together.

Crimp edges of chocolate fried pies with a fork.

Fold over and crimp edges lightly with a fork.

Add chocolate fried pies to hot oil in skillet.

Preheat about 1/4 inch of oil in a large skillet on medium-high for about five minutes.

Then turn it down to medium and carefully add your pies a few at a time, careful not to overcrowd.

Flip until golden brown on both sides.

Let them cook until golden brown on one side, then flip and cook until browned on the other as well.

This will just take a few minutes.

Remove chocolate fried pies to a paper towel-lined plate.

Remove to a paper towel-lined plate.

Chocolate fried pie broken in half to show filling.

Let cool slightly before eating.

chocolate fried pies with powdered sugar

Or add some powdered sugar over the top before you enjoy it. Or not, do whatever cranks your tractor!

Share with your friends!

Storage

Store leftover pies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days. I like to quickly reheat them either in the air fryer or oven so they’re nice and crispy once more.

Recipe Notes

  • For a buttermilk crust, substitute the milk for buttermilk.
  • For extra chocolate flavor, add 1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder to the pie dough.

Recipe FAQs

Can I use canned biscuit dough?

You can make these with canned biscuit dough but they won’t be the same. Canned biscuits will still be good in a pinch though. You can also make these simply by sticking a mini chocolate bar inside each one – but it won’t be the same, either. They will still be good in a pinch, though! Just do what you have time to do and put your heart into it. The most important step in cooking isn’t the ingredients you use or how intricate the preparation is, it’s the process of making something yummy for someone because you love them. That makes everything taste better.

How do you serve chocolate hand pies?

If you want to be extra decadent (I mean, who doesn’t?) chocolate fried pies taste delicious with a drizzle of chocolate syrup or caramel sauce. Or why not serve a chocolate pie with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream? YUM.

Check out these other tasty chocolate treats:

Recipe For Easy Chocolate Fudge

Double Chocolate Chip Muffins

Chocolate Sundae Cake

Chocolate Cobbler

Triple Chocolate Brownies

Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Fried Pies

Old-fashioned, made from scratch, chocolate fried pies include a soft flaky outside and the most scrumptious chocolate filling inside.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chocolate, pie
Servings: 10 pies
Calories: 430kcal

Ingredients

Crust

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup shortening
  • 1/2 cup milk more if needed
  • vegetable oil for frying

Filling

  • 2 cups sugar
  • 6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter or margarine, melted 1 stick

Instructions

  • In a medium bowl, combine the flour and salt. Cut in the shortening with a long-tined fork. Add the milk and stir until the dough sticks together.
    2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 cup shortening, 1/2 cup milk
  • Divide the dough into ten ball-shaped portions.
  • In a separate bowl, stir together melted butter, cocoa powder, and sugar until it forms a paste.
    6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, 1/2 cup unsalted butter or margarine, melted, 2 cups sugar
  • Pour oil to a depth of 1/4 inch in a large skillet and place over medium-high heat to preheat while you assemble pies.
    vegetable oil for frying
  • On a floured surface, roll or pat each dough ball into a 6-inch circle. Place 2 tablespoons of chocolate filling in the center of each. Dip fingertips in water and run around the outside edges of the crust. Fold over and crimp with a fork to seal.
  • After oil has heated for at least five minutes, reduce heat to medium. Carefully add a few pies at a time to hot oil and cook until golden brown on one side, then flip and brown on the other.
  • Remove to paper towel-lined plates and repeat until all pies are cooked. Cool slightly before serving and add a dusting of powdered sugar, if desired.

Nutrition

Calories: 430kcal
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125 Comments

  1. Oh, these bring back some wonderful childhood memories for me. My grandmother made them the same way. I can still remember the gritty, chocolate filling that was so wonderful! Thank you for bringing these back into my life. I will be making them tonight with my kiddos!

  2. these are just like my grandma’s except she just used bisquick because it was easier. She also added a bit of vanilla to the chocolate paste. Either way, they are yummy!

  3. Thank you so much for this recipe. My dad told us about when he was little and his grandma would make a big batch of choco fry pies for all the grandkids. The kids would eat their fill and pack their pockets and their was still a heaping pile left so the kids would have choco pie fights in the back yard. I always pictured my dad hiding behind a tree waiting for a cousin to come around the corner only to get smacked with a hand pie. He is coming for a visit next month and i am going to have a mountain of chocolate pies waiting!

  4. I’ve saved this recipe for a while and have wanted to make them. We love fried pies and I thought this recipe would be divine. So I made them today and I am so disappointed. I’m sure it’s me and not the recipe, but after I fried them the chocolate is still gritty. I think I fried them long enough. They are golden brown. I think I will bake them in the oven for a bit and see if that helps.

    1. It’s not you! The chocolate is an old fashioned chocolate paste and the sugar gives it that grittiness. The texture is how they traditionally are rather than a chocolate pudding type texture, which, you can actually use in its place if you prefer that.

  5. I couldn’t wait to try your chocolate fried pies. I went by your recipe, making the ten balls of dough and rolling them out to 6 inches. My oil was hot, but my pies broke apart while frying and the chocolate was kind of gritty, not creamy like yours looks. Any suggestions? Tell me what I’m doing wrong. I’d like to try them again.

  6. Oh my goodness, Christy!!! I used to have these fried pies as a kid… my Mama went to Heaven several years ago, I could never find her recipe for these, just can’t wait to try this one. . . I know they are beyond yummy!!! Thanks so much for this one, it once was lost but now tis found!! Thank you, Thank you, THANK YOU!! : )

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