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Bourbon Peach Turnovers

Source of Recipe

From "Southern Fried" by James Villas


Recipe Introduction

"In the South, peaches are often used to make fried dessert turnovers or small half-moon pies, but you can just as easily substitute a coarse purée of sweetened and flavored strawberries, mangoes, blueberries, or firm pears. To fully secure the edges of these turnovers for frying, one trick is to keep your fingertips moistened with water as you press the dough. Don't crowd the oil with too many turnovers at a time, and there's really no need to turn them more than once. The turnovers are best warm and crispy with maybe a spoonful of ice cream on top, but they're also delicious at room temperature."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 2 cups all-purpose flour
â—¦ 1 teaspoon baking powder
â—¦ ½ teaspoon salt
â—¦ 4 tablespoons (½ stick) butter, chilled and cut into bits
â—¦ 4 tablespoons lard, chilled and cut into bits
â—¦ 6 tablespoons ice water
â—¦ 2 pounds ripe fresh peaches, peeled, pitted, and coarsely chopped
â—¦ ½ cup packed light brown sugar
â—¦ ¼ cup water
â—¦ 2 tablespoons bourbon
â—¦ ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
â—¦ Canola or safflower oil for deep frying
â—¦ Confectioners' sugar


Recipe

In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt and stir till well blended. Add the butter and lard and rub with your fingertips till the mixture is mealy. Add the ice water and stir with a wooden spoon till the dough forms a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour before using.

In a stainless steel or enameled saucepan, combine the peaches, brown sugar, and water and bring to a boil, stirring. Reduce the heat to moderate and stir till the peaches thicken almost to a solid purée. Scrape into a bowl, add the bourbon and cinnamon, stir well, and let cool.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough very thin and cut it into 4-inch rounds with a biscuit cutter. Gather up the scraps, roll out, and cut into more rounds. To shape the turnovers, spoon about 2 tablespoons of the peaches onto one half of each round, fold the other half over the peaches, and press the edges tightly to secure the filling.

In a deep fryer or large, heavy skillet, heat about 2 inches of oil to 375° F on a deep-fat thermometer and fry the turnovers in batches till golden and crisp, about 3 minutes, turning once with a slotted spoon. Drain on paper towels, sprinkle with confectioners' sugar, and serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes about 2 dozen small turnovers