A great southern treat, these jacks are made from cooked dried peaches in a crust that is fried in lard.
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American southern
Keyword: peach hand pies, peach jacks hand pie, peach jacks hand pie recipe
Servings: 8servings
Calories: 384kcal
Author: Chloe Tuttle
Ingredients
6ouncedried peaches*
1 1/2 - 2cupswaterAdd water if it cooks out before peaches are soft
1cupsugar
2cupsall purpose flour
1teaspoonsalt
1/2cupshortening
1/2cupmilk
Extra flour for dusting cutting board and rolling pin.
1/2 - 1cuplard for frying
Instructions
To make the filling
Do this the day before and store in the refrigerator.
Simmer peaches and water in a small saucepan for 45 minutes to an hour until peaches are soft. Be careful, they tend to stick. Add water if needed. Add the sugar and cook 15 minutes more, stirring often. Remove from heat and refrigerate overnight. You will have 2 1/2 cups peaches
To make the dough
Stir together the flour and salt. Using two forks, cut in the shortening. Add milk and stir. Separate into 8 to 10 portions. Using the extra flour and a rolling pin, roll each dough piece into a 6" round. Roll dough as thin as you can without tearing dough.
If you are using canned biscuits, roll each biscuit on a floured surface or waxed paper. Roll as thin as possible; each round should be about 6 inches across.
To Cook the Jacks:
Put 2 Tablespoons cooked peaches in the center of the rolled dough. Fold the edges over to make a half circle. Crimp edges with a fork. Trim off excess dough.
Melt lard in a medium-size frying pan. Grease should be quite hot before you fry jacks. Fry jacks until they are golden in color. Turn and brown the other side. Remove from heat and drain on paper towels. Continue until all jacks are cooked.
The sweet, tangy taste of Peach Jacks is a treat. They are good cold but, oh, so good when they are hot. Yum!
Notes
Or you can use canned biscuits. Friend Nancy uses canned biscuits and her peach jacks are fabulous.