Pecan Pie Pockets

Another fantastic recipe from my Paula Deen Best Desserts magazine. Her magazines are so great; fattening but great! And if you can imagine, pictures for EVERY recipe. Desserts, pictures, and delicious ... my kind of cookbook.

Last year, when one of my best friend's families was in town and we decided to give these a go. Let me just say, everyone loved them and went back for more. My mouth is watering just looking at the picture.

Ingredients
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup light corn syrup
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 15 ounce packages refrigerated pie crust
1 egg yolk, beaten
Vegetable oil for frying

Directions
1. In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup, melted butter, and eggs. Stir in pecans, vanilla, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat; reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.
2. On a lightly floured surface, unroll 1 pie crust. Cut out rounds using a very large cookie cutter (or a bowl, which is what I used). Reroll dough as necessary. Repeat procedure with remaining pie crusts.


This is my best friend, Brynn and I, being silly while rolling out the pie crust.

3. Place 1 pie crust round on a clean, flat surface. LIghtly brush edges of crust with beaten egg yolk. Place 1 heaping teaspoon of pecan mixture in center of round (I use more mixture than a heaping teaspoon but not too much that it just oozes out). Fold dough over filling, pressing edges with a fork to seal. Repeat with remaining rounds and pecan mixture.
4. In a large pan, pour oil to a depth of 2 inches. Heat oil to 350 degrees. Fry pies, in batches, for 1 or 2 minutes per side, or until lightly browned. Drain on paper towels (You could also bake these at 350 degrees if you do not want to fry them and they will still be delicious). Serve with ice cream, if desired.