In a bowl, blend flour, sugar, salt, and xanthan gum until well mixed.

Add the cubed butter to the dry mixture. With your hands (or fork or dough cutter), work the pieces of butter into the dry mixture until small, pea-sized pieces form.

In separate small bowl, whisk the egg and lemon juice (or vinegar) together until pale yellow and foamy. Add to the flour mixture.

Stir the dough mixture with a fork to incorporate. Continue stirring until dough forms into a smooth ball. Cover ball with plastic wrap and let rest in refrigerator for minimum 1 hour, or up to 24 hours.

After resting, it is time to form the pies. Lightly dust benchtop with flour (a silicone rolling mat is excellent for this). Divide dough into 6 pieces and hand-roll into a ball (roughly the size of a lime or small mandarin orange).

Place one ball on floured surface and lightly press down until about 3/4"thick (like a biscuit). Add a dusting of flour to top and cover with piece of plastic wrap. Use rolling pin to roll out until roughly 6" circle (or just under 1/8" thick). You want the dough to be thin, but still thick enough to handle without tearing.

Now, for the filling. If your pie filling is large pieces of fruit (such as apple or peach slices, or whole berries), you want to cut those pieces down to 1/4" pieces. If your filling is already small chunks, then skip this.

Place about 2 heaping tablespoons of filling in center of the dough, keeping at least 1" from the edges. Be careful not to over fill! Gently fold one side of the dough over the filling. Use your fingers to press the edges together and seal. Use a knife to trim the rough edges away, or gently reshape with your fingers. Use a fork to lightly crimp around the edges to seal the pie closed.

Use a board scrapper or spatula to gently transfer the pie to a sheet pan lined with parchment paper (or lightly greased with cooking spray). Continue filling all the pies per above. Be sure to keep your work surface clean and reapply a small dusting of flour between each. Once all the pies are formed, gently prick the top of each 2-3 times with a fork... this will vent steam during frying. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before frying to rechill the dough.

To fry the pies: In a large saucepan or pot, heat oil to 360-370°F. Work in small batches, gently placing 1-2 pies in the oil. Fry for 2 minutes, then gently roll pies over and cook for another 1-1/2 to 2 minutes until golden brown (3-1/2 to 4 minutes total cook time). Remove pies and place on sheet pan lined with paper towels to remove excess oil.

Optional: Lightly dust tops with powdered sugar prior to serving

Serve warm by themselves, or with a dollop of ice cream. Enjoy!!