A charity dinner and a trip to the Mississippi Delta and farther south reminds Vivian that not all dumplings are the same. But whether filled with minced meat, chopped veggies, or nothing at all, dumplings stretch our ingredients and our imagination.

Vivian’s crash course in mass producing hand pies inspires her to revisit the applejacks of her youth. Her journey includes a trip to West Virginia for a taste of their signature pepperoni rolls and a look at the world’s most popular hand pie — the empana...