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Apple Dumplings

Homemade Apple Dumplings

Ever want to make something after having it in a restaurant? It happens to me all the time. It is one of the reasons I love to dine out. I get to try new things and have foods I do not often cook at home. Take seafood for example, I love it raw (sushi), steamed, grilled, pan seared, roasted, and just about every way except deep fried. My husband is the exact opposite. He likes batter-dipped deep fried fish and chips. Add in the fact I have to drive 30 miles to get any fresh seafood other than the limited selection at the grocery store and that is why I typically go out when I have a seafood craving.

Being disappointed is another reason to make something at home. When you see something on the menu and it sounds so good you order it. There is the anticipation of a tasty bite and then it arrives and is nothing like what you wanted. This is the case with apple dumplings for me. There is a restaurant where we have ordered it before. It is a very large dumpling and is really too big even for the two of us to share. Lately they offered a sampler size which we thought would be great. Not so much. I left the restaurant with a mission to make apple dumplings.

The recipe hunt began. I searched the internet and did not find one I wanted to make. I moved on to my cookbooks and found what I thought would be the one. I ran into a snag when I tried to roll out the dough for the number of dumplings in the recipe. I am quite sure the dough should not be 1/32nd of an inch. There was no way it would work. It went into the trash and I found another dough recipe. The second one came out just right. Both recipes had a sauce, one to pour over before baking and the other to pour over when serving after baking. I decided to pour it over before baking and they turned out great. A little rustic looking too:

Homemade Apple Dumplings

Have I mentioned I love kitchen gadgets? I got to use my handy-dandy apple peeler/corer/slicer that I have not used in a while. I love that thing. You can get your apples ready in a flash. I have had mine for several years and bought if after hearing how much my parents liked using the one they have. I get to use it again soon because I have extra apples and some leftover crumble topping in the freezer.

Green Granny Smith Apples in a dish

My recipe is an adaption/combination from the two I used. The original ones can be found in The King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion and Southern Living 1984 Annual Recipes cookbooks. Both are excellent cookbooks and I have used them on many occasions. I do not know what I would do without cookbooks. The internet is great (ahem, like getting recipes from blogs like this one – hint hint) but their is something about flipping through the pages of a book. Thank goodness there are both resources available.

What have you wanted to cook after dining out? Was it from a good or disappointing experience? I have been inspired many times and I am very glad when I can turn a not-so-good into a fantastic one at home.

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Green Granny Smith Apples in a dish
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Apple Dumplings

A recipe for apples baked in a flaky crust with a cinnamon sugar filling and a buttery sauce.

Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings 6 dumplings
Author Renee

Ingredients

For the dough:

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup shortening
  • 3/4 cup milk

For the sauce:

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • Pinch of nutmeg
  • Pinch of salt
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter

For the dumplings:

  • 3 medium tart baking apples Granny Smith
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • Additional sugar or turbinado sugar for decoration

Instructions

For the dough:

  1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the shortening using a pastry blender until mixture resembles a coarse meal. Gradually add milk, stirring to make a soft dough. Shape dough into a rectangular disk, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

For the sauce:

  1. In a sauce pan, combine the sugar, water, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and butter. Bring to a boil, remove from heat, and set aside. Stir occasionally to melt butter if it has not melted.

For the dumplings:

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. Lightly grease a 13 X 9 X 2-inch baking dish.
  3. In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup sugar and 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon. Set aside.
  4. Peel, core, and cut apples in half across the equator.
  5. Divide dough into thirds. Roll each out on a lightly floured surface to 1/4-inch thickness and about a 7 by 14-inch rectangle. Cut in half to get 7-inch squares. Place an apple half on the center of each square. Sprinkle apple with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Paint the edges of the dough with a little water and wrap the dough around each apple half, pinching edges to seal. Place dumplings in the baking dish. Repeat with remaining dough and apples.
  6. Pour the sauce over the apples. Sprinkle apples with sugar if desired. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes until golden. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream.

Recipe Notes

A recipe for apples baked in a flaky crust with a cinnamon sugar filling and a buttery sauce.

 

Recipe Rating




Terra

Tuesday 10th of April 2012

I Love trying to recreate recipes from restaurants! What a fun recipe:-) This looks fantastic! Take care, Terra

Renee

Wednesday 11th of April 2012

Thanks Terra!

Anon, a mouse

Tuesday 10th of April 2012

Followed a tweet to your blog, and discovered not only the fantastic recipes, but that you appear to be a fellow greyhound and/or whippet mom! Thank you so much for sharing

Renee

Tuesday 10th of April 2012

Thanks for visiting! Yes, I am a whippet mom. I have 3 very spoiled ones. Hope you come back to visit soon.

amy @ fearless homemaker

Tuesday 10th of April 2012

yum, these sound awesome! i'm frequently inspired by dining out at restaurants + love trying to recreate (or improve upon) things at home. =)

Renee

Tuesday 10th of April 2012

It is nice to re-create what we discover in restaurants. I'm with you on the improving upon when it needs to be done.

Soni

Tuesday 10th of April 2012

Lovely and so delicious!!My kids love apple desserts and I cannot wait to try this recipe Renee!!Thanks for sharing and have a great day!

Renee

Tuesday 10th of April 2012

Thank you Soni! My husband really likes apple desserts too. He ate most of them over a few days time. I am sure I will be making them again for him soon.

Jen @ Juanita's Cocina

Tuesday 10th of April 2012

These look SO good, Renee!!! I make a "cheater version" using crescent rolls, but I'm going to have to make these!

Beautiful!

Renee

Tuesday 10th of April 2012

Thanks Jen! I have seen recipes with crescent rolls and store-bought pie crust but I wanted to make it all from scratch. I'm glad I did.