Apple Dumplings

This post was originally published November 6, 2012. Photos of the Apple Dumplings and some of the text have been updated below.

What’s better than apple pie? Apple Dumplings! These are so easy to make and are so delicious. I stole this recipe from my sister who made these for my parents back home. I never tasted hers, but I’m pretty sure these are better ;).

Apple pie is one of my all-time favorite fall desserts. These apple dumplings reminded me of a ball of apple pie. When you’re too lazy to make a whole pie, make these instead. They’ll give you that apple pie fix your sweet tooth is craving!

These apple dumplings are perfect to make after a fun day of apple picking. While I don’t like Granny Smith apples in pie, these are perfect. Sorry, but they’re too tart. I always find they don’t cook fully in a pie, so I use them sparingly. However, you’ll want to use Granny Smith apples in this dessert because the tartness balances out the sweet.

As you can see from the photos they all fell apart! Well, one apple was already in thirds, I thought the crust would keep it together. While they were baking, they looked perfect. At 50 minutes, I took them out of the oven. But I thought they needed 10 more minutes. Because they started to cool and then reheated quickly, I think they exploded :(. So when you take these out, don’t put them back! But also, cut a little slit at the top to let steam escape.

[recipe title=”Apple Dumplings” servings=”4″ time=”1 hour” difficulty=”Easy” image=”https://liliesandloafers.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/IMG_8691.jpg”] [recipe-ingredients]

• 4 Granny Smith Apples, peeled and cored.
• 1 cup of water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tsp of vanilla
• 4 tbsp of butter; softened and divided into 2 tbsp
• 1/4 ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tbsp of cinnamon sugar (mix cinnamon with 2 tbsp of sugar)
• 2 rolled, refrigerated pie crusts

[/recipe-ingredients] [recipe-directions]

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. In small saucepan, combine water, white sugar, vanilla, 1 tbsp butter, and nutmeg over high heat. Bring to a boil for one minute and set aside.
3. Combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and the 2nd tbsp of butter in a small bowl. Mix well!
4. Unroll the pie crusts and square them off to the best of your ability. Cut them so you have 4 similarly-sized sheets of dough.
5. Rub the outside of the apples with cinnamon sugar.
6. Stuff each apple cavity with an equal amount of brown sugar mixture and place on a pastry quarter.
7. Bring one corner of the dough up to the middle of the apple. Take the opposite corner and do the same, pressing the corners together. Continue with the remaining corners.
8. Seal the edges and fold onto the apple or cut off.
9. You can be creative with the extra dough! I made little leaves! Cut little leaf shapes out of the dough and used a knife to delicately carve a leaf pattern (the lines) into each shape. Press the leaves on the top of the apples.
10. Place apples in a baking dish and pour the bubbling sugar mixture over the crust.
11. Bake for about 45-50 minutes or until the crusts are golden brown.
12. Immediately scoop some of the brown sugar mixture that’s in the baking dish over the apple dumplings.
13. Let them cool off for a 10-15 minutes, cut them open, and enjoy!

[/recipe-directions] [/recipe]