Homemade Apple Dumplings Recipe
Sauce Ingredients:
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1 Tsp cinnamon
- 2 Tablespoons butter
Dough Ingredients:
Making the Dough for Apple Dumplings:
Measure the shortening out and put it into the freezer until you have the rest of the dry ingredients together. It will be easier to cut the shortening into the flour when it’s very cold. Cut the shortening into the flour mixture with a pastry blender, or you can get your hands in the bowl and rub the mixture between your fingers then add the milk to the mix all at once. Mix the dough with a fork just until it forms a ball. The dough will be very soft.
Flour your board, you can roll the dough out into one big piece and cut individual equally sized dough patches for the apples to sit on or take the dough and divide it into 6 equal potions and roll them out individually. Place your peeled and cored apple in the center of the dough. Put enough butter into the hole of the apple to fill it. Sprinkle sugar ( be generous) over the apple, then sprinkle cinnamon on top. I’ve never measured the sugar or cinnamon out, I just sprinkle the two equally over each dumpling.
Wrap the dough around the apple until it’s completely covered and looks like a ball. I take it in my hands like a ball after I wrap the apple in dough and mold it around the apple and seal any opening, the dough is very easy to work with. Check the bottom and top of the apple to make sure there is enough dough at those points so none of the butter , sugar and cinnamon can leak out.
Decorating the Dumpling
I decorated the dumplings with the scrapes of dough that were left by making two leaves and a stem for the dumplings. For years I made the leaves by just cutting out two oval shapes of dough for each apple and just putting lines on them with a sharp knife to make it look like a leave. If you look online you can find little leaf cutters that do a fantastic job of making pretty leaves for the dumplings.
Pour the sauce we made earlier over top of each apple dumpling. Sprinkle the apples with sugar and bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 35 minutes. In my house we eat the dumplings warm with a little milk poured over them or with a scoop of ice cream. After the dumplings are baked you can take any sauce in the pan and coat the apples one more time before you serve them. The apples. the sauce, the dough, the cinnamon…it’s so good, ENJOY!
Homemade Apple Dumplings Recipe, I hope you love these as much as I do!
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Homemade Apple Dumplings
Ingredients
- Sauce Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 Tbls butter
Dough Ingredients
- 2 cups all flour
- 2 tsps baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 2/3 cup Crisco shortening
- 1/2 cup milk
- 6 small Macintosh or Gala Apples about 3 inches in diameter Peeled and cored. Do not cut in half I used Gala, leave them whole.
Instructions
- Make the sauce first so it has time to cool down.
- Make the dough and refrigerate it until you have peeled and cored your apples.
Sauce Directions
- I put all the sauce ingredients together in a medium saucepan. When it comes to a boil, I let it boil a minute or two to thicken a little bit.
For the dough
- Place the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Cut the shortening into the flour mixture with a pastry blender. Add milk all at once. Stir with a fork until the dough just forms a ball. Place in the refrigerator until you have peeled and cored the apples.
- Peel and core the apples. You can keep the apples from turning brown by placing them in cold water while you work.
- I divide the dough into six equal portions and roll them out on a lightly floured surface individually. You can also roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface long enough to fit 6 apples on it and cut the dough into six squares.
- Place the apples on a dough square, fill the center with butter, sprinkle sugar over top then sprinkle cinnamon over top.
- Mold the dough around the apple, making sure there are no opening for the filling to escape from. Place the apples in a 13x9 inch baking pan. Spacing them about an inch apart. Pour the sauce over the dumplings , then sprinkle with sugar. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 35 minutes. Spoon the sauce on the bottom of the pan over the apple dumplings after they come out of the oven.
Video
Mary, I made these couple weeks ago (6pieces of heaven 😉 and I’d love to make a bunch for the Thanksgiving crowd. Have you or anyone else ever made them a day before they went in the oven? Cooking for 20+ so sure could use the input if they would be ok and any tips to keep the apples fresh? Thanks SO much!!
Debbie from wisconsin
Anonymous, I’ve never made the dough ahead of time. You probably could and keep it in the fridge wrapped in plastic. You might beable to keep apples fresh by tossing them in lemon juice and putting those in the fridge too.
Hi there! MY family and I simply LOVE these! I my father practically licks the pan. But I have a problem I was hoping someone could help me with. Ever time I make them my shell falls off. They never come out complete. I have tried numerous shells, homemade and store bought. I can’t find anything that works. I would REALLY appreciate any suggestions. Thanks
Megan the only time the shell ever broke for me was when I cut the apple in half instead of using a whole apple cored and peeled. I also mold the dough around the apple with my hands so it’s a snug fit. I hope this helps. You might also try dicing the apples and making a little bundle with the dough as well. Thank you for trying and loving the recipe!
A great recipe I can’t wait to try out. I love apples and cinnamon, and especially dumplings!
I came up with a related recipe for Apple Dumplings in a cinnamon sauce. While different from your own, I think mine is a unique take on the dish. I’m new to the Food Blog scene and would love some feedback from a pro like you. Check out my recipe if have time.
http://persnicketypanhandler.blogspot.com/2013/10/apple-dumpling-with-cinnamon-sauce.html
Michele I just stopped by and they look terrific! Im gonna look you up on FB!!
I use Braeburn apples if I can’t get Northern Spy’s.Braeburn’s are better than most others including Mac’s for baking.
This is a killer recipe. Try the recipe for Bunny’s Easiest Pineapple Cake. It is absolutely the best cake in the world and almost foolproof to make . No cake mix required..Five Stars Gold Stars or whatever..
We’ve actually made these but in the middle of the apple we put apple pie filling, raisins and liquor and a nob of butter. They are amazing with a premium vanilla bean ice-cream.
Thank you Anonymous!! I’m so happy you made both the apple dumplings and the pineapple cake!!
Thank you Mr.CBB! Your adaptions sound wonderful!!
G’day! These look absolutely delicious! GREAT photo! Cheers! Joanne
Thank you Joanne, it was definitely a fun post to do!
Got this from Skinnytaste. Looks awesome but I don’t see the nutritional info???
Hi Anonymous,I’ve never had any nutritional info about the recipe.
I would like to bring these to my daughter in college. My question is: Can I make these the night before and when I see my daughter cook them at her house..
Hi AnnMarie, I’ve never made them up and let them sit over night before baking. I would say you could make the sauce and the dough and keep it in the fridge for the next day. Making sure the dough is covered in plastic wrap so it doesn’t dry out. You would have to reheat the sauce before pouring over the apples because the butter will solidify. And then peel and core the apples at your daughter’s apartment. Making them up and keeping them in the fridge overnight, I would be afraid the apples would turn brown on you. Hope this helps.
These look amazing – all I need is a cup of coffee to go with one. Thank you for sharing at Share It One More Time… Cathy
Your Apple Dumplings are just gorgeous! What a wonderful recipe, and now I am SO excited for FALL!
What a spectacular fall dessert Mary!
These look incredibly wonderful! We love apple dumplings, especially this time of year, thanks for sharing!
What BEAUTIFUL apple dumplings! And it looks so delicious too!