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About this Recipe
It’s fall, y’all, which means it’s pumpkin and apple season! If you grew up in a household with apple trees like I did, then you know what I mean when I say I’ve made many different apple recipes just to use up the abundance of apples from my tree.
Apple dumplings are a classic, old-fashioned recipe that you’ve probably heard about from beloved Disney movies like “The Apple Dumpling Gang” or “Snow White.” The recipe I turn to consistently every year comes from James Beard’s “American Cookery.”
What better time to plan a trip to an apple orchard, pick some fresh apples, and make delicious apple dumplings? Afterward, snuggle up with friends and family to watch some fun fall movies like “Sleepy Hollow” or “The Wind in the Willows.”
Ingredients
Crust
If you make homemade crust, you will need:
- 2 cups four
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup chilled shorting
- 5-6 tablespoons ice water
Otherwise, you can use premade pie crust or premade puff pastry.
Other Ingredients
You also will need:
- 6 small baking apples
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup butter
- Nutmeg to taste
- 1-1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
- 1 cup water
- 2 additional tablespoons butter
Making the Crust
(If you bought a crust, skip to the next step to make the filling.)
Add together flour, salt and shortening.
To start the crust, measure 2 cups of flour and 1 teaspoon of salt in a bowl. Mix well. Add chilled shortening into the bowl and cut it with a pastry knife or fork and knife.
Cut butter.
It is important to make sure you don’t cut the butter too small or too large. Cut the butter until it is around pea size as shown in the picture.
Add water to mixture.
Next, add 5-6 tablespoons of ice water. You’re going to want to add the water slowly. Make sure you spread the water around evenly. This step is easier to do with the help of a friend that way one can stir while the other pours the water. Once you’re done adding the water, your dough should get a bit sticky, allowing you to knead it a little.
Knead the dough.
It is important that you don’t play with the dough too much or you will not get the desired flaky crust. Knead it enough to form a ball. Once the ball is formed, wrap it with plastic wrap and chill it in the fridge for 1 hour.
Making the Filling
Cream the sugar.
Take 1/3 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of room-temperature butter and smash into a dough-like substance. Once that is done, set aside the filling and get started on your apples.
Prepare apples.
Start by washing your apples to get rid of any pesticides or dirt.
Peel the apples.
Peeling makes the apples easier to eat after they are cooked.
Core the apples.
I normally use an apple corer for this step, but I couldn’t find it. However, if you do not own an apple corer, you can use a knife to scoop out the apple core very carefully from the center of the apple.
Add creamed sugar to apple centers.
When apples are all cleaned out, add your sugar and butter filling to the apples.
Assemble apple halves.
Close the apples using the filling as a seal to hold the halves together. Add a dash of nutmeg onto the apples for flavoring. You also can add it to the filling, but as long as it’s on the apple, you will get the nutmeg flavor.
Making the dumplings
Roll out dough.
After the dough has chilled for an hour, take it out and roll it long enough so that you will be able to cut six slices. I got more than six, but I just added the extra dough to my apples.
Wrap the dough around apples.
Make sure the apples are sealed shut.
Chill dumplings in the fridge for 5 minutes.
This step isn’t too important, but it does help the crust out a little when baking, since you don’t want the crust to fall off your apples.
Making the Glaze
While the apples are in the fridge, get started on your glaze.
Combine brown sugar and butter.
Put the brown sugar and the remaining butter into a pot and melt them to a slight boil.
Make sure to stir consistently to ensure the glaze doesn’t burn.
Baking the Dumplings
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.- Put your dumplings in an oven-safe dish and lightly glaze them.
- Put the dish in the oven and bake for 5 minutes.
- After 5 minutes, brush them with the glaze and bake for another 30 minutes, basting them every 10 minutes.
- Bake until apples are tender and crust is a gold color.
- After they’re done, let the dumplings cool for a bit then serve with thick cream or milk.
And make sure not to waste any apple scraps! Feed them to your pets or add them to compost.
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