Apple Dumplings

[nightscotsman]

Apple Dumplings

Serves 6 as Dessert.

This is a recipe I got from my Mom for apple dumplings she used to make when I was little. It's a very unusual recipe in that she used diced rather than whole apples, the crust has quite a bit of baking powder and milk so it's halfway between a biscuit and a pie dough, and the whole thing is baked in a spiced syrup making it almost like a cobbler or pudding. Mom made a few changes to the original recipe and I made some as well (and will probably make more changes next time I make it).

• 
  

Syrup:

• 1-1/2 c sugar
  
• 1-1/2 c water
  
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
  
• 1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
  
• 3 T butter
  

Apples:

• 4 granny smiths, cored, peeled and chopped into 3/4" dice
  
• 1/2 c sugar
  
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  

Pastry:

• 2 c flour
  
• 2 tsp baking powder
  
• 1 tsp salt
  
• 2/3 c shortening (I used butter, Mom used Crisco)
  
• 1/2 c milk
  

Make syrup: combine first 4 ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. remove from heat and stir in butter. Let cool to room temp

For pastry: Combine flour, baking powder and salt. cut in butter using pastry blender or food processor until it forms coarse crumbs. Add milk all at once and stir quickly with a fork just until all the flour is moistened. don't over mix - treat it like a biscuit dough. Push the dough together and roll out a little larger than a 18x12 rectangle (do not chill first). Cut into squares a little larger than 6x6.

For apples: stir together sugar and spices and toss with apple chunks. Mound in center of pastry squares. moisten edges of pastry, bring corners together over apples and seal seams. don't worry about being neat and tidy or making sure the apples are completely sealed in - this is a very rustic, homey dessert. Put the dumplings in a 9x13 baking dish and pour the cooled syrup over them making sure to moisten all of the top surfaces. Sprinkle with a little bit of sugar and bake at 375 F for 35 minutes until the apples are tender. server warm (these also reheat in the microwave quite well).

I think this recipe might be even better using 4-5 cups of rhubarb instead of apples, and the the spicing could be played with. Also it's quite sweet, so some tinkering with the amount of sugar might be in order.

Keywords: Dessert, American, Vegetarian, Easy, Fruit

( RG435 )