Easy Apple Dumplings and the Meal Plan 10/25-10/31

Hello friends! It's been so long since I posted a recipe on here, that I decided to include a recipe with my regular Sunday night meal plan post. Holy cow, were these apple dumplings ever delicious!



Apple dumplings are probably my favorite fall dessert. My recipe is the one that my grandma used to make (you can click HERE for the recipe), baked with the dumplings swimming in a sweet, spiced sauce. I wasn't really shopping for a new apple dumpling recipe, but a while ago, I came across The Pioneer Woman's recipe for apple dumplings, which she obtained from her mother, who got the recipe from a friend named "Donna". I decided to try the recipe because it was 1. a quick, easy take on apple dumplings (No need to make pastry dough, you use crescent rolls. Plus, I only needed to peel 2 apples for this one.) AND 2. It called for Mountain Dew, which piqued my curiosity.

In a fraction of the time that it usually takes me to make apple dumpling dough, peel apples, make sauce, and lovingly shape each dumpling using my grandma's recipe, I had the pan of PW's dumplings ready for the oven. I think it only took me about 15 minutes to assemble these babies!

Here's what I did:

First, I peeled 2 big, gorgeously green Granny Smith Apples. (The sauce is so sweet that the tart Granny Smith is a good choice).



Since I needed to cut each apple into 8 slices, I enlisted my 8 slice apple cutter for the job. If you don't have one, you can obviously use your paring knife to core the apple and cut into slices.



Next, I busted open a couple of tubes of crescent rolls. Separate the dough into triangles and then place one apple slice on each crescent roll.



Roll em' up and place them into a 13 X 9 baking dish.



Now make the sauce. Melt 2 sticks of butter (That's right....2 WHOLE sticks!) in a saucepan.



Then stir in 1-1/2 cups of sugar, until just combined. You'll still have a layer of butter over the sugar. Don't bother stirring it too hard or too much. It won't help. Just accept the obstacle presented by the mass quantity of butter in front of you and move on. : )



Oh, and add a teaspoon of vanilla too.



After you stir in the vanilla, pour the sauce over the dumplings.



And now for the surprise ingredient: Mountain Dew!



I used about 10 oz. Pour it around the edges of the pan and down the center too.



After I poured in the Mountain Dew, I realized that I had my dumplings lined up into two fairly tight rows, so I moved them around a bit so that each dumpling had a chance to soak up the decadent sauce and brown evenly on the sides.



Then I sprinkled the whole pan with cinnamon before popping it into the oven for 40 minutes.



I have to say that the whole house smelled pretty amazing as this dessert bubbled away in my oven. Here's what the dumplings looked like when I pulled them out to cool.



And now for a bite!



These apple dumplings were yummy for such a little bit of effort. Here's how the Pioneer Woman described them: "these are really surprisingly delightful! The texture of the crescent rolls becomes something entirely different during the baking process: the top gets delightfully crisp and flavorful, while the underneath side remains soft and mushy and more “apple dumpling-y”. And the Mountain Dew, coupled with the obscene amount of butter, creates a yummy, sweet sauce at the end."

I took them to an afternoon get-together and they were a big hit! Of course, they were quite different from my grandma's apple dumplings, but wonderful in their own rite. Faced with an apple dumpling craving in a time crunch, I'd definitely make these again!

Here's the recipe from The Pioneer Woman Cooks

Apple Dumplings

Ingredients
■2 whole Granny Smith Apples
■2 cans (8 Oz. Cans) Crescent Rolls
■2 sticks Butter
■1-½ cup Sugar
■1 teaspoon Vanilla
■Cinnamon, To Taste
■1 can (12 Oz.) Mountain Dew Soda

Preparation Instructions

Peel and core apples. Cut each apple into 8 slices each. Roll each apple slice in a crescent roll. Place in a 9 x 13 buttered pan.

Melt butter, then add sugar and barely stir. Add vanilla, stir, and pour entire mixture over apples. Pour Mountain Dew around the edges of the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Serve with ice cream, and spoon some of the sweet sauces from the pan over the top.

*Notes: I did not butter my pan first...I'm pretty sure there was plenty of butter in this recipe to prevent sticking. Also, I only used 10 oz. of Mountain Dew.

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Now...for the Meal Plan:

Monday October 25th

Ham and Cheese Risotto

Tuesday October 26th

Slow Cooker Chicken Soft Tacos

Wednesday October 27th

Pumpkin Peanut Soup

Thursday October 28th

Leftovers

Friday October 29th

Chicken Cordon Bleu Pizza

Saturday October 30th

Trunk or Treat

Sunday October 31st

Trick or Treat (pizza party with neighbors and donuts in my driveway again!)

Grocery List

Produce

mushrooms
shallots
garlic
lime
ginger
2 onions
2 large sweet potatoes
taco topping veggies: lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, etc.

Meat

1 lb. cooked deli ham
3 1/2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast
1 cup cooked chicken breast meat, cut into chunks

Dairy

butter
5 oz. shredded asiago cheese
milk or half and half
Shredded cheese (for tacos)
flour tortillas
1 refrigerated pizza dough
sour cream
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese

Canned Goods

white wine (8 oz.)
6- 14.5 oz cans chicken broth
peanut butter
Dijon mustard
ketchup
soy sauce
vegetable oil
red wine or cider vinegar
sesame oil
1-16 oz. can pure solid pack pumpkin
1 jar salsa

Dry Goods

arborio rice
brown sugar
onion powder
red pepper flakes
3 packages taco seasoning

I hope that you all have a wonderful week!

Grandma's Apple Dumplings

In the last couple of posts I've written a bit about my mom. About her taking us trick or treating, her donuts, her apple pie... Apparently, my dad is feeling a little slighted by these posts. As one of my biggest fans, he reads each and every post that I type. Yesterday, when his name flashed on my caller ID and I picked up the phone, the first words I heard were: "I'll never take you trick or treating again!" Uh-oh. Yes, he was there too...but he usually stayed behind to receive trick or treaters while we were out (with my mom). I jokingly asked if he'd like for me to print a retraction on the donut post. Instead, today I will make him the hero of this post. And rightfully so, these apple dumplings were his mom's recipe. My Grandma Bailey. Oh how I miss this wonderful, sweet, little woman. She had the warmest smile with great big, beautiful dimples. I can still see her smiling...the way her eyes just shined. And she made the best apple dumplings...one of my very most favorite desserts when I was little. Check em' out.



A little over a week ago, I called home and asked if anyone knew where to find grandma's recipe. My dad promised that he'd track it down and get it to me the next day. Two days later I was still waiting so I called to harass him for it. He promised that I'd have it by Monday. He had some excuse about it being in an old laptop that he didn't use anymore and he'd have to find it (the laptop, that is). Monday arrived and still no sign of the recipe. I called and he answered, but pretended that I'd gotten his voicemail, "Hello, this is Gary, father to Krista...if you're calling for recipes please press 1 or hang up and try again later. BEEEP!" or something to that effect. Then he told me that he'd found the laptop and the recipe and was sending it right away. I never got it. I called him again the next morning. He swore that he'd sent it. "What? You never got it?! I sent it. Twice!" Sure, Dad. The recipe was in some sort of Betty Crocker program in his old computer that allowed the sender to email directly from the archives...only it didn't work. He thought that it had sent, but it hadn't. "I'll just copy it down and scan it," he promised. I didn't hold my breath. But a few minutes later, I had a new message from "Dad" in my inbox. Here is what I received in the form of an email attachment:



Vague, isn't it? Which ingredients go for the dough and which for the sauce? I called him again to let him know that I'd gotten the recipe and to tease him that he'd left out the rest of the instructions. He says that this is the way my grandma wrote the recipe down for him and that's exactly how it was entered into my parent's recipe database. Luckily, I have made these before. It's probably been 15 years, but I have made them and I know the basics of putting apple dumplings together.

That afternoon, one of my sisters called as I was rolling out the dough. I told her that I was in the middle of making grandma's apple dumplings. "What?! You have the recipe?" she asked. "Of course," I answered in my authoritative big sister voice, "Don't you?" (Gotta love the opportunity to "mess" with your little sister) She told me that she had tried to track down the recipe a year ago and no one seemed to know where it was. I just laughed and explained that it only took a week and a half of harassing phone calls to get it. Persistence. When I was finished telling of my quest for grandma's dumpling recipe she said, "You'll have to send it to me." To which I replied, "It'll be on my blog." Do you know what she said? "Oh, I don't read that. I don't have time." Dude! You're not supposed to tell me that you don't read my blog. Just pretend that you're interested. Geesh! I'm still laughing about it. In her defense, she is a very busy 3rd grade teacher and mommy to two rambunctious little boys aged 2 and 4. Still, I haven't called her with the recipe...Hahaha.(That's my evil big sister laugh.)

Bet you're reading now, Karla.

Here it is:

You begin by stirring the flour and baking powder together. Then cut in 2/3 cup of shortening. By shortening, I mean Crisco.



Now stir in some milk.



I knead my dough a few times in the bowl, just until it forms a ball. Too much kneading and you'll have a tough crust. You want it nice and tender.



Before rolling out the dough, let's make the sauce. Combine water, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a stick of butter in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Set aside.



Now roll out the dumplings. I used a tip from my husband's grandma and rolled out the dough between sheets of waxed paper. I floured the bottom sheet to keep the dough from sticking. I think I ended up rolling this to 1/4" thickness.



Cut the dough into 6 squares.



Peel a baking apple. Each dumpling can accommodate about half of an apple. I cut each half into 3-5 pieces and arrange them in the center of the square of dough. My grandma used to place a whole half of an apple in the center, seeds cut out, skin still on. Baked apple skin isn't my cup of tea, so I peeled mine.



Sprinkle the apples with sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. I used about 1/2 tablespoon of the sugar mixture per dumpling. Dot with butter.



To wrap them up, lightly brush all four edges with water, then fold each corner up to the center.



Pinch the edges together to seal.



Transfer the dumplings to a rectangular baking dish.



I had some extra dough left over, so I used a small, heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut a topper for each dumpling. A little leaf or apple shape would be pretty here too!



Pour the sauce into the pan of dumplings.



All ready for the oven!



Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. They turn a gorgeous golden brown color.



Look how sweet! They reminded me of a Valentine or love note sealed with a heart shaped sticker. Made with love...



Don't forget the ice cream! Or eat em' like my dad and I do, topped with some cold milk or fresh cream. Mmmm. Just typing this makes me want to walk into the kitchen right now and scoop up that last one. Thank goodness for self control...I'll wait until midnight.




Grandma Bailey's Apple Dumplings adapted by me

For the dumplings:

2-1/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2/3 cups Crisco
1/2 cup milk

Stir together flour and baking powder. Cut in Crisco. Stir in milk to form a soft dough and knead 2-3 times in the bowl until everything sticks together. Roll out to 1/4" thickness on a floured surface. Cut into 6 squares.

Filling:

3-4 baking apples, peeled and cored
3-4 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1-2 tablespoons butter for dotting

Cut apples into large pieces and arrange in the center of each dough square. Sprinkle with sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Dot with butter. Lightly brush a small amount of water on the edges of the dough. Fold the corners up to the center. Pinch to seal. Transfer to a rectangular baking dish.

Sauce:

2 cups water
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Bring the ingredients to a boil, stirring occasionally until the sugar is dissolved. Pour into the dumpling filled baking dish. Bake dumplings at 375 degrees for 45 minutes or until golden brown.

Thank you, Dad for taking the time to find and send grandma's recipe! I'm glad I finally have this heirloom recipe in my possession.