Easy Apple Dumplings

Apple festivals are happening all over right now, with thousands of apple dumplings being sold.  I first had Apple Dumplings at a large apple festival, and I was hooked.  The apple, wrapped in pastry and bathed in a brown sugar caramel sauce, is the perfect treat on a cool autumn night.  They are easy to make, and you can use your own homemade pie crust, or even easier, use a premade refrigerated crust as I did.  Either way, the Apple Dumplings are delicious and fresh.  I make up a few dozen Apple Dumplings and freeze them, so that I can bake them whenever I’d like to have a reminder of crisp Autumn days.

Apple Dumplings and Their Easy Ingredients

A good cooking apple, such as a Jonamac, is the basis of delicious Apple Dumplings.  I normally just core them, but I’ve seen people peel them as well.  The choice is yours on that one.  Once the apples are cored, they are placed on the pie crust that has been rolled out.  I stuff the center core with butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon, perfect for a caramel sauce.  The pie crust is pulled over the top, and the Apple Dumplings are placed on a parchment lined baking sheet so they can be frozen and baked at a later date.  There’s nothing quite like a freshly baked apple dumpling in the middle of winter.

4 apples, cored (and peeled if desired)

1 pkg refrigerated pie crust

1 C brown sugar

¼ C butter (½ stick), cut into small cubes

1 T cinnamon

Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl; set aside.

Roll out one tube of the pie crust and cut in half.

Place a cored apple in the center of the crust.  Fill the center with butter and brown sugar.

Starting with the shortest sections, pull the pie crust up and move outward, covering the shorter sections with longer ones.  Fold over the top to seal.

Place on parchment covered baking sheet.

Freeze until solid, then wrap in plastic wrap and aluminum foil.  Keep frozen until ready to bake.