Apple Dumplings

One of my all time favorite, warm and fuzzy, my-Mummer-loves-me desserts.  My earliest recollection of the treat was Mom making a pan of these for us after an apple picking excursion to Newport, or Newburgh, or Newry, or wherever they grow apples in Maine.  They were delicious and they went fast.  A few years later when I was a growing lad in high school, I’d bring my friends Dave and Lee and Eric home for a game of pool and a “snack”.  The four of us would polish off a dozen of these babies in one sitting.  I remember Mom once making 72 of these at a  time…a true labor of love.  Oh yeah…they also freeze well, so if you don’t have any high school friends, they’ll keep a while. – Scott

Ingredients

• Pastry for 9-inch two crust pies
• 6 baking apples (each about 3 inches in diameter), pared and cored
• 3 tablespoons raisins, optional
• 3 tablespoons chopped nuts
• 2½ cups packed brown sugar
• 1⅓ cups water
  

Instructions

Heat oven to 425°.  Prepare pastry.  Gather into a ball.  Roll ⅔ of the pastry into 14-inch square on lightly floured board with rolling pin; cut into 4 squares.  Roll remaining pastry into rectangle, 14×7 inches; cut into 2 squares.  Place apple on each square.

Mix raisins and nuts; fill each apple.  Moisten corners of each pastry square; bring 2 opposite corners up over apple and pinch.  Repeat with remaining corners; pinch edges of pastry to seal.  Place dumplings in ungreased baking dish, 13 x 9 x 2 inches.

Heat brown sugar and water to boiling; carefully pour around dumplings.  Bake, spooning or basting syrup over dumplings 2 or 3 times, until crust and apples are tender, about 40 minutes.  Serve warm or cool with cream or sweetened whipped cream if desired.  (Vanilla ice cream is also excellent.)

6 Dumplings