Green Apple Dumplings

First of all, welcome to my blog! I will be posting recipes, crafts, and various musings every so often. I hope you enjoy! I'm starting with Green Apple Dumplings.

This recipe belonged to my Grandma Molly. It has the perfect ratio of ease of preparation and deliciousness. And, while I can't exactly call it healthy, each dumpling has just 300 calories. That means I can eat one for breakfast tomorrow, right?


Start by making the pie crust. DO NOT believe people who say frozen pie crusts are as good as homemade. They lie! Homemade crust have that flaky yet soft and buttery quality I have never seen replicated at the supermarket.

Mix 2 cups of flour with one teaspoon salt. Add in 2/3 cup of shortening with a pastry cutter. Cut in the shortening until the pieces resemble peas.

Add in 5-6 tablespoons of ice cold water and gently mix with a fork. Be careful here. Only mix until it just begins to hold together. It's okay if there are crumbs at the bottom of the bowl. The more you handle the dough, the tougher it will get. I'm totally paranoid (it's my nature) about overmixing that I often end up making a huge mess rolling it out. I end up with delicious, albeit ugly dumplings. My mom helped me make these, so I was prodded into mixing a bit more.

Divide the dough into 7 balls and roll out each one until into a 6 inch circle. Some tips on preventing stickage: 

• Use a pastry board liberally dusted with flour. (If you don't have one, you could use a piece of canvas secured to your counter.)
• Use a cotton rolling pin cover dusted with flour. 
• Store the rolling pin with cover in the freezer. 

  

Peel and slice 3-4 Granny Smith apples, depending on how big they are. You'll need about 1/2 an apple per dumpling. 

Place the apple slices on the dough circles. Bring up the edges to almost enclose the apple pieces. Feel free to be as artistic/rustic as you want. Place 1/2 teaspoon butter on top of the apples.

You can bake them immediately or place them directly in the freezer for a few days. When you're ready, bake at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes. They should be beginning to brown.

I must confess, the Christmas cocktails began to flow, and I forgot to take any more pictures. Rookie mistake.

At some point on the day you want to serve the dumplings, whip up this delicious sauce to serve on top. I could drink this sauce. I could swim in a river of this sauce. It's. That. Good.

In a saucepan, stir together 2 tablespoons flour and 1 cup sugar. Add 1 cup water and whisk until there are no lumps. Heat to boiling and then let it boil for 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and stir in 2 tablespoons butter and a splash of vanilla. Reheat when you're ready to serve.

Ladle a generous amount of sauce over each dumpling. Serve, take a bow, and soak up the praise.

[picture of beautiful finished product]

Apple Dumpling Recipe:

Crust:
2 c flour

1 t salt
2/3 c shortening
5-6 T ice cold water

Mix flour and salt. Cut in the shortening with a pastry cutter until the pieces resemble peas. Using a fork to mix, slowly add the ice cold water, adding only enough water and mixing just enough to make the dough hold together. Divide into 7 balls. Roll out each ball into a 6 inch circle.


Dumplings:
3-4 cups peeled and sliced tart apples
2 T butter

Top each dough circle with 1/2 cup apples. Bring up the edges to almost enclose the apple pieces. Put 1/2 t butter on top of the apples. Place dumplings on a cookie sheet. Bake at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes.


Sauce: 

2 T flour
1 c sugar
2 T butter
1 t vanilla (scant)

In a saucepan, stir together flour and sugar. Add water and stir until there are no lumps. Heat to boiling and boil 30 seconds. Remove from heat. Stir in butter and vanilla. Top each dumpling with a generous amount of sauce.


Bon appétit!

I hope you enjoy these as much as I do.