Easy Peasy Apple Dumplings

Ok, so an apple dumpling is basically a self containted apple pie. Totally yummy and easy to make. I got hooked on these when I was in the hospital after having Max, my newest son. I looked up a recipe online but have modified those I found to come up with this semi-homemade version that is just as great and omits the sugar and butter sauce that is normally acoompanied. I recently served one to my cousin visiting from New Hampshire and he enjoyed them too, so I have a second positive opinion on these.

Ingredients

• 1 two-pack of premade pie crust
• 4 medium sized apples (any kind will do though I find Red Delicious to be too sweet, a tangier apple is IMO better)
• Butter
• Sugar
• Cinnamon
• Cooking spray (I use olive oil spritzer)

Pre-Heat oven to 410-420 degrees.

Spray a 8x8 or larger baking dish with cooking spray, throughly! and set aside. The cinnamon and sugar tend to caramelize and stick to the pan otherwise.

Apple prep.

I use a steak knife and take the skin off the apple, this is one of the directions from others that I've just incorporated, it seems it makes it easier to eat after it's cooked. Though if you prefer to leave it on, I'd love to hear the results of how they turn out. I also take this time to use up some of the lesser pretty fruits.

I have one of these little gadgets from Pampered Chef though you could probably find one somewhere else.

I used to use an apple corer but found that apples aren't usually perfectly straight cored and ended up scraping out insides anyway. Also, with this method (which takes about the same amount of time as coring), you don't have to scrap the bottom of the core to use as a plug. Otherwise you won't retain the juices and liquified sugar/cinnamon/butter while cooking. Here are my peeled apples with their Rachel Ray garbage bowl.

This is what they'll look like after you core them with the little mellon baller thing. Just use it like a scoop.

Now your apples are preped!

Wrapping the apples.

I do these at the same time like an assembly line but if you prefer to do one at a time it doesn't affect the outcome of the dumplings.

Roll out the premade pie crusts on a clean surface (you may have to bring them to room temp or at least not fridge cold so it doesn't stick to itself when you unroll it).

Score the dough down the center and place one apple on each cut piece (see photo).

Fill each apple with sugar and top with cinnamon. I use a lot of cinnamon and also dust the inside crust with it to give it more flavor. But this is your preference. Top with a pad of butter. They should look similar to this.

Start wrapping the apples by brining one long side up and over the apple at a time. Press the dough together making sure you don't stretch it too much as it will cause rips under the apple. Like so...

Continue pulling up a side and pressing together until you have something that looks like this.

Place in the baking dish approx 1" apart. Either dab the tops with water or spray with cooking spray and sprinkle sugar on top.

Cook for 35-45 minutes or until they look like this, and Enjoy!