Best Michigan Apple Dumpling Recipes

APPLE DUMPLINGS WITH SAUCE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine flour and salt; cut in shortening until crumbly. Gradually add water, tossing with a fork until dough forms a ball. Divide into 8 portions. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes or until easy to handle., Preheat oven to 350°. Roll each portion of dough between 2 lightly floured sheets of waxed paper into a 7-in. square. Place an apple on each square. Place 1 teaspoon butter and 1 teaspoon cinnamon sugar in the center of each apple., Gently bring up corners of pastry to each center, trimming any excess; pinch edges to seal. If desired, cut out apple leaves and stems from dough scraps; attach to dumplings with water. Place in a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining cinnamon sugar., In a large saucepan, combine sauce ingredients. Bring just to a boil, stirring until blended. Pour over apples. , Bake until apples are tender and pastry is golden brown, 50-55 minutes, basting occasionally with sauce. Serve warm.

CHEF JOHN'S APPLE DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Butter a baking dish.
• Combine brown sugar, 3 tablespoons butter, and water in a small pot over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, and boil until all sugar is dissolved. Turn off heat and swirl pot gently to combine. Reserve sauce until needed.
• Stir sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl. Core the unpeeled apples.
• Divide pie dough into 4 portions. Roll out on a lightly floured surface into 4 circles about 1/8-inch thick and 7 inches in diameter, or large enough to fully wrap an apple.
• Place apples in the center of each round of dough. Spoon about 3 teaspoons of cinnamon sugar into the apple cores; fill each hole with a teaspoon of butter.
• Wrap each apple up in pie dough, sealing the dough together at the top. Be careful not to pull and stretch it too tightly around the apple as you wrap, or it might break apart when it bakes; brush lightly with water if dough won't stick together. Even out the top and trim off any excess; shape into decorative leaves if desired.
• Place wrapped apples seam-side up into the buttered baking dish. Ladle some sauce over each to cover completely.
• Bake in the preheated oven, basting with sauce occasionally, until pastry is browned and cooked through and apples are tender, 50 to 60 minutes. Remove from the oven and baste with more sauce. Serve warm.

OLD-FASHIONED APPLE DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Butter a 9x13 inch pan.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll pastry into a large rectangle, about 24 by 16 inches. Cut into 6 square pieces. Place an apple on each pastry square with the cored opening facing upward. Cut butter into 8 pieces. Place 1 piece of butter in the opening of each apple; reserve remaining butter for sauce. Divide brown sugar between apples, poking some inside each cored opening and the rest around the base of each apple. Sprinkle cinnamon and nutmeg over the apples.
• With slightly wet fingertips, bring one corner of pastry square up to the top of the apple, then bring the opposite corner to the top and press together. Bring up the two remaining corners, and seal. Slightly pinch the dough at the sides to completely seal in the apple. Repeat with the remaining apples. Place in prepared baking dish.
• In a saucepan, combine water, white sugar, vanilla extract and reserved butter. Place over medium heat, and bring to a boil in a large saucepan. Boil for 5 minutes, or until sugar is dissolved. Carefully pour over dumplings.
• Bake in preheated oven for 50 to 60 minutes. Place each apple dumpling in a dessert bowl, and spoon some sauce over the top.

APPLE DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• For the pastry dough: Mix together the flour and salt in a large bowl. Add the lard and butter and mix with your hands until crumbly. Slowly add the water and mix until the dough comes together, then coat with flour to prevent sticking. Refrigerate the dough for a minimum of 2 hours and preferably overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Roll out the dough into a 1/8-inch-thick square on a lightly floured surface, then cut the into six 7-by-7-inch squares.
• For the apple filling: Peel and core the apples. Place an apple in the center of each dough square. Put 1 piece of butter into the center of each apple. Push some brown sugar down on top of the butter until packed tight. Put a second piece of butter on top of the sugar. Sprinkle cinnamon liberally across the dough and the filled apples. Fold opposite corners of the dough up around each apple, and then turn over and mold the rest of the dough over the apples, being careful not to leave any parts of the apples exposed. Tear off any excess dough on the bottom of each apple.
• Place the apples in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
• For the dumpling sauce: Combine the water, granulated sugar, butter and vanilla in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat.
• Ladle 1/2 cup of the dumpling sauce over each dumpling and pour the excess sauce into the baking dish. Bake until the crust is golden brown and the fruit is tender, about 35 minutes. Serve warm.

EASY APPLE DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. For syrup, place 1 cup sugar, water, 3 tablespoons butter and ¼ teaspoon cinnamon in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Boil 3 minutes; remove from heat., Mix the remaining ½ cup sugar and ¼ teaspoon cinnamon. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to a 21x14-in. rectangle; cut into 6 squares. Place an apple on each square. Fill center of each with 4 teaspoons sugar mixture and ½ teaspoon butter. Moisten edges of crust with water; bring up corners over apples, pinching edges to seal. Place in an ungreased 13x9-in. baking dish., Pour syrup around apples. Bake until golden brown and apples are tender, about 45 minutes. Serve warm.