Description
Old-Fashioned Apple Dumplings are a nostalgic dessert featuring tender apple halves wrapped in flaky puff pastry or pie crust, baked to golden perfection and smothered in a warm, cinnamon-spiced buttery sauce. This classic American treat is perfect for cozy fall evenings and pairs beautifully with vanilla ice cream or cream.
Ingredients
Scale
For the Dumplings
- 2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored
- 1 sheet puff pastry or 1 package refrigerated pie crust (2 crusts)
For the Filling
- ¾ cup brown sugar, divided
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
For the Sauce
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup water
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Optional
- Extra cinnamon sugar for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Apples: Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Peel and core the apples, then cut each apple in half, creating 4 halves in total.
- Cut Dough: Roll out the pie crust or puff pastry and cut into 4 equal squares to wrap each apple half.
- Prepare Filling and Stuff Apples: In a small bowl, combine ¼ cup of the brown sugar with the ground cinnamon and nutmeg. Spoon some of this sugar-spice mixture into the hollow center of each apple half.
- Wrap Apples: Place one apple half in the center of each dough square. Fold the corners of the dough over the apples and pinch to seal, forming individual dumplings.
- Arrange Dumplings: Place the wrapped dumplings in a greased baking dish, ensuring they have some space between them.
- Make Sauce: In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the remaining ½ cup brown sugar, water, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook for 2–3 minutes to combine flavors.
- Pour Sauce and Bake: Pour the warm buttery sauce evenly over the dumplings. Bake in the preheated oven for 35–40 minutes, basting occasionally with the sauce, until the dumplings turn golden brown and the sauce is bubbly.
- Cool and Serve: Remove from oven and let cool slightly before serving. Optionally, sprinkle with extra cinnamon sugar and serve warm, ideally with vanilla ice cream or heavy cream.
Notes
- Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a drizzle of heavy cream for extra indulgence.
- For a sweeter flavor, Honeycrisp or Fuji apples make excellent substitutes for Granny Smith.
- For added texture and flavor, sprinkle chopped pecans inside the apple centers before wrapping in dough.
- If using pie crust instead of puff pastry, the texture will be slightly more crumbly but still delicious.
- Make sure to seal the dough corners tightly to prevent the sauce from leaking during baking.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 dumpling
- Calories: 430
- Sugar: 33g
- Sodium: 210mg
- Fat: 22g
- Saturated Fat: 11g
- Unsaturated Fat: 9g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 55g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 45mg
