Pioneer Womans Apple Dumplings
My mom visited a month ago, and just before she left I called her and said, “Mom?” The End.
No, that wasn’t really the end. I just like to do that sometimes. I said, “Mom? Will you please bring your recipes?” Then I batted my eyelashes and waited for her answer.
“Sure,” she said. And I jumped for joy. Because you see, my mom’s “recipes” amount to two enormous—like, the most gargantuan I’ve ever seen—three-ring binders stuffed with plastic sleeves that contain every wonderful, fabulous recipe she’s used since The Dark Ages, or at least since around 1968. She still collects and tests recipes, so her plastic sleeves are updated with modern, interesting foods.
So I have a confession to make, seriously. When I looked forward to my mother’s visit, all I could think about was getting my hands on her recipe binders…and honestly, I secretly had the thought, Maybe she’ll forget them and leave them at my house. Then, while she was here and I was tidying up the kitchen, I “absentmindedly” put the binders in my pantry so they’d be out of the way. And sure enough, when she pulled away from my house the following Monday morning and drove back to Tennesse, she did so without her binders. And I’ve had them ever since.
I’ll have to make my peace with God about whether or not I subliminally, subconsciously, maybe, sorta, kinda, willed her recipe binders into being left here, but boy howdy, have I had some fun with those suckers! One of the first things I zeroed in on was this recipe for Apple Dumplings. Emailed to her by a friend known only as “Donna,” it uses Granny Smith apples, Pillsbury Crescent Rolls, and…GULP: a can of Mountain Dew. Oh, and more butter than you’ve ever seen on this website, ever. I had no idea what to expect, but it looked so easy, I had to try.
The result? I had to throw the pan away. These apple dumplings were SO indescribably delicious, after I took one bite to try them out, I proceeded to take thirty-four more. Then I became racked with guilt, fear, and shame, and I took another bite. Then I tossed the pan into the garbage. They were evil. And they had to be destroyed.
For those of you with will power, though, these are really surprisingly delightful! The texture of the crescent rolls becomes something entirely different during the baking process: the top gets delightfully crisp and flavorful, while the underneath side remains soft and mushy and more “apple dumpling-y”. And the Mountain Dew, coupled with the obscene amound of butter, creates a yummy, sweet sauce at the end. Serve these beauties with ice cream (or, if you’re on a diet, a huge dollup of sweetened whipped heavy cream) and you’ll be left wondering how such ordinary ingredients can be so sublime.
Ingredients :
Ingredients
####SIKI####
1 large apple {I used a Fuji- any apple will do, tartly is better}
1 can Pillsbury Crescent dough
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cups sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup or 6 oz. 7-Up or equivalent {half the can}
Directions :
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8×8 baking dish.
Cut each apple into 8-10 wedges.
Slice the apple skin off as well and set aside.
Separate the crescent roll dough into triangles.
Roll each apple wedge in crescent roll dough starting at the wide end.
Pinch to seal and cover apple and place in the baking dish. {This is easier if you first pat the apple wedge dry, then wrap dough around it.}
Melt butter in a small saucepan and stir in the sugar and cinnamon. Heat, whisking to combine.
The mixture will slowly combine and thicken. When it’s thickened, remove from heat and add vanilla.
Pour cinnamon mixture over the apple dumplings. Pour soda over the dumplings. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown!!!
No, that wasn’t really the end. I just like to do that sometimes. I said, “Mom? Will you please bring your recipes?” Then I batted my eyelashes and waited for her answer.
“Sure,” she said. And I jumped for joy. Because you see, my mom’s “recipes” amount to two enormous—like, the most gargantuan I’ve ever seen—three-ring binders stuffed with plastic sleeves that contain every wonderful, fabulous recipe she’s used since The Dark Ages, or at least since around 1968. She still collects and tests recipes, so her plastic sleeves are updated with modern, interesting foods.
So I have a confession to make, seriously. When I looked forward to my mother’s visit, all I could think about was getting my hands on her recipe binders…and honestly, I secretly had the thought, Maybe she’ll forget them and leave them at my house. Then, while she was here and I was tidying up the kitchen, I “absentmindedly” put the binders in my pantry so they’d be out of the way. And sure enough, when she pulled away from my house the following Monday morning and drove back to Tennesse, she did so without her binders. And I’ve had them ever since.
I’ll have to make my peace with God about whether or not I subliminally, subconsciously, maybe, sorta, kinda, willed her recipe binders into being left here, but boy howdy, have I had some fun with those suckers! One of the first things I zeroed in on was this recipe for Apple Dumplings. Emailed to her by a friend known only as “Donna,” it uses Granny Smith apples, Pillsbury Crescent Rolls, and…GULP: a can of Mountain Dew. Oh, and more butter than you’ve ever seen on this website, ever. I had no idea what to expect, but it looked so easy, I had to try.
The result? I had to throw the pan away. These apple dumplings were SO indescribably delicious, after I took one bite to try them out, I proceeded to take thirty-four more. Then I became racked with guilt, fear, and shame, and I took another bite. Then I tossed the pan into the garbage. They were evil. And they had to be destroyed.
For those of you with will power, though, these are really surprisingly delightful! The texture of the crescent rolls becomes something entirely different during the baking process: the top gets delightfully crisp and flavorful, while the underneath side remains soft and mushy and more “apple dumpling-y”. And the Mountain Dew, coupled with the obscene amound of butter, creates a yummy, sweet sauce at the end. Serve these beauties with ice cream (or, if you’re on a diet, a huge dollup of sweetened whipped heavy cream) and you’ll be left wondering how such ordinary ingredients can be so sublime.
Ingredients :
Ingredients
####SIKI####
1 large apple {I used a Fuji- any apple will do, tartly is better}
1 can Pillsbury Crescent dough
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cups sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup or 6 oz. 7-Up or equivalent {half the can}
Directions :
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8×8 baking dish.
Cut each apple into 8-10 wedges.
Slice the apple skin off as well and set aside.
Separate the crescent roll dough into triangles.
Roll each apple wedge in crescent roll dough starting at the wide end.
Pinch to seal and cover apple and place in the baking dish. {This is easier if you first pat the apple wedge dry, then wrap dough around it.}
Melt butter in a small saucepan and stir in the sugar and cinnamon. Heat, whisking to combine.
The mixture will slowly combine and thicken. When it’s thickened, remove from heat and add vanilla.
Pour cinnamon mixture over the apple dumplings. Pour soda over the dumplings. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown!!!