This apple dumpling recipe can be enjoyed for breakfast, dessert or any time of the day at all!
The other night I went to bed promising myself that I would spend the following day cleaning.
But, as fate would have it, I woke up the next morning with apple dumplings on the brain.
And wouldn’t you know, I simply could not get anything else accomplished until I made apple dumplings happen in my kitchen.
I live a truly difficult existence.
Now, rumor has it that many apple dumpling recipes ask you to turn to cans of premade biscuits or crescent rolls, and bottles of 7Up or {shudder} Mountain Dew.
But guys, I knew we could do better than high-fructose corn syrup, artificial dyes and more preservatives than I care to consider.
I knew I could make these dumplings every bit as delicious – and certainly no more difficult or time consuming – with fresh ingredients.
These apple dumplings come together with a quick and easy pastry dough, which will seriously only take you about 3 minutes to pull together. And in place of the soda, I chose to use ginger beer.
I happen to like this brand, which makes use of natural ingredients that I can actually pronounce, such as fresh ginger and cane sugar. Using the ginger beer produces the same effect as using soda, but without the mystery ingredients.
Make these apple dumplings for a special breakfast, or serve them alongside some vanilla ice cream for a delicious dessert. Either way, you can’t go wrong.
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Apple Dumpling Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 2 tablespoons Granulated Sugar
- 1/2 cup Shortening
- 1/4 cup Unsalted Butter cut into chunks
- 1/3 cup Buttermilk cold
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Granulated Sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 2 medium Granny Smith Apple
- 8 tablespoons Unsalted Butter plus more for buttering baking dish
- 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
- 12 ounces Ginger Beer
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 °. Butter a 13×9-inch baking dish; set aside.
- Peel, core, and cut each of the apples into 8 pieces, giving you 16 total apple slices. Place apple slices into a bowl of cold water with a few tablespoons of lemon juice. This will prevent the apples from browning while you work.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut in the shortening and the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Pour in the cold buttermilk and stir together with a fork until the dough is shaggy but just starting to come together.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead 2 or 3 times, just to bring the dough together. Form into a disk and cut it into 16 equal pieces. Pat each piece into a circle approximately 4-inches in diameter. Place an apple slice in the center of the dough (make sure to shake off any excess water), and fold the dough around the apple, pinching to seal the edges. Arrange dumplings in the prepared baking dish.
- Melt the stick of butter. Whisk in the ¾ cup of sugar and vanilla – the mixture will be thick and grainy. Pour evenly over the dumplings, and then pour the ginger beer around the edges of the pan. There will seem to be a lot of liquid around your dumplings – this is ok! It will reduce into a lovely, thick syrup in the oven.
- Whisk together the cinnamon and sugar. Sprinkle evenly over the top of the dumplings and liquid. (This will ultimately form a nice crust on the top of the dumplings.)
- Bake dumplings for 35-45 minutes, or until nicely golden on top and the syrup is bubbly. Allow to cool for several minutes before serving warm.
- Will keep for 3 days, covered in the refrigerator.