Recipes Desserts Fruit Desserts Apple Dessert Recipes Old-Fashioned Apple Dumplings 4.8 (430) 346 Reviews 71 Photos These are the apple dumplings my grandmother used to make: warm, flaky, apple-y sweet, and drizzled with a sauce baked right with them. They aren't difficult to make, just a little time-consuming. Submitted by MICKI WOOD Updated on August 28, 2024 Save Rate Print Share Add Photo 71 71 71 71 Prep Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 1 hr Total Time: 1 hr 30 mins Servings: 6 Yield: 6 dumplings Jump to Nutrition Facts Jump to recipe This old-fashioned apple dumpling recipe is cozy, warm, and simply feels like home. What Are Apple Dumplings? An apple dumpling is a baked pastry-wrapped apple. They’re usually sweetened with sugar and spiced with cinnamon. Apple dumplings are typically topped with a sweet sauce, buttery sauce before or after baking. Apple Dumpling Ingredients These are the simple ingredients you’ll need to make this old-fashioned apple dumpling recipe at home: Pie crust: Use a store-bought or homemade double pastry crust. Apples: This recipe calls for six large Granny Smith apples. Butter: A stick of butter lends richness to the dumplings and the sauce. Sugars: You’ll need both brown sugar and white sugar. Spices: These apple dumplings are spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg. Water: The sweet sauce starts with three cups of water. Vanilla: Vanilla extract enhances the overall flavor. What Type of Apples Are Best for Apple Dumplings? Granny Smith apples are perfect for this recipe because they are firm enough to stand up to high heat and the slightly tart flavor is perfectly balanced by the blend of brown and white sugars. Other great options include Honeycrisp, Gala, and Fuji apples. Of course, using a combination of sweet and tart varieties is always a good idea. How to Make Apple Dumplings You’ll find the full, step-by-step recipe below – but here’s a brief overview of what you can expect when you make apple dumplings: Roll out the pastry and cut into squares.Assemble the dumplings according to the detailed instructions in the recipe. Shape and seal the dumplings with slightly wet fingers. Make the sauce and pour it over the dumplings. Bake the dumplings in a preheated oven until golden and crisp on top. How to Serve Apple Dumplings Serve the apple dumpling in individual dessert bowls with the sauce spooned over the tops. To take the delicious dessert up a notch, add a scoop of vanilla ice cream to each bowl. Allrecipes Community Tips and Praise “I made this for dessert on a beautiful Fall Sunday,” says j. cook. “They were so fun for my daughter and I to make together! After the first half hour I covered in foil. They came out beautifully! Just delicious as is or even better with some vanilla ice cream!” “These dumplings are totally delicious!” according to Mrs Hooper. "I've made them three times in the past month, no one can get enough of them! Out of preference, I only make and use half of the sauce. This recipe is well worth the wait!" “This is my all time favorite recipe,” raves brwneyedsue. “Simply delicious. I used premade pie crusts and an apple peeler-corer-slicer machine. Makes it super fast! I also like to put mine in individual ramekins. Great with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!” Editorial contributions by Corey Williams Cook Mode (Keep screen awake) Ingredients 1x 2x 4x Oops! Something went wrong. Our team is working on it. Original recipe (1X) yields 6 servings 1 (14.1 ounce) double-crust pie pastry, thawed 6 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored ½ cup butter ¾ cup brown sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg 3 cups water 2 cups white sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Directions Gather all ingredients. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Butter a 9x13-inch pan. Dotdash Meredith Food Studios Roll pastry into a 24x16-inch rectangle on a lightly floured surface. Cut into six 8-inch squares. Place an apple on each pastry square with the cored opening facing upward. Dotdash Meredith Food Studios Cut butter into 8 pieces; place 1 piece in the opening of each apple; reserve the remaining butter for sauce. Dotdash Meredith Food Studios 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 apples. Dotdash Meredith Food Studios Using slightly wet fingertips, bring one corner of the 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 and place in the prepared baking dish. Dotdash Meredith Food Studios To make the sauce: Combine water, white sugar, vanilla extract, and reserved butter in a large saucepan. Place over medium heat, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes. Dotdash Meredith Food Studios Carefully pour the sauce over dumplings. Dotdash Meredith Food Studios Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown and crisp on top, about 50 to 60 minutes. Dotdash Meredith Food Studios Place each apple dumpling in a dessert bowl, and spoon some of the sauce over the top. Dotdash Meredith Food Studios I Made It Print 648 home cooks made it! Nutrition Facts (per serving) 899 Calories 35g Fat 148g Carbs 5g Protein Show Full Nutrition Label Hide Full Nutrition Label Nutrition Facts Servings Per Recipe 6 Calories 899 % Daily Value * Total Fat 35g 45% Saturated Fat 15g 74% Cholesterol 41mg 14% Sodium 434mg 19% Total Carbohydrate 148g 54% Dietary Fiber 7g 23% Total Sugars 115g Protein 5g 9% Vitamin C 11mg 12% Calcium 52mg 4% Iron 2mg 13% Potassium 319mg 7% * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs. ** Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data. (-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.