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Baked Apple Dumplings

by:
November 26, 2019
4
8 Ratings
Photo by Rocky Luten
  • Prep time 45 minutes
  • Cook time 30 minutes
  • Makes 6
Test Kitchen Notes

These easy apple dumplings are flaky and golden on the outside, soft and apple-y on the inside, flavored with a glistening bourbon sauce, and best served with a scoop of ice cream. —The Editors

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Ingredients
  • For the dough:
  • 9 ounces cream cheese
  • 12 ounces unsalted butter
  • 20 ounces all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
  • For the baked apple dumplings:
  • 6 Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored
  • 4 ounces unsalted butter, softened
  • 3 teaspoons allspice
  • 2 tablespoons pecans, coarsely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon bourbon
  • 3 ounces maple syrup
  • Granulated sugar
  • Maple or vanilla ice cream
Directions
  1. For the dough:
  2. Add the cream cheese, butter, and flour to a food processor. Pulse until the mixture has a sand-like texture. Then add the salt, cinnamon, and baking powder, and pulse again. Once combined, add 4 tablespoons iced water and vinegar and pulse until the mixture resembles a loose dough.
  3. Take the dough out on a floured surface and gather it together in a ball. Cover the dough with plastic film and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
  4. Divide the dough into 6 equal portions and roll out each portion in a 3- to 4-inch round circle. Cover these circles in plastic wrap and refrigerate until you are ready to make the apple dumpling.
  1. For the baked apple dumplings:
  2. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
  3. Prepare a bowl with ice and cold water. Dip the peeled apples in the ice-water bath to prevent oxidation.
  4. In a separate bowl, mix the butter, allspice, pecans, bourbon, and maple syrup until combined and freeze for 30 minutes.
  5. Spoon a tablespoon of this mixture into the core of each apple.
  6. Wrap each stuffed apple in the prepared dough. Roll the dough-wrapped apples in sugar and place them on a baking tray.
  7. Bake the apple dumplings for 25 to 30 minutes, or until they are golden brown.
  8. Serve warm with a scoop of maple or vanilla ice cream.
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18 Reviews

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Toni S. January 1, 2024
This recipe really looked good to me. I only used 3 apples so had to halve the ingredients.
The crust circles would never fit the apples at 3-4" diam, so I rolled it to about 7" square.
I thought the allspice would be too strong, so only used 1/2 of the amount, and added some cinnamon.
After 35 minutes the apple dumplings were still hard. After 55 minutes they still weren't cooked enough, but I was afraid to ruin the pastry by baking longer. On One of them the pastry fell 1/2 off during cooking. The flavors were good, but the 30 minutes in refrigerator and then another 30 to freeze the filling, and the stacking of the circles made it too time consuming for me. My mistake was not having a working appe corer available. That took a while too.
cosmiccook December 1, 2020
Looks like I'm the only person to actually make this recipe. My changes for this and the next time if I do it again.
I would have liked more instruction on how to stretch dough so it fit TIGHTLY around the apple as my dough slipped off during baking which I suspected would happen despite my pressing the dough around the apple.

1) I would either cut the dough part of the recipe in 1/2 AND go w MUCH smaller type apples 3 oz. or ladies for petite apples (Grannies, even the "smaller ones" are just too big). If using larger apples you'll need 5 + inch circle
2) Replace 15-20% of flour w whatever ground nut meal to compliment the nut used in the stuffing.
3) more nuts--and I added dried cranberries--if you can use granulated MAPLE SUGAR rather that syrup for both filling & outside dough roll or do an egg wash brush then sprinkle w maple sugar
3) Added pie spices, vanilla paste & orange oil to dough for more flavor
4) If your processor isn't huge and you have a mixer, use it to make the dough if doing a full recipe.
5) Roll dough out to no more 1/4 inch --1/8 would probably be better.
6) Make INDIVIDUAL disks before chilling for however many apples your using --easier to roll out
7) bourbon is good Calvados or spiced rum even better
8) DO NOT use 3 teaspoons of Allspice--this must be a mistake! I used 1/2-3/4 teaspoon of cinnamon, and 1/4-1/8 of allspice, nutmeg, cloves, ginger.

Paul Z. March 3, 2020
Okay. You are going to think I am crazy, but my partner's Mom's recipe calls for putting the dough-wrapped apples in a small baking dish and then - wait for it - adding a cup or so of apple juice or cider - practically submerging the bundles. It looks crazy going into the oven but comes out perfect. I have no idea how or why this works. Any thoughts?
Blessed G. March 21, 2020
That sounds good —I’m about to try it!!
Laura D. January 18, 2020
I've been making Apple Dumplings since I first saw the recipe in the 1956 edition of Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. This recipe is a little fancier with cream cheese pastry; but the plain pie pastry is also very good. The apples are filled with nuts, raisins, butter and cinnamon and served with a cinnamon sauce. My family always loved them. Reminds me of the old saying "there's nothing new just recycled." When my antiques dealer told me that he was only buying mid-century modern and danish modern items because that was all that was selling to the new couples, I knew how true that saying could be.

By the way, Granny Smith apples weren't available in the mid-century years, so we used either golden delicious or Jonathan apples (my favorite).
Etty December 30, 2019
I prepare similar stuffed apple dessert for Rosh Hashanah but I am using Paff Pastry which I rolled thinner a bit ( don’t like too much dough in my dessert) and wrap the apple like a bag with a leaf cut from dough, walnut instead of pecans and also served with vanilla ice cream. Super easy . Like your addition with bourbon and the maple syrup . Thank you .
Nocook December 9, 2019
Love the sound of this, heading out to buy Apple's, didn't see the ice water in ingredients until I read the directions. Trying it anyway.
JoAnne L. December 7, 2019
My Momma made Apple Dumplings similar to these when I was a child. Hers were a bit simpler, pie crust wrapped around peeled Granny Smith apples with a cinnamon, sugar, butter mixture in the cored out space with the tops sprinkled with more cinnamon and sugar before baking. She served them warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, YUM, nothing tasted better on a warm summer or fall evening.
Toni S. January 1, 2024
I think your recipe is simpler to make for sure.
Christie December 5, 2019
Maybe a three to four inch circle?
margaret December 6, 2019
The dough needs to wrap the apple, otherwise, the dough will heat up and fall off. Take a piece of lightweight fabric or just something soft and wrap apple up to core and this will tell you how big your circle needs to be. You will be surprised.
rox L. December 5, 2019
Am I placing the peeled apples in the ice until I am ready to fill them and wrap with dough. Should the apple be patted dry first? How big is the round of dough, 3/4????
Sounds delicious and would like clearer instructions. Thanks
margaret December 6, 2019
I would dry the apples prior to placing on dough. Good Thinking.
Annabelle December 2, 2019
“3/4-inch circle” seems like a typo?
margaret December 6, 2019
These would need to be very tiny apples for a 3/4" circle. Definitely an error. For me, just follow common sense and make the circle bigger.
Dot B. December 8, 2019
And yet, this recipe has been reproduced at Salon.com without the mystery 3/4"circle being corrected or explained.
Erin A. December 11, 2019
Apologies for the confusion! The recipe has been updated—it should be a 3 or 4-inch round circle.
Margaret L. December 22, 2019
The recipe has been corrected to read 3- to 4-inch circle, but the dumpling in the photograph appears to be quite a bit bigger than that. Compare it to the fork pictured on the plate. Remembering that pastry shrinks a bit when it's baked, I would imagine that it would take at least a 7- or 8-inch circle to cover that apple. Or some very tiny apples. As margaret suggested, I would use a paper towel or piece of cheesecloth to make a quick "pattern" for the apples to make sure I was rolling out circles that wouldn't shrink away and leave the apple exposed while baking.