Slowly but surely I am becoming more and more comfortable trying out my baking skills. Granted I am still a long way off from competing with my Mom who is the baking Queen of the universe. Once someone tries any of her baked goods they will come back again and again to ask Mom Mom if she will bake them a cake, pie, cookies or anything sweet.
I am the tortoise in the baking race of life. I am slow but steadily gaining ground as I go along. Today I decided I would try to make an Apple Dumpling for dmariedining.com. Instead of making an apple pie I thought it would be nice to create an apple filled pastry that has all of the flavors of an apple pie. Plus, the process seemed simpler to me. I wanted an individual dessert rather than a large pie since my family does not eat a lot of dessert. Making an Apple Dumpling meant I could make two dumplings that we could all share and not worry about wasting a whole pie.
I must admit I have only had an Apple Dumpling once or twice in my life. They were okay but the pastry was a little tough. For me, the crust is the best part of any pastry dessert. Since I am still honing my baking skills I either get my Mom to make me a batch of crust which freezes nicely or I buy a crust I know will be flaky.
Apple Dumplings are a wonderful treat that is pretty simple to make with only a few ingredients. Hmmm… I think I will try making a peach dumpling when peach season comes around.
Apple Dumpling
Ingredients:
2 granny smith apples peeled
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
½ tbsp nutmeg
4 tbsp butter melted
1 egg lightly beaten
1 box Pillsbury Pie Crusts (two per box)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Slice and core apple with an apple slicer (to maintain shape of apple). Wrap a strip of pastry dough around the apple to hold slices together. Melt butter in small sauce pan. Brush apple with butter then roll in sugar mixture or pat mixture around apple with your hands. Place apple in the center of the pastry. Spoon a little melted butter in the middle of the apple and fill center with more of the sugar mixture. Fold pastry tightly around apple and brush the pastry with egg wash. Poke the top and sides of the pastry with a fork for ventilation. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hr until golden brown and the apples appear to be soft..
dmarie-dining 