Old Fashioned Apple Dumplings with Sauce
Old Fashioned Apple Dumplings with Warm Sauce is a classic dessert that is easy to make and best served right from the oven, topped with your favorite vanilla ice cream.
Apple Dumplings Recipe
Apple dumplings bring back such good memories. I remember my Grandma Lucille making apple dumplings for us and how good they made the whole house smell as they baked.
We could hardly wait to enjoy them, still warm from the oven, and topped with vanilla ice cream. And at Grandma’s house, you could eat as much as you wanted! Those were the days.
Apple dumplings are a classic dessert your family will love, no matter the occasion.
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Ingredients
- Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust dough
- Apples: For this recipe, choose a tart apple such as Granny Smith or Jonathon, but nearly any small, crisp apple will work.
- Butter
- Granulated sugar
- Brown sugar
- Flour
- Cinnamon
- Kosher salt: Can substitute regular salt
- Pecans: Optional. I like the pecans for a bit of added texture, but if your family prefers no nuts, the dumplings are still completely delicious.
How to Make Easy Apple Dumplings with Sauce
Use a grapefruit spoon or pairing knife to remove the center (where the seeds and membrane are) of the apple, working from the top.
Leave the skin on the apple while doing this step to keep the apple flesh in tact while you work.
Once you’ve removed the center of each apple, go ahead and peel each one.
Next, combine the ingredients to make the brown sugar/pecan filling. In a small mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour until smooth; stir in pecans if you are using them.
Then, fill the center of each apple as shown above.
Meanwhile, place the sauce ingredients into a saucepan over medium-high heat and whisk until smooth.
Bring to a boil and simmer for 10-15 minutes; reserve.
Open the box of pie crust dough and lay both crusts out onto a lightly flour work surface. Using a rolling pin, roll each one out just a bit to make it a little thinner.
Now, use a paring knife to cut each pie crust into thirds to make 6 pieces of dough. Don’t worry that these pieces are unevenly shaped!
Wrap the dough around each stuffed apple.
Then place each one into a greased 11×7-inch baking dish, standing inverted.
Pour half of the sauce around the base of the apples in the bottom of the baking dish.
Bake the apple dumplings, uncovered, in a preheated 375 degree F. oven for 30 minutes.
Then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and continue to bake for an additional 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
The dumplings are done when they are fork-tender at the center.
Serve the apple dumplings warm, drizzled with more sauce, if desired, with vanilla or caramel ice cream.
Using homemade pie crust
My favorite pastry dough for pie crust is this Tender and Flaky Pie Crust I’ve made for years.
It’s a very buttery crust that is worth the work, which really isn’t much in the scheme of things. I like to make several batches
Coring apples before peeling
If you leave the apples peeled while you are working to remove the center (core them), the skin of the apple holds the flesh together to keep it from breaking apart.
Yes, you can do this in reverse, but it makes the job a lot more challenging!
Salting apples
This is just because the salt enhances and mellows the sweetness of the entire dessert.
Also, if you’d like the cinnamon sauce to be a bit “rosy” in color, add a tiny drop of red food coloring.
Storing Apple Dumplings
Apple dumplings don’t keep well for long which is really no problem since they are typically devoured and gone before you can shake a stick.
At best, they will keep up to a day or two before the crust begins to get soggy from the moisture of the apple inside.
More favorite recipes to enjoy
This easy Super Moist Caramel Apple Cake recipe makes the most moist, tender, and deliciously dense cake dripping with caramel sauce.
Caramel Apple French Toast is the perfect caramel apple combination in this breakfast or brunch bake is a delicious and decadent treat.
Bring on fall with this apple pie baked oatmeal with juicy apples and paired with old fashioned oats, cinnamon and nutmeg and a touch of brown sugar.
Grandma Lucille also made a pretty mean sugar cookie. I’m betting, though, that you may have never experienced a sugar cookie quite like hers – they are like a sugar cookie crossed with a biscuit….fat and puffy and just a little bit sweet. I hope you’ll try them and let me know what you think.
Old Fashion Apple Dumplings with Sauce
Ingredients
Pie Dough (Pastry Crust Dough)
- 1 box refrigerated pastry crust, containing 2 rolls of pie crust dough
Cinnamon Sauce
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1/8 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
Brown Sugar Pecan Filling
- 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 2 Tbs. unsalted butter, softened
- 1 Tbs. all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup chopped toasted pecans
Apples
- 6 small Granny Smith or Jonathon apples, any tart apple works great
Instructions
Make the Cinnamon Sauce
- Place all ingredients into a medium sauce pan over medium high heat; bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and let the sauce simmer for 10-15 minutes, whisking occasionally; remove from heat and reserve.
Make the Brown Sugar Pecan Filling
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour until smooth; stir in pecans.
Core the Apples
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Leaving the apples peeled at this point, use a grapefruit spoon to remove the center of each apple and the seeds, leaving some of the apple intact at the bottom; repeat with the remaining 5 apples. **You can also use an apple corer for this task, just be sure you don't make the hole go all the way through the bottom of the apple. Otherwise, your filling will run out of the bottom of each one.
- Once you've created the cavity in each apple, now go ahead and peel each one. **Leaving the peeling on each apple until it's fully cored keeps the apple flesh from breaking as you are working on each one.
- Place the apples into a greased 11×7 inch greased baking dish to see if they will sit up properly. If they are lopsided, use a paring knife or peeler to adjust on the bottom until they are more even when standing.
Fill the Apples
- Use your fingers to fill the cavity of each apple with the brown sugar/pecan filling, gently pressing it down inside to compact it a bit.
Wrap the Apples with Pie Crust Dough
- Unwrap and unroll the pie crust dough, working one at a time. Place the pastry dough onto a lightly floured work surface; use a rolling pin to roll it out just a bit. Now cut the dough into 3 pieces; repeat with the remaining pie crust roll.
- Wrap each of the filling apples with the pie crust dough pieces, shaping the dough around the apple however you can. They should look rather "rustic" and not perfect at all. Place dough-wrapped apples into the greased casserole dish; gently pour half of the prepared cinnamon sauce around the base of the apples. Sprinkle with a bit of kosher salt.
Bake the Apple Dumplings
- Bake the apple dumplings, uncovered, at 375 degrees F. for 30 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. ; continue to bake an additional 15-20 minutes, or until the apples are nicely tender when tested with a fork. Apple dumplings should be golden brown and flakey.
Serve the Apple Dumplings
- Serve the apple dumplings warm, drizzled with additional warm cinnamon sauce and topped with vanilla ice cream. **Apple dumplings can be reheated in the microwave to serve later.
Nutrition
Originally published September 14, 2017. Updated September 20, 2024.
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