This old fashioned, homemade Apple Dumpling recipe uses whole apples, enveloped in delicate pastry, and packed with buttery cinnamon sugar. Drizzled with a delectable apple cinnamon sauce, this dessert definitely stands the test of time.
What is an apple dumpling?
Apple Dumplings are made by peeling and coring apples, stuffing them with a brown sugar and cinnamon filling, and and wrapping them in my mom's famous pie crust. We drizzle them with a delicately sweet apple cinnamon sauce for the perfect, comforting bite.
Why this recipe works
We teamed up with Bob's Red Mill to share this amazing family recipe. Just like apple pie, or Chocolate Cheesecake, the key to a good apple dumpling is the pastry. So using the finest quality flours assures a perfectly delicate, crumbly crust every time.
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Ingredients
For the sauce:
- Apple juice: fresh apple cider works too
- Corn starch
- Brown sugar: light or dark brown sugar is fine
- Cinnamon: ground cinnamon
- Butter: salted or unsalted butter works fine
For the pastry:
- Bobs Red Mill AP Flour: good quality flour makes the best crust!
- Bobs Red Mill Wheat Flour
- Shortening (we like Crisco)
- Salt
- Egg
- Cold water: tap water is fine
- Vinegar: apple cider vinegar is our favorite. Any light colored vinegar works.
For the dumpling filling:
- Apples: cored and peeled
- Brown sugar: light or dark brown sugar is fine
- Cinnamon: ground cinnamon
- Butter: salted or unsalted butter works
see recipe card for quantities
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How to make the pastry
- Mix together both flours, shortening and salt and combine until crumbly.
- In a small bowl combine beaten egg, water and vinegar and then add to flour mixture and knead until dough is formed completely.
- Divide dough in half and wrap each portion in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes
TOP TIP: make dough the night before and refrigerate overnight to save time.
Step by step instructions
- preheat oven to 350°.
- Take each portion of dough and roll on floured surface into a 7" x 14" rectangle.
- Cut in half to finish with two 7" x 7" squares of dough.
- Repeat with other dough ball. Use excess dough to form leaves and stems for decoration. (we like to use a leaf cookie cutter)
- Place an apple in center of each dough square.
- In the center of each apple, place 1 tablespoon butter and push into apple.
- In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar and cinnamon. Divide and top butter in center of apple.
- Grabbing dough in diagonal fashion, grab a corner of the dough and pull to form on top of apple and press edges together to seal. Repeat on other two corners. Repeat process for all apples.
- When folding is complete, place all apples in baking dish and garnish with dough leaves and stems (optional).
- Top with half of sauce (recipe below) and bake for 50-60 minutes or until golden brown.
How to make apple dumpling sauce
- In a medium sauce pan, combine apple juice, corn starch, brown sugar butter and cinnamon and heat to a boil. Reduce heat to medium high and cook an additional 15 minutes.
- Remove from heat and reserve half of sauce to cool for serving dumplings.
This post is sponsored by our friends at Bob's Red Mill. All opinions are our own.
What are the best apples for apple dumplings?
We like Granny Smith apples or Macintosh apples for this recipe because they are the best for baking.
More dessert recipes to try
PrintApple Dumpling recipe
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 portions 1x
Ingredients
For the sauce:
- 16 oz apple juice
- 2 tsp corn starch
- 1 c brown sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 4 tbsp butter
For the pastry:
- 3 cups Bob's Red Mill AP Organic Flour
- 1 cup Bob's Red Mill Organic Wheat Flour
- 1 ½ c shortening
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 egg
- 5 tbsp cold water
- 1 tbsp vinegar
For the filling:
- 4 apples, cored and peeled
- ¼ c brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 4 tbsp butter
Instructions
To make the pastry:
- Mix together both flours, shortening and salt and combine until crumbly.
- In a small bowl combine beaten egg, water and vinegar and then add to flour mixture and knead until dough is formed completely.
- Divide Dough in half and wrap each portion in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes
To assemble and bake:
- preheat oven to 350°.
- Take each portion of dough and roll on floured surface into a 7" x14" rectangle. Cut in half to finish with 2 7"x7" squares of dough.
- Repeat with other dough ball. Use excess dough to form leaves and stems for decoration.
- Place an apple in center of each dough square.
- In the center of each apple place 1 tablespoon butter and push into apple.
- In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar and cinnamon and divide, and top butter in center of apple.
- Grabbing dough in diagonal fashion, grab a corner of the dough and pull to form on top of apple and press edges together to seal. Repeat on other two corners as well as each of the other apples.
- When complete, place all 4 apples in baking dish and garnish with dough leaves and steps ( optional).
- Top with half of sauce (recipe below) and bake for 50-60 minutes or until golden brown.
To make the sauce:
- In a medium sauce pan, combine apple juice, corn starch, brown sugar and cinnamon and heat to a boil. Reduce heat to medium high and cook an additional 15 minutes.
- Remove from heat and reserve half of sauce to cool for serving dumplings.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 dumpling
- Calories: 1655
- Sugar: 72 g
- Sodium: 631 mg
- Fat: 102.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 171.9 g
- Protein: 15 g
- Cholesterol: 107.6 mg
Rachael says
FYI, when doubling or tripling the recipe, the apple count remains the same.
Looks delicious!
Jackie says
Hi Rachael,
You are so kind to let us know this, thank you!! It looks like it was a spacing issue, and it appears to be fixed now.
We hope you get the chance to try the recipe! Please let us know.
Best,
K & J
Kathy says
I’m making these but ingredients for sauce include butter but it included in directions for sauce. When is it added. After sauce made or with other ingredients in pan?
Keith says
Sorry about that, we corrected the recipe.
Kathy says
Sauce ingredients include butter, but the instructions don’t mention it. Is the butter added after the sauce cooks or included with the other ingredients to cook?
Keith says
Thanks for the info, recipe is now corrected.