Best Baked Apple Dumplings

This apple dumplings recipe is almost too good—and too easy—to be true.

The homemade pastry dough is simple enough that you don’t need to go to the store for pie shells. Serve it with some ice cream and a nice cold glass of milk, and save the recipe to use again for special occasions. Wouldn’t these baked apple dumplings go great with your Thanksgiving or Christmas holiday spread?

Apple dumplings with homemade pastry dough for the pie crust

Who doesn’t love a simple dessert? Sometimes the easiest recipes are the ones that linger in the back of everyone’s minds. When I made these baked apple dumplings, I was honestly looking for something I could whip up quickly without any trouble. When everyone kept asking me for the recipe, I knew I had a winner.

As Easy as Apple Pie—Actually, Easier!

This apple dumplings recipe is so easy. Here are the basic steps:

  • Peel and core your apples (an apple corer is an essential kitchen tool). That’s all the apple prep needed; do not cut into slices.
  • Place each cored apple on an individual portion of dough. I include my dumpling dough recipe below, but you can use ready-made pastry dough if you want.
  • Fill the cored middle of each apple with brown sugar, cinnamon, and a little butter. 
  • Wrap the pastry around the apple and “glue” the edges together with an egg-and-water mixture. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.
  • Place the apples in a baking dish and bake in a preheated 350-degree oven.

See what I mean? So simple.

This dish is perfect for entertaining, just serve with a scoop of ice cream. It’s a warm dessert that really takes no time at all. You can get pie crusts from the grocery store or make them yourself a day ahead.

The Goodness of Fresh Apple, Wrapped in a Dumpling

I remember pulling crab apples off the tree next to my cousin’s trampoline, way out in the country. I was a city girl growing up, so getting to pick apples right off the tree seemed so quaint and cool to me. When I would bite into them, they’d be super tart, of course. But I didn’t care so much, and outwardly I would act as if they were my favorite apples ever.

These days, I grow several of my own apple varieties, and biting into a fresh apple from my garden tastes just like I imagined it would as a young girl. My favorites are the firm apples, like Granny Smith apples or Honeycrisps. They bake beautifully, so they’re perfect for this apple dumpling recipe! Depending on your taste, other options are Gala, Fuji, Jonagold, and Pink Lady.

Apple dumplings with homemade pastry dough for the pie crust

Best Baked Apple Dumplings

These apple dumplings are almost too good—and too easy—to be true. The homemade pastry dough is simple enough that you don't need to go to the store for pie shells.
5 from 2 votes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American

Ingredients
  

For the pastry

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 3/4 cups unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks) very cold
  • 1/3 cup Crisco vegetable shortening very cold
  • 6 tablespoons ice water plus more if dough is too thick

For the apples

  • 8 crisp apples (Granny Smith or Honey Crisp) peeled and cored
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 8 tablespoons butter cut into pea-sized pieces
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup raisins optional
  • 1 egg

For the topping

  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Place flour and salt into food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse to mix.
  • Dice butter. Add diced butter and cold shortening to processor.
  • Add ice water to the mixture down the feed tube with machine running. Pulse machine until dough forms a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
  • Cut dough into eight equal portions. Roll each portion of dough onto a well-floured board rolling from the center to the edge until you have a 7-inch round, turning and flouring the dough to make sure it does not stick. Place the cored and peeled apples in the middle of each pie crust.
  • In a small bowl, mix brown sugar, cinnamon, butter, and salt until incorporated. If you are using raisins, add them here. Firmly pack the brown sugar mixture in the cavity of the cored apple all the way to the top.
  • In a small bowl, mix an egg and a tablespoon of water vigorously.
  • Gently bring up each side of the crust to the top of the apple. With each section of pie crust, brush the egg mixture and bring the next portion of crust up to the top, “gluing it” to the previous portion of crust, while pinching the edges to completely cover the apple.
  • In a small bowl, add granulated sugar and cinnamon and mix well.
  • Brush remaining egg over the top and sides of the crusted apple and sprinkle sugar cinnamon mixture over each apple.
  • Place the apples in a baking dish and pierce the crust a few times with a fork on top of the apple. Bake apples for 45 minutes, or until a knife pierces easily into the apple. The crust should be golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to rest for about 15 minutes. Serve with ice cream.
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Happy Thanksgiving from Stacy Lyn!

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