Here is the recipe that Marla referred to in her comment to the previous post.This was the dessert that followed the osso bucco and garlic mashed potatoes that comprised the first dinner I prepared for her. I guess it set the hook pretty good, that was in 1999 and she and I are still in love.

The Best Apple Dumplings in the Universe

I experimented and experimented until this recipe evolved. If you aren't crazy about these you must be dead.

Ingredients for 6 Dumplings:

Make pastry according to the recipe which follows and then;
boil together for 3 minutes...
1-cup sugar
2-cups water
3-tablespoons butter
3-tablespoons vanilla
¼-tsp cinnamon

Place a peeled and cored apple on each of six 7" squares of the pastry. Fill each apple cavity with a mixture of;
1/2-cup sugar
1-1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
Dot each apple with tablespoons of butter. Bring the opposite ends of the pastry over the apple. Overlap, moisten and seal. Lift carefully, place a little apart in a baking dish. Pour the hot butter-sugar syrup around the dumplings. Bake at 425d for 40-45 minutes or until crust is nicely browned and apples are cooked through (test with a fork). Serve warm with the syrup and, if desired, cream or whipped cream or ice cream.


Pastry for Apple Dumplings

Ingredients for 6 dumplings

2-cups flour
1-teaspoon salt
2/3-cup butter-flavored crisco
5-7-tablespoons ice cold water

USING A PASTRY BLENDER
In a medium bowl, combine flour and salt. Using a pastry blender (or a fork), cut shortening into flour until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle flour mixture with the cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, while tossing and mixing lightly. Continue to add water while tossing until just moist enough to from a ball when lightly pressed together (too much water causes dough to be sticky, too little water causes edges to crack and pastry to tear easily while rolling). Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about half an hour. Shape dough into 6 equal balls and roll out to 7" squares 1/8" thick. Proceed with the Apple Dumpling recipe.

USING A FOOD PROCESSOR
Place the flour and salt in the processor bowl equipped with the metal blade. Pulse several times to mix. Add shortening and process 20-30 seconds until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. With the processor running, add minimum amount of water (5tblsp) through the feeder tube. Process 20-30 seconds until a ball forms, adding water if necessary (if ball doesn't form in 30 seconds, remove dough and form into ball by hand). Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes. Shape dough into 6 equal balls and roll out into 7" squares 1/8" thick. Proceed with Apple Dumpling recipe.