Apple Dumplings

If I had a mistress, her name would be Autumn Skye, and I'd meet her once a week at a cabin in the woods. Wearing comfortable flannel shirts, we spend our morning sitting on the front porch, where we'd watch the leaves fall and make a list of our favorite fall foods. In between sips of coffee and conversation about our favorite ways to prepare chili, she might suggest that I grow a beard because it would suit me. Then the rest of our day would be spent in bed reading cookbooks to each other. If we found a recipe for a hearty stew or soup,we might prepare it for a late lunch and serve it with good, crusty bread slathered with butter. Finally,we'd end our day with a fall inspired fresh-baked dessert like the following:

Apple Dumplings
(From Peace, Love, and Barbecue by Mike Mills and Amy Mills Tunnicliffe)

Ingredients:

• 1 package of puff pastry
• 2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and quartered
• 8-ounce package of cream cheese, cut into 8 equal pieces
• 1 cup orange juice
• 2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13 by 9-inch baking dish.
2. Cut each pastry sheet into 5-inch squares. Then place an apple wedge on each piece of puff pastry and top with a piece of cream cheese.
3. Wrap the puff pastry sheet around the apple and cream cheese. Crimp the edges to seal, and place the dumplings in the baking dish.
4. Bring the orange juice, butter, and 2/3 cup sugar to a boil in a saucepan. Pour over the dumplings.
5. Mix together the remaining sugar and cinnamon. Then sprinkle over the dumplings.
6. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden. Normally the liquid will thicken into a delicious, orange-flavored caramel. If this doesn't happen, let everything cool a bit, remove the dumplings from the dish, and pour the liquid into a microwave-safe dish. If you microwave it for 2-3 minutes, It should thicken into a caramel. You could also do this in a sauce pan over medium-high heat.
   
7. Serve and enjoy. Some decadent souls eat their dumplings topped with a scoop of ice cream.
   

Now I admit that there are probably better ways to make dumplings, but I like this recipe because it's quick, easy, and the perfect way to provide a tah-dah ending to a weeknight meal. The Pioneer Woman Cooks also has a convenient apple dumpling recipe that utilizes canned crescent rolls and a can of Mountain Dew. I'm eager to try it this fall. My favorite dumpling to eat might be the ones the United Methodist Church serves at the Apple Festival in Weston, Missouri.

faithfully yours,
muddywaters