Grandma’s Old-Fashioned Apple Dumplings Recipe

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This apple dumplings recipe comes from my great-grandmother’s recipe book. Homemade pastry dough wrapped around cinnamon-spiced apples in a buttery, sugar and spice sauce makes for the perfect dessert your family will love. These apple dumplings are like a mini apple pie, with a sweet sauce that cooks right along with them in the pan.

closeup of an apple dumpling in a white bowl surrounded by red apples on a wooden tray

Homemade apple dumplings are the ultimate comfort food. With a scoop of vanilla ice cream, this recipe is out of this world good.

Every time I make this recipe I think of great-grandma smiling in her kitchen with her apron on. She was a master in the kitchen making meals for her large family and lunch for all the farm hands every day. Click here for more of her from-scratch recipes.

Tips for Making Apple Dumplings

This apple dessert is a wonderful way to use seasonal apples. You can use any variety of apple in this recipe, but firmer apples work the best.

The simple ingredients are probably already in your pantry and this old-fashioned apple dumpling recipe comes together with only 15 minutes of prep time and then all you have to do it bake it!

closeup of red apples in the foreground with unbaked apple dumplings in the background

Ingredients:

Flour: I like to use unbleached white flour in this recipe.

Salt: The salt in this recipe adds flavor to the crust, but it can be omitted if needed.

Butter: Butter is used in the crust to make it deliciously flaky. Butter is also added to the delicious sauce. Cold butter works best in the crust, room temperature butter works best in the sauce.

Fresh Apples: You can use different apple varieties in this recipe, but the best apples to use are firm, crisp apples as they tend to hold up better during baking. Granny Smith apples, Honeycrisp, McIntosh, Fugi, Pink Lady, and Gala are all great choices. Whatever type of apple you choose, make sure you core, peel and slice it.

Sugar: It wouldn’t be dessert without sugar! I use white sugar in this recipe for best results.

Cinnamon: Apples and cinnamon just go together don’t they? Of course there’s cinnamon in this recipe.

Nutmeg: Nutmeg adds so much flavor to this recipe even though you only use a tiny amount in the sauce.

Tools:

How to Make Grandma’s Apple Dumplings

Mix the flour and the salt in a large bowl. Use a cheese grater to shred the 2/3 cup butter into the flour/salt mixture or cut in the butter with a pastry blender. Combine with a fork until the butter is fully incorporated into the flour. Add water slowly while mixing until dough can be formed into a ball.

Roll out the dough on parchment paper to a 1/4-inch thickness and cut into 6 equal pieces.

Core, peel, and slice apples with a sharp knife. Place 4-5 apple slices on the center of each pastry piece. Sprinkle a small amount of sugar and cinnamon on top of the apple slices.

closeup of sliced apples with cinnamon and sugar sprinkled on top sitting on top of a square of pie dough

Fold dough over the top of the apple slices and pinch edges to seal. Place dumplings in an ungreased glass baking pan.

closeup of unbaked apple dumplings

Combine water, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and butter in a small saucepan. Heat until sugar is dissolved, and butter is melted. Pour this sauce around the apple dumplings. Try not to pour the sauce directly on top of the dumplings.

closeup of unbaked apple dumplings in butter, cinnamon, nutmeg sauce

Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 35-40 minutes or until the crust is light golden brown on top.

Remove from oven and eat right away with a scoop of ice cream! Make sure you scoop up some of that delicious sauce and pour it on top of the dumpling and your ice cream.

closeup of an apple dumpling in a white bowl surrounded by red apples on a wooden tray

Your family will ask you to make these delicious apple dumplings again and again. The flaky pastry dough combined with the cinnamon sugar mixture makes it a favorite at our house.

Store any leftover apple dumplings in an airtight container in the fridge, but I’ll be surprised if there are leftovers!

Note: You can use store-bought pie dough in this recipe if you want to, but I like to go old fashioned just like grandma and make it from scratch.

closeup of an apple dumpling in a white bowl surrounded by red apples on a wooden tray

Grandma's Old-Fashioned Apple Dumplings Recipe

Yield: 6 dumplings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes

This apple dumplings recipe comes straight from my great-grandmother's recipe book! A flaky, buttery crust, delicious baked apples, and a buttery, cinnamon, nutmeg sauce combine for a dessert that your family will ask for again and again. Serve with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream!

Ingredients

Apple Dumplings

  • 2 cups unbleached, all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2/3 cup butter
  • 1/2 - 3/4 cup water
  • 2 medium apples
  • sprinkle sugar
  • sprinkle cinnamon

Sauce

  • 2 cups water
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 4 tablespoons butter

Instructions

  1. Mix the flour and the salt in a large mixing bowl.
  2. Use a cheese grater to shred the 2/3 cup butter into the flour/salt mixture. Combine with a fork until the butter is fully incorporated into the flour.
  3. Add water slowly while mixing until dough can be formed into a ball.
  4. Roll out the dough to a 1/4 inch thickness and cut into 6 equal pieces.
  5. Core, peel, and slice apples.
  6. Place 4-5 apple slices on the center of each piece of dough.
  7. Sprinkle a small amount of sugar and cinnamon on top of each pile of apple slices.
  8. Fold dough over the top of the apples and pinch edges to seal.
  9. Place dumplings in an ungreased glass baking pan.
  10. Combine water, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and butter in a small saucepan. Heat until sugar is dissolved and butter is melted.
  11. Pour the sauce around the apple dumplings. Try not to pour the sauce directly on top of the dumplings.
  12. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 35-40 minutes or until the crust is light golden brown on top.
  13. Remove from oven and eat right away with a scoop of vanilla ice cream! Make sure you scoop up some of that delicious sauce and pour it on top of the dumpling and your ice cream.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 631Total Fat: 29gSaturated Fat: 18gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 75mgSodium: 582mgCarbohydrates: 91gFiber: 3gSugar: 57gProtein: 5g

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