Get the whole gang together for vintage apple dumplings

✯ Day 257 of Vintage 365 ✯

 

As you may recall, last week we took a gander at pears in the form of a delightfully zingy recipe for Citrus Pear Pie. This week, as we inch even closer to the start of autumn (soooo excited!), the focus is on a similar, wonderfully seasonal fruit: apples.

It's hard to picture fall without conjuring up thoughts of apples in hues spanning from soft golden yellow to rich burgundy, and of course there's always the iconic red apple, perfectly polished and placed on teacher's desk.

Apples have been a staple food in much of the world for centuries, they're popularity and versatility holding strong through the years. I adore apples (my very favourite varieties are Pink Lady, Red Delicious and Honeycrisp, what are yours?) and cook with them all year round, but especially flock to fill my fruit bowl with these delicious gems during the start of fall.

From pies to tarts, sauces to salads - not mention juice and cider, there is an almost limitless number of ways to use apples (of course eating them straight out of hand is always fabulous, too!).

This week's recipe - which will call to mind the name of a classic 1970s Disney movie - sees them enveloped in a layer of flakey, crunchy pastry for a filling dessert that's sure to help fill tummies hungry from a day spent out raking the yard, harvesting the garden or even picking apples themselves!

Apple Dumplings are one of the largest dumplings around - and also one of the most delectable. Unlike many other types of sweet and savoury dumplings alike, these tasty treats are neither boiled nor fried, instead they're baked in a 425° oven for 40 to 45 minutes.

This charming vintage Betty Crocker recipe for Apple Dumplings Supreme takes this timeless classic and jazzes it up further with the addition of a scrumptious cinnamon syrup that is splashed over the baked dumplings - thus adding another fabulously autumnal note to this splendid recipe.

{Vintage Apple Dumplings recipe by way of spuzzlightyeartoo on Flickr. Click here for a larger version of this great fall dessert.}

The recipe itself doesn't indicate a specific variety, instead suggesting you use "tart, juicy apples". This leaves the floor wide open for anything from peridot hued Granny Smiths to Jonathans (which feature a good blend of sweetness and tartness). Really though, you can use just about any type of apple that holds up well when cooked, so feel free to go as sugary or as tangy as you'd like, depending on your personal taste.

This dessert smells nothing shy of mouth-watering as it cooks, the intoxicating scent of pastry and apples wafting beyond the oven and through the whole house. The cinnamon syrup at the end further enhances the gorgeous fall time feel and taste of this filling dessert.

Perfect for evenings when you have a little more time and want something noteworthy, apple dumplings are as iconic as the fruit they're filled with and are simply perfect for this special, nearly-autumn time of the year.