Old-Fashioned Apple Dumplings
These homemade apple dumplings are easier than you’d think – Granny Smith apples are peeled and cored, stuffed with butter and cinnamon-sugar, wrapped in a pastry crust, and covered in a buttery brown sugar sauce. Baked until golden, they absolutely melt in your mouth!
Apple dumplings are classic comfort food that dates back to the 1700s; when a recipe has been around that long, you know that it’s something extra special.
These perfectly portioned individual desserts consist of a peeled apple that has been cored and stuffed with butter, cinnamon, and sugar, and then wrapped in a pastry crust and drizzled with a buttery brown sugar sauce and baked until golden brown.
In a word, these are phenomenal and so much less fuss than you might think. Serve the apple dumplings with a drizzle of extra sauce (try subbing in apple cider or rum for the water in the sauce for extra oomph!) and a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and you’ll have friends for life!
How to make them from scratch
In order to make these, all you need to do is gather up some good Granny Smith apples (or the tart apple of your choice), mix together an easy one-bowl pastry crust and a boiled sauce.
The apples are peeled and cored and their center is stuffed with a bit of butter and a cinnamon-sugar mixture. Each apple is wrapped up in pastry crust, which can be as perfect or rustic as you like.
The pastry-covered apples are drenched with a boiled butter and brown sugar sauce.
They are baked for nearly an hour until the apples are soft and tender, and the pastry crust is golden brown.
Apple tips
The Best Apples to Use
The types of apples most preferred for baking need to be firm enough to hold their shape during the baking process and not turn to mush. While Granny Smith is a natural first choice, all of these other apples are fantastic (and delicious!) substitutes:
- Honeycrisp
- Jonagold
- Golden Delicious
- Pink Lady
- Braeburn
- Cortland
Whole Apples vs Slices
All traditional apple dumpling recipes use a whole apple wrapped in a pastry crust, however. you could also slice the apples, divide them up and wrap up bundled slices in the pastry crust.
And while I’ve never done it, you could try baking this up crisp-style – toss sliced apples with the butter and cinnamon/sugar and place in a baking dish, pour the syrup over top, then lay the pastry crust over the top of the whole mixture and bake.
Tools for the Job
Using the right tools makes peeling and coring much easier! Here are the ones I recommend:
- I use my favorite swivel peeler to peel apples!
- And this is the apple corer I use.
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Pastry crust alternatives
While I think the pastry crust recipe included below is an absolutely phenomenal pairing with the apples, you can use other options, if you’d like:
- All Butter Pie Crust
- Flaky Vodka Pie Crust
- Store-bought pie crust
- Crescent roll dough
- Frozen puff pastry for a super short cut!
Prepping ahead of time
There are a few different ways that you can prep the apple dumplings ahead of when you plan to bake them:
- Prep the Dough – You can make the dough and keep it wrapped in plastic wrap, refrigerated, for up to 3 days in advance.
- Assembled Dumplings – You can stuff the apples, wrap them in the pastry dough, and place them in the baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Take out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking.
- Freeze Assembled Dumplings – Follow directions above but place in the freezer for 1 to 2 hours until completely frozen. Keep in an airtight container or bag for up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then proceed with the recipe.
Serving suggestions
These can be served as-is (oh my gosh is that sauce phenomenal!!), but consider these for something extra-special:
Storing and reheating
Leftover apple dumplings can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
To capture that just-baked flavor and texture, reheat in a foil-covered pan at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.
You can also microwave the leftover dumplings, but the crust will be soft.
More amazing apple recipes
- Apple Fritter Doughnuts
- Salted Caramel Apple Cinnamon Rolls
- Easy Apple Crisp
- Jewish Apple Cake
- Apple Hand Pies
- Apple Turnovers (From Scratch)
- Homemade Apple Butter
Watch the Apple Dumplings Recipe Video Below:
If you make this apple dumplings recipe and love it, I would so appreciate it if you would take a moment to leave a rating below. Thank you so much! ❤️️
Apple Dumplings
Ingredients
For the Pastry:
- 3 cups (360 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (184 g) vegetable shortening, chilled
- ⅓ cup (80 ml) ice water
For the Apples:
- 8 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored
- 8 teaspoons (3 tablespoons) unsalted butter
- 8 teaspoons (3 tablespoons) granulated sugar
- 1½ teaspoons (1.5 teaspoons) ground cinnamon
For the Sauce:
- 1½ cups (298 g) light brown sugar
- 1 cup (240 ml) water
- ½ cup (113 g) salted butter, cubed
Instructions
- Make the Pastry Dough: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut in the shortening until the mixture is crumbly. Gradually add the ice water, tossing the mixture with a fork, until the dough forms a cohesive mass. If the dough needs more water to come together, add it 1 teaspoon at a time. Divide the dough into eight equal portions, wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a small bowl, stir together the granulated sugar and cinnamon; set aside.
- Assemble the Apples: Roll each portion of dough on a lightly floured work surface into a 7-inch square. Place an apple in the center of each square. Place 1 teaspoon of butter and 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon-sugar mixture in the center of each apple.
- Gently bring up the corners of the pastry to the center of each apple; pinch the edges to seal. Place the pastry-encased apples in a greased 9×13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon-sugar mixture.
- Make the Sauce: In a large saucepan, combine the brown sugar, water and butter over medium-high heat until it just begins to boil, stirring occasionally. Pour the sauce evenly over the apples.
- Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until the apples are tender and the pastry is golden brown, basting occasionally with the sauce. These are best served warm immediately after baking.
Notes
- Pastry Crust Alternatives: All-Butter pie crust / Flaky vodka pie crust / Crescent roll dough / Store-bought pie crust / Frozen puff pastry
- Best Alternative Apple Varieties: Honeycrisp, Jonagold, Golden Delicious, Pink Lady, Braeburn, Cortland
- Apple Tools: Peeler / Corer
- Sauce Suggestions: To amp up the flavor, replace the water in the sauce with apple cider or rum!
- Prep Ahead: The dough can be made and refrigerated for up to 3 days. Assembled apple dumplings can be kept covered in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes prior to baking.
- Freezing Instructions: Freeze unbaked, assembled apple dumplings for up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight, remove 30 minutes before baking, and proceed with recipe.
- Serving Suggestions: Vanilla ice cream / Butter pecan ice cream / Homemade whipped cream
- Storage: Leftover apple dumplings can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Reheating Instructions: Reheat the dumplings in a foil-covered pan at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes. You can also microwave the leftover dumplings, but the crust will be soft.
- Recipe adapted from Taste of Home
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
[Photography by Ari of Well Seasoned]
Thanks, I used a mutsu apple. And used Smart Balance in the dough and in the apple. Our family has a history of heart disease:( So it is a necessity to make changes. I hesitated as Smart Balance has water added. But it turned out just fine. Not totally guilt free, but I refused to eat apple dumplings after moving out on my own. I really missed my moms apple dumplings. These are the next best thing.
Can this pastry dough be frozen/refrigerated for up to a week and then defrosted and wrapped around apples?
Yes, you could definitely freeze the dough! I would only refrigerate up to 2 days in advance.
This is the absolute best recipe ever!! used margarine in place of the butter and shortening because that’s what I had on hand and it turned out perfect.
I like Granny Smith apples, but Honey Crisp, Lady Alice, or Pippins are even better for baking if you can get them. I think the Granny Smith are less nuanced in flavor. Your recipe looks amazing though! Will give it a try! Thank you!
Against my intuition, I followed the recipe and poured the sauce into the baking dish. Big mistake. It turned the crust into a soggy mess. If I make this again, I’ll bake the apples without it and then serve the sauce on the side after boiling it down a bit on top of the stove.
Skipping apple pie this Thanksgiving and making these instead!
I’m thinking I will replace the water with apple cider for the sauce…
I am the only person in my home who loves cooked apples. I would like to your an already made crust such as Pillsbury. I want to make only one apple. What are your thoughts about using an already prepared crust? Should I double the covering on the apple?
You could use the prepared crust, although I’m not sure how much you would need for one apple.
These were a huge hit! Thank you for sharing! I have made several of your recipes and they have always been well received. Love your blog too!
Hi!:) I’m planning on making these next and I was wondering if I could use “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!” Salted butter for the sauce? I don’t have salted butter sticks so would it change anything?? Thanks!:))
Hi Vika, I really, really dislike imitation butter products. If you can go to the store and grab some real butter, it will be completely worth it!
Oh my goodness thank-you! It was so worth it!! I made them this evening along with your pumpkin bread recipe and now our house smells like Thanksgiving!:) So good!:))
I made these tonight and they tasted great but the apples didn’t hold up. They turned into mush.. I used granny smith and only cooked them 50 min. until the crust turned golden. Can you tell me what I need to do different next time.
Thank you
Hi Marti, They may have been on the edge of being overripe. The apples will soften significantly, but they should not turn to mush.
This happened to me too :-/ They just blew up and turned to mush. The texture was off, but it tasted good! The dough was good too.
I made these this weekend and they turned out great! Thanks for sharing the recipe. I added a bit of ground cloves and ginger in with the cinnamon sugar. Delicious!! :)
Looks amazing!! I was wondering though if I could use small granny smith apples instead of medium ones and what the adjustments would be??
Hi Vika, You shouldn’t need to make any adjustments. If you have extra dough, you might be able to squeeze an extra apple out of the recipe, depending on how small they are.
OMG !! My husband said “Honey you make a lot of things” but this is the best you have ever made ! They were just amazingly delicious :)
Delish! Next time I will substitute the shortening for butter. Very good recipe; a keeper. Thanks.
OMG! How could I have forgotten! My Gran used to make these for us nearly every time we visited! It was one of the first recipes she taught to me. Thanks for that. I will have to dust off my old recipe card and start the tradition with my own kids.
In a big world of desserts this one is in my top 5. It”s simple, satisfying and easy to make. Can anything be finer?
I made these last night & they were a HUGE hit! They took forever for me to make but I’m sure it’s my own fault. I used freshly-ground spelt flour & had a hard time with the crust. I only covered 6 smallish apples. I will invest in an apple corer so I can make these more quickly. I managed to core then with a knife but it took a while. We enjoyed them so mush we were still talking about them today, wishing for leftovers. I may need to make more tonight!
How do you core the apples? I’ve never baked with apples before so I’m excited =) I made your Peach coffee cake last week and everyone loved itt!!
Hi Rida, You can buy an apple corer at most kitchen stores (and probably places like Target, too), that’s the easiest way. I realized I don’t have one, so I just used a paring knife and worked VERY slowly and carefully.
These are great. You can use your own pie crust but I wouldn’t. Me and my kids made them together and was a lot of fun for them
I made these this weekend….I too am embracing the fall weather. They were as easy to assemble as described….my house smelled amazing!! And my husband and children gobbled them up!!! I enjoy your website, I have made lots of your recipes….my family thanks you for the great snacks and treats!!
Excellent recipe!! Took it to family reunion and the licked the platter clean!! I used apples from my apple tree! Yummy! Thank you!
Yey for “The week-end dish”!
I had missed these! Can’t wait for some decent apples to come!
Here we’re in a kind of gray and rainy oblivion, where it’s not autumn yet, but it’s definitely not summer anymore. Fingers crossed!
This was really good and wonderfully easy. We are apple recipe freaks at our house and today I made this as a surprise for my 4th grader, he was so happy. He just got a good look at the Triple Chocolate Mousse and I’m guessing that might be the next BEB adventure. Thank you for this site.
It’s like an individual pie without all the fuss! I recently discovered a love of pie crust and often find myself stealing pieces off of pies I bake :)
I made apple dumplings for the first time last year, and am convinced they are one of the best fall desserts ever! Yours look phenomenal, I can’t wait to try this recipe – maybe to celebrate the start of training camp tomorrow! :)
What an amazing recipe, and I love the pantry ingredients- so easy to pull this off without a lot of fuss. I am on it girl!
This looks amazing!!… On a side note, recently your blog has a lot of pop up ads and slows down my browser whenever I am on it :/ is it just me?
What an amazing coincidence—I had just today picked out a recipe for apple dumplings. I’ve never made them–now, I’m going to use your recipe—thanks for the step-by-step snaps!!!!
Yummy :o)
These just look like fall! They look – and I bet they smell – amazing!!