If you use small apples like the recipe calls for then you have quite a bit of leftover dough. I trim the excess and use it to make decorative leaves and stems so that it resembles an apple. It's actually quite cute!
SAUCE
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup red cinnamon candies
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
DUMPLINGS
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup shortening
1/2 to 2/3 cup cold milk
6 small (2 1/2-inch diameter) baking apples, peeled, cored
3 tablespoons margarine or butter
1 egg white, beaten
1 tablespoon sugar
1. In medium saucepan, combine all sauce ingredients. Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
2. Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. With pastry blender or fork, cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle flour mixture with milk while tossing and mixing lightly with fork, adding enough milk to form a soft dough. Shape dough into ball.
3. On lightly floured surface, roll dough into 18x12-inch rectangle. Cut rectangle into 6 squares. Place 1 apple in center of each pastry square; dot with margarine. Bring corners of pastry squares up to top of apples; press edges to seal. Place in ungreased 13x9-inch pan. Pour sauce in pan evenly around dumplings. Brush dumplings with egg white; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar.
4. Bake at 375°F. for 40 to 50 minutes or until dumplings are light golden brown and apples are tender. Serve dumplings warm or cool with sauce and, if desired, half-and-half.
I thought this was worth mentioning. The recipe is relatively easy but it is time consuming! It takes about an hour to peel and core the apples, make the dough, roll it out, etc. Then it takes an additional hour to bake them. I split up the time and made the sauce, and assembled the apples the night before. The next morning (we had them for breakfast:D) I preheated the oven, poured the sauce in the baking pan with the dumplings and baked them. They turned out perfect and they were especially good with some half-and- half swirled around them!
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