Apple Dumplings

We made it to the foothills for some apple picking on Friday.  I promised to organize hubby's mountain of school work to keep him on schedule as we drove and he took me for MACS!  It is a little bit of a search for Macintosh here.  The man at the orchard says that they are hard to grow here and that they fall fast ... they were falling as we picked and could be gone by next week.  Our next trip to the orchards I will have to settle for another type of apple.  The trip always reminds us of fall in NY, especially at the beautiful Sky Top Orchards.  We have lived in 3 states that pride themselves in apples - NY, WA, and now NC!

I am enjoying the fresh Macs and grapes that we picked and am baking for hubby.  I made some apple dumplings on Saturday night along with some stuffed peppers for the crock pot on Sunday.  Hubby didn't like the new recipe that I used because it had a sauce similar to sticky buns - a carmelly, gooey mess of yumminess... (of course, I liked the reminder of Grandma Hadley's specialty).  So today, I will make dumplings anew with the "old" sauce.

Apple Dumplings

2 1/2 c water

1 1/4 c sugar

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 c plus 6 tsp butter, divided

2 c flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

3/4 c shortening

1/2 c milk

5-6 small tart apples (peeled and cored, or chopped to make 2 c)

Cinnamon sugar

In a small saucepan, combine water, sugar, and cinnamon.  Cook and stir over med until sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes.  Add 1/4 c butter; stir until melted.  Remove from the heat; set aside.

In a bowl,combine the flour, baking powder and salt.  Cut in the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Stir in milk.

On lightly floured surface, roll dough into 12 x 18 rectangle.  Divide into 6 - 6" squares.  Place an apple or 1/3 cup diced apples in the center of each portion.  Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar, dot with remaining butter.  Bring corners of pastry to center.  Brush edges with milk or water; pinch edges to seal.

Place in a greased 13x9 in dish; drizzle with syrup.  Bake, uncovered at 375* for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown.