Introduction: Baked Apple Dumplings: Quick & Easy!

About: Industrial Arts, Appalachian State University. Recession has dried up my field (commercial printing & packaging), but have found new work in staging, lighting, sound systems, sets, productions and events.

Baked Apple Dumplings

Stuff whole apples with a brown sugar mixture, and wrap with refrigerated pie crusts, to make delicious-looking baked apple dumplings that are relatively low on sugar, but high on flavor  -and quick and simple to prepare.

This recipe is for 8 apples.

Ingredients:
   - 8 somewhat tart cooking apples, cored, but not peeled
   - 1 (14 to 15 ounce) package of refrigerated pie crusts (packed two to a package)
   - 1/2 cup light brown sugar
   - 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
   - 1/3 cup chopped walnuts
   - 1/3 cup raisins
   - 1/3 cup oatmeal (rolled oats)
   - 8 pats (4 Tablespoons) butter or margarine
   - ~24 toothpicks

Preparation:
   1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
   2. Mix brown sugar, walnuts, raisins, rolled oats, and cinnamon together, in a bowl.
   3. Cut both pie crusts into quarters (= 8 pieces). Place 1 apple in center of each quarter-circle. Using a small spoon, fill apple cores with brown sugar mixture and tamp down as needed. It’s okay to let excess spill over onto the open pie crust.
   4. Lift up the three corners of the pie crust, skillfully forming around the apple with your hands, inserting a toothpick into each corner of the pie crust. Insert toothpicks only halfway, as all of them will need to be carefully removed, prior to serving. The apples will only be partially covered by the ¼ pie crust, and will not at all look neat and tidy, but that will ultimately prove to give each finished apple a unique, rustic, and yummy appearance.
   5. Arrange apples on a 13” x 9” cookie sheet, and top each apple with a pat (1/2 Tablespoon) of butter or margarine.
   6. Bake at 400°F for 35 minutes, until the crusts are light to medium brown.

Camping Option: Bake in a 14-inch diameter cast iron dutch oven. Arrange 40 red-hot charcoal briquettes in a circle on the lid, carefully positioned next to the raised edge of the rim, and 17 red-hot charcoal briquettes underneath, carefully arranged in a circle, positioned just under the round edge of the oven. Bake for about 35 minutes, checking occasionally.

Boy Scout / Trail Life USA Option: Wrap each finished (cored, filled, and with a pat of butter top and bottom) apple with one layer of aluminum foil, shiny side out. Next, wrap again with another layer of aluminum foil, shiny side out. To produce an essential layer of trapped air between the two layers of aluminum foil, wrap the second layer of foil from the opposite side of the foil-wrapped apple, so that the wrinkled, thicker part of the foil wrapping surrounds the entire apple and prevents burned spots. Set the foil-wrapped apples over a bed of hot coals/charcoal, tumbling frequently with tongs, for about 20 to 30 minutes until done. "Shiny side out" foil wrapping will make the cooking more of an even-baked and controlled process. When done, remove and discard outer foil layer and serve.  

We've tried topping these baked apples with whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream, but don't recommend it, as it really seems to detract from the elegant simplicity of this tasty breakfast treat.