sunday supper: apple dumplings

If you've ever been too lazy to make a homemade dessert, yet the craving for hot fresh pie is haunting you, this is quite literally the easiest apple pie imaginable. Once upon a time, I discovered that those Pillsbury Just Unroll Pie Crusts are actually really really good, and I've managed to refrain from reading the ingredients, which I have no doubt would ruin the whole thing for me. But sometimes on a lazy cold Sunday, you don't want to make pie crust, even though Sundays don't seem complete without pie. Enter the apple dumpling. Some apples, some butter, some sugar, some spices, and a box of pre-made pie crust. Combine it all into cute, single serving packages, and proceed to eat three of them, hot out of the oven. As much as my more elaborate pies are loved, this dessert may just take the prize.


Recipe after the jump:

BAKED APPLE DUMPLINGS

Ingredients
4 medium baking apples, peeled, cored and cut in half (or use 8 small apples and keep them whole)
3 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground clove
1 box unrollable pie crusts (2 crusts per box)
1 egg, beaten

Preparation
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a small bowl, combine butter, sugar and spices to make a thick paste. Roll out the first crust, evening out with a rolling pin and stretching slightly into a rectangular shape. Slice the pie crust into 4 quadrants. Take one apple half and spread about a teaspoonful of the butter mixture into the hole left by the core. Place the apple half flat side down in the middle of a crust quadrant. Brush the edges of the crust with beaten egg and bring up the sides to a point, sealing all edges well. Repeat with the remaining apple halves and the second crust. Place dumplings in a baking pan with at least 1 inch deep sides (I used 2 pie plates for 8 dumplings). Brush the top of the dumplings with the egg, then sprinkle a pinch of cinnamon and sugar on top. Bake at 425 for 10 minutes, then lower the heat to 375 for another 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove and let cool before serving.