Perfectly flaky pastry wraps juicy tart apples with an amazing cinnamon sugar syrup making my Great Aunt Ina’s Apple Dumplings the ultimate dessert. So comforting and delicious!
Famous Apple Dumplings
I am so excited to share my Great Aunt Ina’s famous apple dumpling recipe with y’all today! This recipe holds such a sweet and special place in our family. Aunt Ina has been making them for us for years and we just can’t imagine a holiday or family gathering without them.
I am so thankful she has shared the recipe with me and has shown me how she makes them so that I can make them for years to come. And now you can too!
An Apple (Dumpling) a Day
They’re like eating warm individual apple pies. Oh me! Oh my! And what is it they say about eating an apple a day?! We love eating these apple dumplings by themselves in their warm sweet glorious deliciousness or topped with some vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream. So much yum!
They’re much easier to make than you would think. I’ve always been intimidated to try them because I thought my Aunt Ina had labored the days away making them for our family occasions, but once she showed me how it’s done, I realized how possible they are to make and now I’m so excited to make them again and again.
It all starts with a quick pastry dough that bakes into a perfectly flaky crust surrounding the apple.
Aunt Ina swears by Washington apples because she lived there for many years ;), but feel free to use your favorite tart apples. Braeburn, Granny Smith and Rome apples are some of our favorites to bake these apple dumplings with.
You’ll just wrap the apples in the pastry dough with a little cinnamon sugar and butter nestled within and then pour a reduced cinnamon sugar syrup all over the dumplings before baking to apple dumpling irresistibleness.
What Do I Need to Make Great Aunt Ina’s Apple Dumplings?
- All-purpose flour
- Kosher salt
- All-vegetable shortening
- Cold water
- Granulated sugar
- Unsalted butter
- Ground cinnamon
- Medium sized tart apples
More Fall Baking
No need to wait for the leaves to start dropping to enjoy My Favorite Recipes for Fall Baking! From perfectly-spiced pumpkin bread to pecan pie bites and savory corn bread, you’re sure to fall for these autumn treats!
How to Make Great Aunt Ina’s Apple Dumplings
- Pastry: In a large mixing bowl, sift flour and salt together. Cut in shortening with a pastry cutter or two knives in opposite directions until pieces are the size of small peas. Sprinkle a few tablespoons of water over mixture and gently toss with a fork. Repeat with more water until mixture is all moistened. Form into a ball. Flatten pastry dough on a lightly floured surface. Roll out to a little less than 1/8-inch thick and cut into 7-inch squares.
- Syrup: Prepare the syrup by bringing 2 cups water, 1 cup sugar, 3 tablespoons butter and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. Reduce to medium-low heat and let simmer until reduced to a thick enough syrup to lightly coat the back of a spoon.
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Butter a large rimmed baking dish and set aside.
- Apples: Peel and core an apple for each pastry square you have. In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup sugar and 1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon.
- Place an apple in the middle of one of the square pastries. Fill the core cavity of the apple with some of the cinnamon sugar mixture and dot with a tablespoon of butter. Bring opposite points of pastry up over the apple. Overlap, moisten with water and seal. Carefully lift the pastry-wrapped apple and place it in the prepared baking dish. Repeat with remaining apples, pastry squares, cinnamon sugar mixture and butter.
- Pour hot syrup evenly over the tops and around the dumplings.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the crust on each dumpling is golden brown and apples are cooked all the way through. You can test the apples by poking them with a fork or skewer.
- Serve warm with the hot syrup that’s in the bottom of the baking dish and ice cream or whipped cream, if desired.
I mean, what are you waiting for? Go get you some apples and get to baking! The enjoyment that comes from eating one of these apple dumplings is like none other.
Isn’t she lovely?! Thank you, Aunt Ina, for making these for us so often and for sharing how it’s done. We love you {and your apple dumplings} so much!
Enjoy, y’all! You’re in for a really special treat! If you make these Apple Dumplings and post a pic to social, be sure to tag me on Instagram @thebakermama so I can see! 😍 I just love seeing how inspired and creative y’all get with the ideas I share. Enjoy!
xoxo,
Great Aunt Ina’s Apple Dumplings
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 mins
- Yield: 6-8
- Category: Dessert
Description
Perfectly flaky pastry wraps juicy tart apples with an amazing cinnamon sugar syrup making my Great Aunt Ina’s Apple Dumplings the ultimate dessert. So comforting and delicious!
Ingredients
Pastry:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2/3 cup all-vegetable shortening
- 5–7 tablespoons cold water
Syrup:
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Apples:
- 6–8 medium sized tart apples
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1–1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 6–8 tablespoons unsalted butter
Instructions
- Pastry: In a large mixing bowl, sift flour and salt together. Cut in shortening with a pastry cutter or two knives in opposite directions until pieces are the size of small peas. Sprinkle a few tablespoons of water over mixture and gently toss with a fork. Repeat with more water until mixture is all moistened. Form into a ball. Flatten pastry dough on a lightly floured surface. Roll out to a little less than 1/8-inch thick and cut into 7-inch squares.
- Syrup: Prepare the syrup by bringing 2 cups water, 1 cup sugar, 3 tablespoons butter and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. Reduce to medium-low heat and let simmer until reduced to a thick enough syrup to lightly coat the back of a spoon.
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Butter a large rimmed baking dish and set aside.
- Apples: Peel and core an apple for each pastry square you have. In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup sugar and 1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon.
- Place an apple in the middle of one of the square pastries. Fill the core cavity of the apple with some of the cinnamon sugar mixture and dot with a tablespoon of butter. Bring opposite points of pastry up over the apple. Overlap, moisten with water and seal. Carefully lift the pastry-wrapped apple and place it in the prepared baking dish. Repeat with remaining apples, pastry squares, cinnamon sugar mixture and butter.
- Pour hot syrup evenly over the tops and around the dumplings.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the crust on each dumpling is golden brown and apples are cooked all the way through. You can test the apples by poking them with a fork or skewer.
- Serve warm with the hot syrup that’s in the bottom of the baking dish and ice cream or whipped cream, if desired.
Products Used To Make This Recipe:
Recipe from Ina Suydam/Photography by Madison Mentesana and Maegan Brown
How fun my mother Ina made these apple dumplings. My parents had 5 apple trees in there backyard. We had a lot of apple desserts.
Thank you for sharing this Gorgeous and Delicious heirloom recipe.
Can you tell me about the lovely stainless steel baking pan she is baking the dumplings in? It is beautiful and looks like it would last a lifetime of baking.
I’m looking for new casserole dishes that my teen sons and dear husband won’t break when emptying the dishwasher. Too many Pyrex 9×13 pans broken over the years on the way to or from church potlucks and dinners with friends. (I’m vegetarian, so I don’t know much about roasting pans… If that is what it is.)
Hi Kristi! It’s my absolute favorite baking pan! Here’s the link to it on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3jCZSpT. Enjoy!
Could I make this recipe in a cast iron skillet?
Hi Fallon! Yes, they would bake great in a cast iron skillet. Enjoy!
Try filling the apple with a combination of brown sugar, triple sec or Grand Marnier (a splash) diced butter, cinnamon, orange zest and white raisins. The filling should be like damp sand. I also sprinkle the outside of the apple with a light dusting of cinnamon before wrapping. Serve with whipped cream sweetened with vanilla and a bit of brown sugar. Whip until thickened but not stiff.
Sounds amazing, Aly! Thanks for sharing!
I have made these apple dumplings many times and they are the absolute best. Lost my recipe,I feel blessed to have found it here. Thank you so much.
I never leave comments…… BUT this is hands down the best dessert I’ve ever made! Thank you for sharing this recipe! I can’t wait to make it again!👍❤️😊
I use apple cider instead of water for the sauce.
It give extra apple flavor & is delicious!
Absolutely delicious!!!! I split the recipe and made 3 regular and 3 with Splenda because I’m diabetic. It was absolutely delicious!!! The pastry is the best! Can that pastry be used for pies?
This is the exact pie pastry recipe my mom has used since I can remember and it is the flakiest! She always put her Crisco in the fridge and used ice water. She was known for her excellent pies. She is 98 now and unable to bake but I still use it! I sometimes use 1 TB of lemon juice for one of the water and add a tsp of sugar. So good!
Can I make and freeze and bake later?
Hi Valerie! Yes, but you’ll want to wait to make the syrup when you’re ready to bake them. To freeze them unbaked, simply wrap each apple dumpling in plastic wrap or put in a freezer-safe baggie. And then place them in a larger freezer-safe storage bag or container. When you’re ready to bake them, remove them from the freezer, place in the prepared baking dish and make the syrup. Place the dumplings in the oven as it preheats so they defrost and then bake as directed. Hope this helps. Enjoy!
Yes Yes Yes! This recipe is a keeper!! Happy mothers day BakerMama!! Blessings from Canada : )
Thank you and your Aunt for this recipe! It was very easy to follow.
Bonjour je suis tomber par hasard sur votre site je vais me lancer cA l’air délicieux j’ai déjà mangé ce genre de desserts dans un resto etj’ai adoré merci pour la recette et je vous redonne des nouvelles
Merci pour votre aimable réponse. Nous sommes impatients d’entendre comment vos boulettes de pomme se sont révélées!
I just made them and I can’t seem to get enough dough around the apples I had to cut them in half and use only half and the syrup never really got thick enough , except when it baked them it started to burn , what am I doing wrong ..
Hi Char! I’m wondering if your apples were extra large? For the syrup, it sounds like it needed to boil over higher heat for longer at first to start the thickening process.
I love Vanilla sauce on Apple Dumplings, instead of ice cream or whipped cream. .
Could you possibly send me your recipe for your vanilla sauce for your dumplings? I would really appreciate it????
When I made the syrup I switched one cup of water for one cup of apple juice. The syrup was amazing!!
Hi Christine! That’s such a great idea for even more apple flavor. Thanks for sharing!
This is the 3rd time i have made them and they remond of the homemade apple dumplings served by the church in Stephenville Montana. I couldn’t get the recipe from the little old lady that claimed it was her recipe. Somehow I do believe it’s your recipe.
I’ve been looking for this recipe!! My mother used to make this recipe she also added red food coloring and those little red hot candies!! I did yhat and it reminded me of her. Thank you for sharing
This brought to mind one of my favorite memories from childhood. A church in my small town would hold an
apple dumpling dinner every fall, and I loved it. These look just as amazing!
That’s amazing, LeAndra! I want to start an apple dumpling dinner now. I bet you have the best memories from that. Thanks for sharing! 🙂