Apple Dumplings

Romantic Dessert

Apple Dumplings for Two

This is just one of the twin dumplings

It's a beautiful April day and I feel kitchen-creative (and pantry poor)...but I do have what it takes to make a couple of cute apple dumplings.

Ingredients 

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 medium-sized apples, granny smith or roma (I used gala... 'cause that's what's in the fridge)

2 tablespoons raisins 

2 tablespoons chopped walnuts

3 tablespoons honey, divided

2 tablespoons butter, melted

4 sheets fillo dough (phyllo...whatever), thawed and covered to prevent drying

Your cast of characters:  raisins, walnuts, cinnamon, butter, apples, honey
fillo dough....and sugar (I forgot about sugar when I staged the crew)...oops

Here she is.....Sugar (or you could read it as "Here she is, Sugar"  .. is that too forward?

Preheat your oven to 350 and spray a small cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray....Then

Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside.

Chop the walnuts (I prefer a coarse chop...but you go as fine as you like)....then

Mix the walnuts and raisins and set aside.....then

Core the apples without piercing through the bottoms (a corer would have been nice
but I'm at the ranch and not at home where the bulk of my tools are)

Set them aside.....then

Fill the cavities in each apple with the raisin/nut mixture and then drizzle
about 1/2 teaspoon of honey over the stuffed core.....then

For each apple:

Take out one sheet of fillo dough and place it on a clean, dry surface.  Keep the other sheets covered till you're ready to use them to keep them from drying out.

Brush the sheet with melted butter and sprinkle about  1 teaspoon of the sugar/cinnamon mix over it.  Take out a second sheet of fillo, placing it over the first, repeating the butter, sugar/cinnamon topping.

Place the apple in the center of the dough sheets

fold each corner up and over the apple

use your hand to mold the dough gently around the apple and stand each dumpling
upright on the prepared cookie sheet (does it look like I have man-hands?)

Brush each dumpling with butter and then sprinkle sugar/cinnamon on top of each

Bake uncovered at 350 for 35-45 minutes, or until the fillo is nicely browned and the apples are tender when pierced with a sharp knife.  You may want to cover them loosely with foil during the last 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes.

To serve:  drizzle honey over each dumpling and garnish with extra chopped walnuts.

Here they are the twin dumplings...for 2
Homemade vanilla ice cream would be a great idea here (if I had some made)