Romantic Dessert
Apple Dumplings for Two
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| 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
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| Your cast of characters: raisins, walnuts, cinnamon, butter, apples, honey fillo dough....and sugar (I forgot about sugar when I staged the crew)...oops |
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| 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
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| Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside. |
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| Chop the walnuts (I prefer a coarse chop...but you go as fine as you like)....then |
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| Mix the walnuts and raisins and set aside.....then |
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| 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) |
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| Set them aside.....then |
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| 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
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| fold each corner up and over the apple |
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| 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?) |
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| 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.
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| Here they are the twin dumplings...for 2 Homemade vanilla ice cream would be a great idea here (if I had some made) |
