With just 6 simple ingredients, homemade apple dumplings couldn’t be easier to make! You’ll love the sweet, cinnamon-scented apples and melt-in-your-mouth crust. A buttery brown sugar sauce is a rich finishing touch. The abundance of flavors perfectly encapsulates fall!
For the best apple dumplings recipe, choose your favorite baking apples. Some apples become mushy and watery when baked, so keep that in mind. I have a variety of sweet and tart apple varieties you can choose from below! For more easy apple recipes, try my apple cobbler, apple galette, and apple crisp.
What Are Old-Fashioned Apple Dumplings?
I like to think of these easy apple dumplings as perfect personal apple pies. Peeled and cored apples are spiced with cinnamon, sweetened with sugar, and wrapped in a flaky, buttery pie crust. After assembling them, you’ll make a simple brown sugar sauce, pour that into the baking dish, and bake it all together until the apples are tender.
They are actually quite similar to my popular baked apples, but with pastry and brown sugar sauce added, making them an easy but elegant dessert that I love serving for dinner parties or special occasions.
What You Need To Make This Recipe
Pie crust — you need 2 unbaked store-bought or homemade pie crusts.
Apples — I recommend medium-sized apples so they fit nicely in the pastry squares.
Cinnamon sugar — stir together granulated sugar and ground cinnamon to flavor the apples.
Brown sugar — for an easy, delicious, sweet sauce with decadent caramel notes.
Butter — you need unsalted butter to dot on top of the cinnamon-sugar-filled apples and to make the brown sugar syrup.
How To Make Apple Dumplings
1. Whisk together the white sugar and 1½ teaspoons of cinnamon in a small bowl.
2. Roll pie dough into a rectangle about ⅛ to ¼-inch thick, then cut it into three 7-inch squares. Repeat with the other pie dough so you end up with 6 total squares. You can use excess dough to make pretty cutouts to decorate the dumplings.
3. Place an apple in the center of each pastry square. Add cinnamon sugar to the core of each apple. Dot one teaspoon of butter on top of the cinnamon sugar inside of each apple core.
4. Brush the corners of each pastry square with water to help them stick, then bring them up to the top of the apple one at a time and pinch well to seal. Arrange the apples in a 9×13-inch baking dish so that they aren’t touching. Set aside for the moment.
5. In a small saucepan, make the brown sugar caramel sauce by combining brown sugar, cinnamon, butter, and ⅔ cup water. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the butter melts.
6. Pour the sauce into the bottom of the baking dish. Avoid pouring it over the top of the dumplings. Bake at 350°F for 40-50 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown and the apples are softened.
Which Apples Are Best For Apple Dumplings?
Any baking apple you enjoy eating will work perfectly for this old-fashioned apple dumpling recipe. Some of my favorites are Granny Smith, McIntosh, Gala, Honeycrisp, or Cortland apples.
For a sweet-tart dessert, opt for a tart apple like Granny Smith apples or Pink Lady apples. If you would like the dumplings to be on the sweeter side, try a sweeter apple variety like Honeycrisp.
Tips For Assembling The Dumplings
- Use medium apples. Apples that are too large will not fit in the pastry squares, and the pastry may break during assembly or pop open in the oven.
- Wet the corners of the pastry dough with a little water. This helps the edges of the pastry stick together on top of the apple.
- Brush the dumplings with an egg wash before baking for a beautiful golden color. Whisk together 1 egg with 1 tablespoon of water, then brush all over the dumplings once they are placed in the baking dish. This is optional but makes a beautiful presentation!
- Remove all of the apple core: It remains hard and will not soften when baked! The easiest and safest way to core an apple is using an apple corer. If you don’t have one, use a very sharp paring knife to make 4 cuts around the stem to make a square. Try to get the cuts about halfway deep into the apple. Then, flip over and do the same thing so that the incisions align. You should then be able to easily push out the core.
How To Serve Apple Dumplings
Serve homemade apple dumplings warm with the sweet sauce drizzled over the top. A generous scoop of vanilla ice cream complements the apple dessert perfectly. Or, make a simple homemade whipped cream.
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
Once they’ve completely cooled to room temperature, store leftover apple dumplings in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
The best way to reheat them is in the oven, as the microwave will give you a warm but soggy dumpling. Place the apples in an oven-safe dish and reheat at 350°F until nice and warm (about 15 minutes). You can cover loosely with aluminum foil if you are worried about the tops becoming too brown.
Pro Tips For Making This Recipe
- Set pie dough out 10 minutes in advance: It will soften as it sits at room temperature. Rolling out very cold dough is so difficult!
- Leftover cinnamon sugar: If any of the cinnamon sugar mixture remains after filling the apples, sprinkle it over top of the pastry after the egg wash.
- Don’t over bake the apples, as they can burst open! Once a toothpick or wooden skewer can slide in, it means the apples are tender and ready to enjoy.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can assemble the apples wrapped in pie dough 1 day in advance. Cover and refrigerate the apples in the baking dish. The next day, make the sauce and pour it into the baking dish right before baking.
Insert a skewer or toothpick into the apples. It should slide in easily, which means the apple is cooked and tender.
Yes! You can freeze baked or unbaked apple dumplings. In either case, freeze them without the sauce on a parchment-lined baking sheet until they are hard, and then transfer them to a freezer bag. Store for up to three months. Thaw them in the refrigerator overnight. Reheat baked apple dumplings at 350°F for about 15 minutes. For unbaked apples, make the sauce and bake them according to the recipe.
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this apple dumplings recipe, then don’t forget to rate it and let me know how you got on in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
Apple Dumplings Recipe
Video
Equipment
- Rolling Pin
- 9×13 baking dish
Ingredients
- 2 homemade or store-bought pie crusts unbaked
- 6 medium apples peeled and cored (about 3.5 pounds, 1.5kg)
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar (66g)
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon divided
- ⅔ cup dark brown sugar (147g)
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Let the pie dough soften at room temperature.
- In a small bowl, combine the granulated sugar and 1½ teaspoons of cinnamon.
- Roll a round of pie dough into a rectangle about ⅛ to ¼-inch thick, then cut into three 7-inch squares, rerolling the scraps if needed. Repeat with the other pie dough. You will have 6 squares in total. (Set aside any excess dough to cut-out decorative elements for the dumplings.)
- Place one apple in the center of each pastry square. Divide the cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly in the core of each apple. Place one teaspoon of butter on top of the cinnamon sugar inside of each core. (You will use 2 tablespoons of butter in total.)
- Brush the corners of each pastry square with water, then bring them up to the top of the apple one at a time and pinch well to seal. Arrange the apples in a 9×13-inch baking dish so that they aren’t touching.
- In a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar, the remaining ½ teaspoon of cinnamon, the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, and ⅔ cup (160mL) water. Place over medium heat and cook, stirring frequently, until the butter melts. Pour the sauce into the bottom of the baking dish, being careful not to pour it over the apples.
- Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown and the apples are softened. A skewer or toothpick inserted into the apples should go in easily.
Notes
- Set pie dough out 10 minutes in advance: It will soften as it sits at room temperature. Rolling out very cold dough is so difficult!
- Leftover cinnamon sugar: If any of the cinnamon sugar mixture remains after filling the apples, sprinkle it over top of the pastry after the egg wash.
- Don’t over bake the apples, as they can burst open! Once a toothpick or wooden skewer can slide in, it means the apples are tender and ready to enjoy.
Nutrition
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