An Ode to the Dutch Apple Dumpling

One of my favorite parts about fall is the apple the creeps up in desserts. Unlike pumpkin, apple desserts don't smack you in the face like the pumpkin flavored everything that literally attacks over night somewhere in September. Apple is classy like that.

I distinctly remember the first time I tried apple butter at an apple orchard. It was a "how have I never discovered this!?" moment. I believe I was around 6 - high expectations from food. I grew up loving apple pie, candy apples, apple strudel, apple muffins, apple donuts, the apple crisp at Applebee's (don't judge, I went to high school in East Brunswick, NJ. Applebee's and the tiny mall are pretty much what there is to do), and one of my all time favorites: apple dumplings.

The traditional dutch apple dumpling is constructed with a simple dough wrapped around a cinnamon and brown sugar buttered apple. What's not to love?

The chain restaurant Cheesecake Factory, (which I find consistently good and if I am going to a chain restaurant, that's the one I want to go to.. I will defend Cheesecake Factory against chain restaurant critics any day!) used to have an apple purse on their menu and it was a must every time I went there (we had a Cheesecake Factory in a surrounding town's mall - NJ loves their malls - that I worked in for a summer. After work, CF apple dumplings became routine). The dough was slightly more puff pastry (but not quite) than the traditional apple dumpling, but it was - as most of their desserts are - awesome sauce. I was heart broken to find in college that the item was taken off their menu.

But as my passion for baking and cooking only grew in college, I was delighted to find how easy it is to make them yourself! There are tons of recipes out there for apple dumplings, so try several and find one that works for you. Mine is an adaptation of different ones I've tried over the years, a mix between super thin dough and a flakier crust, a seasoned buttery apple with an addition of nutmeg to the traditional cinnamon and brown sugar and some pecans for added nuttiness and crunch.

While I've seen them served with caramel sauce, whipped cream, ice cream, etc., I prefer mine stand alone with a glass of ice cold milk. Yes, I put ice in milk.

It's easy to forget, but my home of Philadelphia is fairly close to Pennsylvania Dutch Country. The simplicity of this dessert mirrors the life style of it's origins. There is no pretense, no fuss about fluting your pie crust, no pressure to be anything but delicious. In fact, the non-uniform overlay of the dough creates a beauty in itself, that is easy to dress up with decorative leaf cut outs of dough, sanding sugar, or nothing at all. Let the dessert do all the work for you.

Dutch Apple Dumplings

For the Dough

5 cups flour

2 tsp sea salt

3 sticks butter, cubed and chilled

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 - 2/3 cup ice water

1 egg, beaten lightly

For the Apples

4 apples, peeled, cored, halved

4 Tbsp butter, cubed

1 cup brown sugar

3 tsp cinnamon, plus more for sprinkling

1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg, plus more for spinkling

1/2 cup pecans (halves) or almonds (slivers) - optional

Preheat Oven to 350° F

Blend the butter reserved for dough, salt, salt and baking powder until crumbs form - this can be done in a food processor, or with some motivation and a pastry blender. Use two forks if you don't have one handy. Blend in just enough water to create a soft dough (you may not need to use it all, so sprinkle in a little at a time).

Divide the dough into four pieces and flatten into disks. Wrap them in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour, but you can do so overnight.

When firm, unwrap one disk at a time and roll out onto a floured surface to about 8 inches.

In a clean bowl, mix together brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Roll apples in the mixture to coat. Add butter and nuts to remaining sugar mixture and blend roughly.

Set one apple half on each dough round, cut side up. Layer the sugar/butter mixture on top of the cut side (try to divide evenly among 4 apples), and lay the other half of the apple, cut side down, on top. Wrap dough around filled apple by pulling the ends up and pinching together, or wrapping with kitchen twine. Repeat for each apple, you should have four dumplings. Brush each with egg, and sprinkle with cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg, if desired.

Place on a baking sheet or pie plate lined with parchment paper, and bake for 35 minutes, or until golden brown and apples are tender.

It seems that fall is fully here, and that means no more out door markets in Rittenhouse square for awhile (noooooo).

I perused through my last market of the season a couple of weeks ago and made sure to pick up another box of John & Kira's Chocolates. You may remember I first discovered John and Kira's at the Rittenhouse farmers market earlier this year when I tried their tiny chocolate bumble bees! Their hand crafted chocolates are so delicious and unique, it was hard not to fall in love.

This time I went for a 15 piece assortment of 10 different flavors, and every single one blew me away. I could hardly wait to try what was next, only to find that each one was just as amazing and different as the last. These aren't your average peanut butter filled or odd sugary nougat filled chocolates. The fair trade hand crafted chocolates are each filled with ganaches infused with flavors like Lavender Honey, Bergamot Tea, Coffee Whiskey, and Lemongrass. I know, right.

If I didn't like making food gifts for others around the holidays so much, I'd totally share these with everyone I love. But instead, I'll probably just buy another box for myself!

Check out all the fun for yourself on their website, your mouth will water just reading about the concoctions they've dreamed up even if you don't get anything!