#350 - Glazed Apple Dumplings

(by Shirley McNevich)

Dough: 5 cups flour; 2 cups Crisco (generous, heaping); 1/2 stick of margarine or butter; 2 tsp. salt; 1/4 tsp. baking soda; 1 egg; 1 TBSP cider vinegar

Using your hands or a pastry blender, mix flour, crisco, margarine, salt, and baking soda until it's crumbly. Set aside. In a measuring cup, add egg and vinegar and beat with a fork. Add water until the egg mixture and the water meet the 1 cup line on your measuring cup. Beat with a fork. Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients. Mix everything with your hands until you can form a ball. Divide dough into 6 small balls--roll each of the six balls flat with a rolling pin on a floured surface--should make 7-9" circle or square for each dough ball.

Filling: 6 medium baking apples; 6 TBSP white sugar; 6 TBSP butter; ground cinnamon
Syrup: 2 cups packed Domino's dark brown sugar; 1 cup water

Peel and core apples. Place one whole apple in the center of each dough ball. Fill the hollow core of each apple with 1 TBSP white sugar and 1 TBSP butter and sprinkle some cinnamon in the hollow core--fold each of the sides of the dough to the top of the apple, then seal at the top by spraying with Pam until sealed. Repeat with other 5 apples. Place each apple in a 13 x 9 x 2" baking pan and sprinkle a little cinnamon over all of the apples--refrigerate for 30 minutes. Syrup: In a small saucepan, combine brown sugar and 1 cup water over medium heat, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil, then boil gently for 5 minutes. Remove baking pan from refrigerator, then spoon 1 TBSP of syrup over each dumpling so it drips down the sides. Bake uncovered at 425 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, pour remaining syrup over the dumplings, return to oven and bake at 425 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Baste them occasionally with the syrup while they're baking. Bake until the apples are tender. Serve with milk, ice cream, warm or cold.