It Can't Be Fall Yet!

One of the ways I always kept track of summer being behind me and winter approching was the canning months that fell in between. Fall, when the leaves turn colors and the kids go back to school. When our family would go out in search of wild grown pears, plumbs, elderberrys and when we would go and buy bushels of apples.

The apples meant home made applesauce for the next year, pie filling and my apple dumplings.

I miss those days before cancer, before the kids were grown and gone. Before I spent my days on Facebook playing my day away.

I am going to make a trip up to my favorite orchard to see if I can get some apples...maybe I will be extra lucky and they will have some squash...

Here is my apple dumpling recipe if you try it either post here or send me a note and tell me how you like them.

Ingredients

• SYRUP
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 6 drops red food coloring(optional)
• 3 tablespoons butter
•  
• PASTRY
• 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup shortening
• 1/2 cup milk
•  
• APPLES
• 6 apples(Granny Smith), peeled and cored
• 6 teaspoons white sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
• 6 tablespoons butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine 1 1/2 cups sugar, water, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg and food coloring. Bring to a boil, remove from heat and stir in 3 tablespoons butter. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in shortening, using knives or pastry blender, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Pour in milk, all at once, and stir to form a dough.Reserve just enough dough to make leaves and stems for your apples . On a floured surface, roll dough into a 1/4 inch thick,12x18 rectangle. Cut into 6 - 6 inch squares.
4. Place a whole, peeled and cored apple in the center of each pastry square. Dust each apple with a mixture of the of sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Dot with a tablespoon of butter. Moisten the edges of the pastry square, bring the corners together at the top of the apple(I do it at the bottom so I can make it look like an apple), and press edges together to seal. Roll out the remaining dough and cut out leaves and stems. Moisten and place on the top of the dumplings. Place dumplings 1 inch apart on a baking sheet.
5. Pour the syrup over the dumplings and sprinkle with additional sugar, if desired.
6. Bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes, until apples are tender.

This is a sweet desert and is like having individual apple pies. I like serving it with vanilla ice cream. They always remind me of home, mom and fall.