Baked Apple Dumplings

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Peel and core the apples, but be careful not to drill through the bottom of the fruit. You’ll be leaving a nice cavity for the filling. Cut a thin slice off the bottom of each apple so it will sit up straight when you bake it. Place apples in a bath of water and lemon juice so they don’t brown.
3. In a bowl, combine the butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, raisins, walnuts and lemon zest. This will be the filling as well as the sauce for topping.
4. I used Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry dough for this recipe. Upon unfolding and thawing the dough, I placed each sheet on a floured board and cut off 1/3 of the dough and set aside. (I used the remaining 2/3 square of dough for each apple.) Using a floured rolling pin, roll the dough so it thins out a bit and becomes easier to handle.
5. Whip the egg with 2 tbsp of water to make an egg wash. Brush on the dough square.
6. Remove an apple from the lemon water and pat dry with a paper towel. Pack the apple core with the filling and place upright on the pastry puff dough. Carefully fold the dough around the apple to form a dumpling - you’ll find you need to cut portions of dough off as you go. Be mindful not the overlap the dough too much, or it won’t cook through properly.
7. Brush the entire outside of the dumpling with egg wash. You can use the excess dough to cut out leaves and place these on top of each apple dumpling.
8. Repeat until all apples are encased in pastry. (I used egg wash and a rolling pin to seal together the dough strips I had cut off the sheets to create pastry squares for my last 2 apples.)
9. Place 3 inches apart on a greased baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes until the pastry is a crispy brown. Don’t go any longer than 25 minutes, or the apples will turn to apple sauce and could leak. (If this happens, don’t panic. It may affect the presentation, but it’ll still taste divine.)
10. To serve, heat the remaining filling and stir until the butter and sugar are combined. Spoon the sauce on top of each apple and add a dollop of whipped cream. We also served this with a scoop of rosewater-flavored ice cream. It was a nice finish to a really fun Thanksgiving!