Tasty Tuesday: Apple Dumplings

I had never made an apple dumpling. In fact, I had never even tasted an apple dumpling before today. My favorite part of any kind of pie is the crust. The Backyardigans got it right when they sang about the Great Pie, "The crust is extra crusty . . ." I figured this recipe would be perfect.

Ingredients:
2 large apples, peeled and cored                           1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 (8 oz) cans refrigerated crescent roll dough       1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup butter                                                            1 (12 fluid oz) can Mountain Dew

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2. Cut each apple into 8 wedges and set aside. Separate the crescent roll dough into triangles. Roll each apple wedge in crescent roll dough starting at the smallest end. Pinch to seal and place in the baking dish.
3. Melt butter in a small saucepan and stir in the sugar and cinnamon. Pour over the apple dumplings. Pour Mountain Dew over the dumplings.
4. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

He told her, "Put your whole weight on it!"

I took the dumplings out after 40 minutes. The bottoms were extremely soggy since they were swimming in sauce. I put them in a new dish upside down and baked them for another 10 minutes. They are so yummy! Jake even told me they are better than cinnamon, and he's a big fan of cinnamon. Next time, (and there will be a next time) I will cut way back on the sauce. I can't wait to try one with ice cream.

While the dumplings were baking, we made an apple dip. Mix together 1 package cream cheese, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and 1 tablespoon vanilla extract until smooth. It could be used for just about any fruit. Actually, it's good enough to eat with just a spoon. Jake asked, "Can we make this all day every day?" Every time I tried to put it back in the fridge, one of them would be right there asking for more. Jake eventually said, "My tummy's full, but I can't stop eating!" Needless to say, it's almost gone already!

It's a little difficult to eat dipped apples when you have only six teeth, so Zac got to lick his first beater today.  He loved it, of course. He loves to eat just about everything! The other two were not very happy about sharing it with him though. I think that I'm going to have to buy a new mixer, one with 3 beaters.