Isn’t it interesting how one thought leads to another? Remember the Strawberry Shortcake dolls? My daughter enjoyed them. I was thinking about their names one day and realized l had eaten strawberry shortcake, blueberry muffins, angel cake and lemon meringue; but never apple dumplings. I headed for the kitchen to make some. Oh, my, were they good! Better than apple pie.
Well, the years went by and I grew a nice productive patch of raspberries. As you know, one thing leads to another, and I decided to add raspberries to the apple dumpling recipe. I must admit, the flavor enhancement was like adding frosting to the cake.
Raspberry/Apple Dumplings
Yields 6 to 10 servings.
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
8 drops red food coloring
3 tablespoons butter
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2/3 cup shortening
1/2 cup milk
4 apples peeled, cored and chopped or canned apples
1 cup raspberries
Sugar
Cinnamon
Butter
Preheat oven to 350 F.
In saucepan, combine sugar, water, cinnamon, nutmeg and food coloring; bring to boil. Remove from heat and add butter. Set aside.
In bowl, combine flour and baking powder. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add milk all at once; stir just until flour is moistened.
On lightly floured surface, roll dough to approximately 18-by-12-inch rectangle. Cut into 6 6-inch squares. Place equal amounts of chopped apples and equal amounts of whole raspberries on each square. Sprinkle fruit generously with sugar and some cinnamon. Dot with butter.
Moisten edges of pastry. Bring corners to center and pinch edges together. Place 1 inch apart in 9-by-13-inch ungreased pan. Pour syrup over dumplings.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until apples are tender.
