Wow. I am not very good at keeping up with this blogging business! But I do have an excuse...the fall weather has been absolutely gorgeous. And, knowing that it could change at a moments notice, I have been picking more apples, gathering walnuts and almonds, fighting off cowardly gophers and discovering this:
Anybody care to guess what it is? Something or someone had a party on the trampoline. They feasted on these...yep, walnuts. And the tracks were left by those ring tailed varmint raccoons that come around knowing that our yard is the equivalent of raccoon heaven. If only they wouldn't invite all their friends and have all those raccoon babies...
So yesterday, the weather turned cold and I got back busy in the kitchen. Actually, we've enjoyed some fun seasonal recipes, but I just haven't had time to tell you about them! I got a produce basket Saturday that provided us with all the fixings for a hearty veggie soup. Sunday we had dinner in a pumpkin. I bought these perfect little sugar pumpkins...just right for one per person. But I can't find where I put the recipe, so I'll save that one for another day. Besides, it's always more fun to have dessert first, don't you think? Someone pointed out to me once that "stressed" backwards spells "desserts." That's all the excuse I need! (hee hee!)
I've been wanting to try this apple dessert for a couple of weeks, but it just never seemed the right time. My sister-in-law's husband just took a job in North Dakota and was leaving this past Monday, so we invited them over for dessert the night before.
Do any of you remember that old cartoon where the dog is given a treat and he hugs himself and hums and jumps into the air and then gently drifts back to the ground? yeah, well, that's how I felt after eating this dessert -- even without the whipped cream on top because said brother-in-law came over and borrowed the cream while I was at choir practice! Ha! ha!
I followed the recipe on line as it was written (well, except I doubled it)...since I had not made it before. I think I will tweak it next time and try to lower the fat content. (I don't even want to know how many hours of Pilates I need to do to make up for this one.) I wasn't sure how it would turn out. David (bil) pronounced them restaurant quality. (his ultimate compliment, btw!) Anyway, here is the version I found online for :
(super easy)
Country Apple Dumplings
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla (well, maybe I did add a little extra...I usually do!)
1 cup butter (sigh...yep. that would be 2 full sticks)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 12 oz can ginger ale (or Sprite or 7-up or Mountain Dew...)
2 large Granny Smith apples - peeled and cored and cut into 8 wedges
2 tubes of Pillsbury crescent roll dough
Preheat your oven to 350 deg. F. Spray a 9 x 13 inch pan with cooking spray.
Open the crescent roll dough and separated the triangles of dough. Roll each apple wedge in a triangle of dough by beginning at the skinny end. Pinch and seal the edges of the dough together around the apple wedge.Place the dumplings in the baking pan.
Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in both sugars and the cinnamon. Stir and cook until the mixture is smooth and starts to thicken. Removed from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Be careful! It will spit at you! Pour the sauce evenly over the dumplings. Pour half of the soda over everything. Place in oven and bake for 35 - 40 minutes or until golden brown. (Drink the other half of the soda while you wait for the dumplings to bake.)
Serve warm with whipped cream or with a scoop
of ice cream. We ate ours alone...and loved them. be warned! They go down fast!
Oh my heavens. Those look fantastic!!!!! Thanks for sharing!
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