Autumn Apple Dumple

A is for Apple.

Apple is for Autumn Apple Dumple!

Autumn Apple Dumple is Addicting!

It's easy. and it's going to become your fall favorite!

Here we go!



Preheat oven to 450.

For the sweetened crust you will need to put the following ingredients into a food processor with the steel blade: (This is the only pie crust I can make successfully, every single time. If I can, you can, too, so get excited.)

* 1 cup flour
* 2 Tbsp + 1 tsp white sugar
* 1/4 tsp cinnamon
* 1/4 tsp salt (I use Kosher)
* 1 stick butter or margarine, cold (not softened), cut into thin slices

Now, put the lid on your processor and whiz them together, one pulse at a time, till the butter is little bee-bee sizes. (Be careful not to over blend.)

Once that is done, pour in *2 Tbsp ice-cold water* and pulse the whole mix again, till it just begins to form a ball; pie crust refuses to submit to perfection unless it is handled with gentle care.

And that's all there is to that! (Keep the processor out, you're going to use it - unwashed - in a minute or two.)

Toss ample flour onto a bread board; grab your favorite rolling pin (mine was my granny's), and roll the crust out in a 12" circle.



Place the crust on a lightly greased cookie sheet or pizza pan. For my Dumple, I line my cookie sheet with parchment paper. It makes it easier to lift off and put on a plate.

Into the processor, mix the following:

* 1/3 cup brown sugar
* 1/2 tsp cinnamon
* 1/4 tsp nutmeg
* 1/4 pecans, chopped as fine or course as you prefer
* 1 tsp flour
* 2 Tbsp butter or margarine, cold



This will be mixed with your two peeled, pared, and cored apples. I used one green and one red, just for fun. The peels can be left on if you want your Dumple to look like autumn leaves have fallen upon it. :)



Stir the apples and mix until they are thoroughly hugging each other, then dump onto your awaiting pie crust.



If you look in the upper left-hand corner, you will see that I just kind of roll the edges like a pizza crust. It keeps the juices from flowing out.

Place in oven for 20 minutes, or till the crust is a delicious autumn brown. If you want the crust to be shiny-ish, before you put it in the oven beat an egg with a bit of milk and brush it on the rolled up edges of the crust. It'll look better but it won't taste any better. :)

Or, if you want to make a dumpling instead of a dumple, then roll into two 6" circles and place the crust in a small, deep bowl. Then, pull the crust around the apples and cinch the top. I haven't tried this, because the Dumple is easier, but it should work just fine. Let me know if you do it this way.



Your Autumn Apple Dumple is ready to serve. I pull out my mom's old fall dishes, carefully pour and swirl Mrs. Richardson's caramel sauce on the plate (like a real chef, then set a slice of the Dumple on top. MMmmmmmmmmMmmmmm!!!!

...for breakfast or dessert or afternoon coffee/tea...

Bon Appetit!!! (Oh, be sure to say that with Julia Child's/Meryl Streep's accent; so much more fun to say, that way!)

P.S. Cute little Aimee thought I was a genius, which I loved and wished I was, but alas.. the idea for making all of this came from a recipe in one of my Barefoot Contessa books. I just adapted her recipe to my likings and tada! So... no genius here, but that pie crust is the easiest and most-fool proof one I know of!