Sourdough Apple Dumplings
Sourdough apple dumplings are an heirloom family recipe adjusted to use a flaky sourdough pie crust. Apples are filled with cinnamon, sugar and butter, and wrapped in pie dough with a sweet syrup poured over all. So delicious!
Why I Love This Recipe
Years ago, my mother-in-law (who is now in her nineties), gave me a cookbook that she received as a wedding gift in 1953. While my husband and I were still newlyweds, she decided to pass the cookbook along to me.
I love heirloom recipes and old cookbooks, so I was thrilled! The cookbook was well-used, with worn pages and a binding that was falling apart. It was filled with old black-and-white photos and quaint illustrations.
Looking through the cookbook, I came across a recipe for classic apple dumplings just like grandma would have made. I decided to make a batch of these delicious apple pastries, and my family loved them so much.
When I started making my own sourdough bread and pie crust from homemade sourdough starter, I realized I could alter this heirloom recipe to be sourdough-friendly without any difficulty.
My family loved these sourdough apple dumplings just as much as the original! These have now become a traditional fall recipe for us, and I try to make them every fall when apples are in season.
Sourdough Apple Dumplings Tips
- The original instructions call for baking the apple dumplings uncovered, at 425 degrees F. I have found that the crust starts to brown too quickly without some type of cover, so I usually tent some aluminum foil over the top of the dumplings after they’ve been in the oven for about 20 minutes uncovered.
- You could also try lowering the baking temperature to 400 degrees F and baking uncovered to see if the crust browns less-quickly at this temperature. I plan to try that in the future to see if covering for the last half could be eliminated.
- Be sure to moisten the pie dough with water when you seal the edges; otherwise, they tend to unseal and are more likely to fall apart during baking.
- I usually try to pick a medium-sized apple for these homemade apple dumplings. If you use a larger or smaller apple, you may need to adjust the cooking time. Large apples can take extra time to soften.
- If you have some leftover pie dough, you can cut out little leaves to decorate the top of your dumplings, as I did on some of mine in these photos.
Also, I accidentally over-whipped my cream in these photos, so it’s not beautiful, but it was still delicious! 🙂
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Supplies Needed for This Recipe
Sourdough Apple Dumplings Ingredients
Find the full list of ingredients, amounts, and instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Sourdough Pie Crust: You can use any double-crust pie dough recipe, but I use my sourdough pie crust recipe. It makes just enough to cover 6 apples.
- Apples: Any apples can be used, but I recommend apples that would go well in a pie, like Honey Crisp, Braeburn, Gala, or Granny Smith.
- Butter: You can use either salted or unsalted butter. If you use unsalted, you may want to add about 1/4 teaspoon of salt.
- Granulated Sugar: White granulated sugar fills the apples and also makes the sugar syrup to pour around the apples.
- Cinnamon: Cinnamon is mixed with the sugar to make a delicious cinnamon sugar filling, and also is part of the sugar syrup.
How to Make Sourdough Apple Dumplings
1. First, make the pie dough and put it in the fridge until you’re ready to use it. (I usually make the pie crust recipe the day before and then store it in the refrigerator, but you can also just mix it up and use it immediately.)
2. Roll out the pastry about 1/8″ thick and use a knife to cut out six squares of dough that are about 7″ x 7″ each.
3. Peel and core 6 medium-sized apples. Combine the 1/2 cup sugar with 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon in a small bowl.
4. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Grease the bottom of a 9″ x 13″ baking dish and set aside.
5. Place each apple on a square of pie dough and fill the hollowed-out cavity of the apple with the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Put a small piece of butter on top of each apple at the opening.
6. To make the dumplings, take two opposite sides of the pastry and bring together up and over the apple. Overlap the dough points, moisten with a bit of water, and press to seal. Repeat for the other two opposite sides to wrap the apple in the dough square. Seal the sides by pressing them together and moistening with a little bit of water. Repeat for each dumpling.
You can see in my photos that I used a smaller baking dish and had to bake the other apple separately. If you use a 9″ x 13″ dish they should all fit fine.
7. Make the sugar syrup by combining 1 cup of sugar, 2 cups of water, 3 tablespoons of butter, and 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon in a small saucepan. Bring syrup to a boil for about 5 minutes, and then remove from the heat.
Bake the Apple Dumplings
8. Place each apple dumpling carefully in the prepared 9″ x 13″ glass baking dish. Pour hot sugar syrup around the dumplings (not on top of them). Put the baking dish in the oven uncovered, and bake for about 20 minutes uncovered. Then cover loosely (making a tent) with aluminum foil and bake for another 20-25 minutes, until crust is browned and apples are cooked through (prick with a fork to test doneness).
How to Serve:
Serve sourdough apple dumplings warm with some of the sugar syrup drizzled over the top and whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Homemade vanilla ice cream would be another good serving idea!
More Fall Sourdough Recipes
- Sourdough Pumpkin Pie
- Pumpkin Sourdough Bread
- Sourdough Pumpkin Scones
- Sourdough Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
If you make this recipe and enjoy it, please leave a comment with a 5-star recipe rating and let me know! Thank you!
Sourdough Apple Dumplings
Equipment
- Apple Corer or paring knife
Ingredients
- 1 recipe sourdough pie crust
- 6 medium-sized apples peeled and cored
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 1/2 tablespoons butter cut into 6 small pieces
Sugar Syrup Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 cups water
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- First, make the pie dough and put it in the fridge until you’re ready to use it. (I usually make the pie crust recipe the day before and then store it in the refrigerator, but you can also just mix it up and use it immediately.)
- Roll out the pastry about 1/8″ thick and use a knife to cut out six squares of dough that are about 7″ x 7″ each.
- Peel and core 6 medium-sized apples. Be sure to remove the whole core all the way to the bottom. Combine the 1/2 cup sugar with 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon in a small bowl.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Grease a 9" x 13" baking dish (or spray with cooking spray) and set aside.
- Place each apple on a square of pie dough and fill the hollowed-out cavity of the apple with the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Put a small piece of butter on top of each apple at the opening.
- To make the dumplings, take two opposite sides of the pastry and bring together up and over the apple. Overlap the dough points, moisten with a bit of water, and press to seal. Repeat for the other two opposite sides to wrap the apple in the dough square. Seal the sides by pressing them together and moistening with a little bit of water. Repeat for each dumpling.
- Make the sugar syrup by combining 1 cup of sugar, 2 cups of water, 3 tablespoons of butter, and 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon in a small saucepan. Bring syrup to a boil for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, and then remove from the heat.
- Place each dumpling carefully in the prepared 9" x 13" glass baking dish. Pour hot sugar syrup around the dumplings (not on top of them). Put the baking dish in the oven uncovered, and bake for about 30 minutes uncovered. Then cover loosely (making a tent) with aluminum foil and bake for another 10-15 minutes, until crust is browned and apples are cooked through (prick with a fork to test doneness). The cooking time depends on the size of your apples. Larger apples will take longer to cook.
- Serve sourdough apple dumplings warm with some of the sugar syrup drizzled over the top and whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
Notes
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- The original instructions call for baking the apple dumplings uncovered, at 425 degrees F. I have found that the crust starts to brown too quickly without some type of cover, so I usually tent some aluminum foil over the top of the dumplings after they’ve been in the oven for about 30 minutes uncovered.
-
- You could also try lowering the baking temperature to 400 degrees F and baking uncovered to see if the crust browns less-quickly at this temperature. I haven’t tried this yet.
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- Be sure to moisten the pie dough with water when you seal the edges; otherwise, they tend to be too loose and more likely to fall apart after baking.
