Quick and Easy Apple Dumplings with Cinnamon Sauce

Once you make these, you will never make apple pie again.  Easily halved or doubled for company and considerably less work!



Dumplings:
2 tbsp Softened Butter
1/2 c. Dark Brown Sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 c. finely chopped nuts (optional)
4 apples (green are best) peeled, halved, cored and with a thin sliver cut off so they sit flat
1 Pie crust recipe (top & bottom) or package of refrigerated pie crusts (I used my whole wheat, oil only recipe - ill put it at the bottom)
1 egg white

Cinnamon Sauce:
1 c. water
3 tbsp Softened Butter
1/2 c. Dark Brown Sugar
1 tsp Cinnamon
2 tsp Corn Starch, dissolved in 2 tsp water

• Mix 2 tbsp Butter, 1/2 c. Brown Sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, and 1/4 c. nuts together.  Drop even ammounts of mixture into the "cored" part of the apple.  Instead of using a tubular corer on the apples, i carve out the seedy/thick part with a spoon so it forms a bowl for the filling.  
• Divide Pie Dough into 8 (or just cut 2 prepared pie crusts into quarters), roll out into little circles or squares.  Place apple on top of dough and wrap around, crimping together at the top.  You can use egg white to seal if you need to, but i never do.  
• Place dumplings in 9x13 and bake for 10 min at 425, then reduce temp to 375 and bake for 20-30 minutes longer, until dough is crisp.  
• While dumplings are baking, bring water, butter, sugar and cinnamon to boil.  Once it reaches a boil, remove from heat and stir in cornstarch with a wisk.  Cover and let cool/thicken while dumplings bake. By the time they're done, it should be a good consistency.  
• Enjoy!  It's really incredible with ice cream.  

Last night, I made my pie crust using the recipe that came with my bread machine.  It uses oil only, no shortening, which is nice for me cuz i only ever have shortening if i'm soaping with palm oil soon.  I'm not saying it's as perfectly flaky as a shortening crust, but it's tasty and i can make it on a whim (and in the bread machine, to boot!).  The only thing is it doesn't halve or double well.  Consider yourself warned.  

1/2 c. Warm Water

3/4 c. Oil

1/4 tsp. Salt

2 1/2 c. All Purpose Flour (I use whole wheat all the time, it comes out fine)

Then either select the pasta setting on your bread machine or if you don't have one you can just stir it with a spoon.