Autumn Apple Dumplings
Crust
3 cups enriched bleached all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup vegetable shortening, plain or butter-flavored
1 large egg yolk
9 tablespoons milk
Filling
6 Granny Smith apples (about 3 inches in diameter), peeled and cored
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
⅓
cup chopped pecans
⅓
cup golden raisins
⅓
cup sweetened, dried cranberries
½
cup melted butter
1 cup apple juice
1 cup orange juice
Vanilla or vanilla-cinnamon ice cream (optional)
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a 9-by-13-by2-inch baking dish with no-stick cooking spray.
Combine flour and salt in a medium bowl. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender until it resembles coarse crumbs.
Beat egg yolk and milk in a small bowl. Add to flour mixture and stir until a soft dough forms. Divide dough into thirds. Combine two thirds of dough, wrap in plastic wrap and form into a disk. Wrap remaining third in plastic wrap and form into a disk. Refrigerate both disks for 30 minutes.
In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, cinnamon, pecans, raisins and dried cranberries.
Remove larger disk from refrigerator. Roll out dough into 14-inch square on lightly floured surface. Cut into four squares. Roll out remaining dough into 14 x 7-inch rectangle. Cut into two squares.
Place one apple in center of each pastry square. Spoon brown sugar mixture into center of apples to completely fill the core. Moisten corners of each square with water. Bring two opposite corners of pastry up over apple and press together. Repeat with other corners. Press pastry seams together along sides of dumplings. Place dumplings in prepared baking dish.
Sprinkle remaining brown sugar mixture around dumplings. Add melted butter, apple juice and orange juice to dish to make syrup. Bake 40-45 minutes or until apples are tender and pastry is golden brown. Spoon syrup over dumplings after removing them from the oven. Allow to cool 10 minutes and serve warm with vanilla or vanilla-cinnamon ice cream.
Serves six.
White Lily Flour