These delicious apple dumplings are spiced, buttery apples baked in a pie crust with a delicious brown sugar sauce! Pair with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for the perfect apple dessert!
Preheat your oven to 375 °F. Grease a 9x9 pan and set it aside.
On a lightly floured surface, roll pastry into a large rectangle, about 14x14 inches. Cut into 4 square pieces giving you four pieces of dough that are 7x7 inches square.
Place a prepared apple on each pie crust square with the cored opening facing upward.
Place one tablespoon of butter into the cored opening of each apple.
Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.
Divide the brown sugar mixture between the apples, spooning some inside each cored opening and then sprinkling the rest around on the pie dough square, keeping away from the edges.
To seal the dumplings, wet the corners of the pie dough very slightly, then grab two opposite corners of the pie square. then lift and bring them together at the top of the apple and press together firmly. Bring up the two remaining corners, and seal the same way.
Seal the seams of the dough at the sides the same way, wetting your fingers lightly then pinching slightly, just enough to seal them together. If desired, cut out pretty shapes from the remaining pie dough and place on top of the seams to help them stay together.
Repeat with the remaining apples. Place in prepared baking dish.
Mix together the brown sugar, butter, water and cornstarch then bring to a boil. It will thicken slightly.
Pour over dumplings in pan.
Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown and the apples inside are soft.
Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes.
To serve, place each dumpling in a bowl, add a scoop of vanilla ice cream, then take a scoop of the caramel sauce in the bottom of the pan and drizzle all over top of the dumpling and ice cream.
Notes
Cutting out a few shapes with cookie cutters from the remaining pie crust really makes these dumplings really pretty, for very little extra effort! It also helps to keep the top of the pastry sealed up nicely.