Caramel Apple Dumplings

Total Time: 1 hr 30 mins Preparation Time: 40 mins Cook Time: 50 mins

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 tablespoons rum (optional)
• chopped nuts (optional)
• 4 medium baking apples (granny smith or golden delicious apples are good choices.)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 sheet frozen puff pastry (17.3oz pkg)
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional) or 1/2 cup walnuts (optional)
• 1 large egg, beaten with
• 1 teaspoon water

Recipe

• 1 make caramel sauce.
• 2 peel apples, core each, creating a 1" wide hollow from top to bottom.
• 3 place apples in a bowl and coat with lemon juice.
• 4 on a lightly floured board, roll pastry into a 12" square.
• 5 cut into four equal squares and center an apple upright on each.
• 6 pour caramel sauce equally into apple hollows.
• 7 add chopped nuts at this time, if using.
• 8 brush egg/water mixture over 1/2" wide border around each pastry.
• 9 to wrap each dumpling, with floured finger bring two opposite pastry corners up over apple and pinch tips together. repeat with remaining two corners.
• 10 firmly pinch all tips together; pinch each seam, then fold over about 1/8" along the seam and pinch again, leaving no holes.
• 11 space evenly on a buttered 12x15" baking sheet.
• 12 bake at 375f for 20 minutes.
• 13 bake until pastry is deep golden, 10-15 minutes longer.
• 14 with a wide spatula, transfer the dumplings to plates.
• 15 accompany with remaining caramel sauce and ice cream, if desired.
• 16 caramel sauce:.
• 17 in a 2-3 quart pan over medium heat, tilt and swirl sugar often until melted and amber-colored. about 5-7 minutes.
• 18 stir in whipping cream; mixture will bubble and sugar will harden.
• 19 stir until sugar melts again and sauce boils, 6-8 minutes.
• 20 at once, pour sauce into a bowl.
• 21 stir in vanilla.
• 22 let sauce cool for 10 minutes, then stir in the rum.
• 23 serve warm or cool.