Apple Dumplings

Yesterday, my hubby hung out with a friend of his for most of the day.  They started by shooting hoops at the gym, then came back to our house to play video games, ping pong, and finally to watch the game (TEBOW TIME!!).  :)

So sad about the Broncos...what happened, guys?!

I was hanging out with some girlfriends for a lot of this time, but I came home in time to beat both my husband AND his friend at ping pong...not joking , and get in on the pizza action.  After the pizza, I decided I should make a dessert, and I really needed to post a new blog today, so it worked out great! 

After tasting these apple dumplings, I was totally in love.  And the guys?  Well, their exact comment, I believe, was : "Tebow would've done a lot better tonight if he'd had some of these apple dumplings!  These are a little too good!"  Needless to say, we all thought they were fantastic and delicious. 

This is what they look like when they come out of the oven.  The top of each dumpling gets nice and crispy, but not too hard, and the bottom is so soft and dumplingy.  And the sauce?  Ohhh, the sauce...  Heaven.  These are so easy to make, so please...don't deprive yourself any longer.  You need these apple dumplings in your life.  :)

Apple Dumplings

Recipe Source:  The Pioneer Woman

*As usual, I only made 1/2 the recipe.  This recipe is very easy to half and will make an 8x8 instead of a 9x13 pan.

2 whole Granny Smith apples

2 cans (8 oz. cans) Pillsbury crescent rolls (original)

2 sticks butter

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

Cinnamon, to taste

1 can (12 oz.) Mountain Dew soda

Peel and core apples. Cut each apple into 8 slices. Roll each apple slice in a crescent roll. Place in a 9 x 13 buttered pan. (8x8 if you're halving it like I did.)

Melt butter, then add sugar and barely stir.  (You want to incorporate the sugar, but it still needs to be somewhat lumpy and grainy...don't let the sugar melt).  Add vanilla, stir barely again, and pour entire mixture over apples. Pour Mountain Dew around the edges of the pan (I also poured some down the middle of the pan, between the 2 rows of dumplings). Sprinkle with cinnamon all over and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Serve with ice cream, and spoon some of the sweet sauces from the pan over the top.