The Nostalgic Fall Dessert Boomers Love That's Easier Than Apple Pie

Apple pies can be serious work to make between blind baking the crust, lattice-weaving, and fear of soggy bottoms. So if you're looking for a quick and easy alternative, consider the apple dumpling. At its simplest, this dessert is just an apple wrapped in pastry or dough, and it can be whipped up with as little as 10 minutes of prep (plus the baking time).

Apple dumplings have been around for eons: They likely surfaced in 1600s England (although those dumplings were boiled, not baked), and then crossed the Atlantic with Pennsylvania Dutch settlers. The origin story is hazy, but it's likely that they were a way to use leftover pie dough. They've stuck around ever since (and were apparently a favorite of Thomas Edison's).

Nowadays, they seem like a slightly old-school dessert, as you generally don't see them around so much in restaurants or recipe books; even nostalgia-loving Cracker Barrel dropped them from its menu in 2020. But for older generations like boomers, they were often a staple, and the kind of dessert grandmothers might have made without even consulting a recipe back in the mid-1900s. Older generations online remember them being particularly popular in the Midwest, with one Indiana Redditor noting that they'd always be on the table on Sundays, while another fondly remembered them from many a state fair. One Redditor firmly recommends digging out your grandma's or great-grandma's recipe book: "the older the recipe with apple dumplings, the better."

There's no single way to make apple dumplings, and specifically, the dough options can vary a lot between recipes. You could opt for pie dough: Basically butter, flour, and a little water (although adding some lard apparently can make it extra flaky). Alternatively, you can go for dough that's a little more bready: Biscuit dough (especially if it has leavening like baking powder) can make a fluffier and lighter crust. Otherwise, you can take another direction, doubling down on the butter with crisp, flaky puff pastry. You could make any of these doughs yourself (puff pastry is rather finicky, though), but for quick dumplings, you're better off with store-bought options. One popular option is oh-so-versatile canned crescent roll dough, flattened out and wrapped up with the filling inside.

Speaking of fillings, choose an apple that's firm so it holds up in the oven. A flavor balance of sweet and tart is also ideal: Granny Smith, Honeycrisp and Pink Lady are some good options. Core them (some recipes say to peel them, some don't), and plop them on the dough. Most recipes recommend using whole apples and not chopping them, although there's no reason you can't slice them and make your dumplings a bit smaller. Next, add some sugar, butter, spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, and maybe some lemon, wrap them up, and they're ready to bake — easy as pie (or really, dumpling).