Delicious Apple Dumplings

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg. Pie crust mix or make one recipe of pie crust

• 6 baking apples such as Rome Beauty, Jonathon or golden delicious

• Peel and core the apples (without cutting apples in half, leaving a hole in the center)

• Filling - mix together any of the items below to suit your taste. Set aside.

• 1/4 cup toasted wheat germ

• 1/4 cup raisins

• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts

• Grated peel of lemon or orange

• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1 Tablespoon brown sugar or Splenda (if using Splenda add 1/4 teaspoon molasses)

• Pinch of salt

• (Optional) 3 Tablespoons butter or margarine, softened

After peeling and coring apples, prepare pie crust and roll out into a large rectangle. Place an apple on the pie crust and cut a square of the crust large enough to be wrapped around the apple, as shown in picture. Add the filling to the inside of the apple cavity and wrap crust around the apple. Pinch crust together to secure. Place on a greased cookie sheet. Continue this process with all of the apples. With any remaining crust you may cut leaf shapes and add to the top of the dumpling to dress up the apples. Add a whole clove in the center. Bake in 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes, or until the apples are tender. If you don't want the crust you can bake the apples plain. Add 1/4 can unreconstituted frozen apple juice to the baking pan, cover with foil and bake.

Serving suggestions:

Serve with Ice cream, whipped cream, hard sauce, or cinnamon sauce.

Hard Sauce

• cup butter or margarine, softened

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 1/4 cups sugar or fructose

With spoon or electric mixer, beat butter with sugar until fluffy and creamy; beat in nutmeg. Place in serving dish. Refrigerate until firm. Serve over hot apples, allowing 2 Tablespoons for each apple. Makes 2 cups.

Cinnamon Sauce

Add 5 - 10 cinnamon sticks to 3 cups water and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 - 10 minutes. Remove cinnamon sticks. Add a pinch of salt, 1 cup sugar or fructose, and 2 - 4 Tablespoons cornstarch that has been softened in 1/4 cup water. Stir continuously with a wire whisk while you add these and until the liquid becomes clearer and thicker. NOTE: This is a light sauce, add more or less sugar or fructose as desired to taste. Also, if you desire a stronger cinnamon taste, add some ground cinnamon to the boiling water. Remove from heat and spoon over apple dumplings.

Pie Crust

• 1 cup flour

• cup shortening

• 1 teaspoon sugar or fructose

• teaspoon salt

Mix together with a pastry blender. Add 1/4 cup cold water, mixing with a fork, just until the dough is the right consistency and dry mixture is absorbed. If more water is needed, only add a few drops at a time. Roll out and use for pies. Bake at 425 degrees for 12 to 15 for empty shell or follow instructions for filled shell.